We are Miles Stokes and Rachel Edidin, and we are comics. We’re industry professionals and long-term fans; and we host the podcast Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.
Almost 19 years ago, in junior high, we tentatively made friends through the language of borrowed books and the common belief that the stories we care passionately about are only made richer by sharing them. We were both alienated, screwed-up kids who looked at comics and found points of identification, sources of hope–and each other. Decades later, we still do.
We believe that comics are for everyone. And we want to see an industry, community, and critical media that reflects that value.
(We Are Comics is a campaign to show—and celebrate—the faces of our community, our industry, and our culture; to promote the visibility of marginalized members of our population; and to stand in solidarity against harassment and abuse. See Rachel’s solo post here, and submit yours here, or hashtag it “i am comics” on your own tumblr.)