In a world where merely passing the Bechdel Test has been a reason to celebrate a comic, the works of Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez have been a longstanding oasis. The brothers' beloved series Love and Rockets has never wanted for strong female leads, most notably Jaime's long-time protagonist, Maggie.
But for all the conversation surrounding the need for more female characters in movies, games and literature, writing woman just made sense for the artist.
"It comes down to a lot of educated guessing and trying to handle it like a grown up," he explains as we sit down for an interview out behind the San Diego Convention Center. "I guess because I am a guy, I would get very self-conscious when I write men. The very first time a woman told me they liked the way I write women, I was gone, man. No holding back."
He's at a slight loss for why writing female leads has proven so difficult for his contemporaries. Adding that, for all the hype, it's not as if movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, which has garnered its share of press as a feminist action film, had cracked some secret code.
"I had heard all of the hype before, and when I watched it, coming from the artist I am, I chuckled and said, 'all you had to do is let her drive the truck,' " he says with a chuckle. "All this time. Give her the reason and let her drive the truck."
Perhaps it's not so complicated after all.
"I'm telling these stories, and they just happen to be women," he adds. "I'm told I have an insight into gender, but the way I treat it is 'let her drive the truck.' That's my approach. There's a lot more to it, but are you worried about not having enough black people in your comic? Put a black person in. Hey! Did you ever think of that?"
