Good morning friends, and welcome to the last week of March. Today, #VisibleWomen returns for its twelfth Twitter event. Conceived by writer Kelly-Sue Deconnick, #VisibleWomen provides a free and relatively accessible opportunity to raise the profiles of women within the comic book industry via the use of a fun little hashtag. Submissions to the hashtag are compiled into a spreadsheet that is made available to industry professionals and has apparently led to numerous hirings.
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir detailing her life growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran and Austria, has been removed from the curriculum in The Franklin Regional School District, Pennsylvania following complaints from parents. While the book was due to be taught to 9th-grade honours students who I have no doubt have been witness to both violence and the occasional use of the fuck word, parents were concerned with its depiction of violence and bad language. As with other books challenged this year it does not seem to have been removed from school libraries so students will hopefully still be able to access the book.
Aziz Hasan, the CEO of Kickstarter, has announced that he will be stepping down from the role on April 4th. Leadership at Kickstarter has faced mounting criticism over the last few months, most notably for their refusal to voluntarily recognise Kickstarter United, its employee union, and more recently for their decisions to move operations on to the blockchain, however, it is unclear if this has influenced his decision. Hasan will remain employed as an advisor while Kickstarter searches for his replacement.
Finally, we are sad to report the passing of Steven Walsh. Best known for his time at London’s Gosh Comics and his work at Avery Hill Publishing, Walsh was considered a pillar of the British comics community and will be remembered fondly.
We're devastated to hear of the loss of our old friend & colleague Steve Walsh. The outpouring of love in response to his passing is a testament to his quality. Do listen to this interview from last year on the Avery Hill podcast. RIP Steve, we love ya. https://t.co/QfQ6j0v0fh
— Gosh! Comics (@GoshComics) March 24, 2022
That’s all for this week, take care.
