The Comic Book Community Unites Against Trolls & Supports Female Writers with #MakeMineMilkshake

Social media can be a savage place. This was proven once again over the weekend, when Marvel editor Heather Antos posted a selfie with her colleagues, showing the women taking a break and enjoying a milkshake together. It was a harmless post, but it brought out the trolls in force.

Sickeningly, Antos found herself harassed by (mostly) men. There are public tweets calling the women "fake geek girls," and "the creepiest collection of stereotypical SJWs anyone could possibly imagine." One commenter added "Gee, I can't imagine why Marvel's sales are in the toilet." Antos was apparently also bombarded with direct messages, and was clearly upset by the whole experience.

At this point, you could be forgiven for considering it a normal day on Twitter. And then, in a beautiful twist, the comic book community began to fight back.

MakeMineMilkshake

They fought fire with fire; or, in this case, they fought Twitter with tweets. Savvy fans launched a hashtag, #MakeMineMilkshake, and expressed their support for Heather Antos.

Given social media's ubiquity, it's no surprise to see that the hashtag went global.

Fans of Antos's Star Wars range felt the Force too, and sided with her.

By Monday, Marvel was officially chipping in, tweeting a superb image.

And Marvel wasn't alone. In a beautiful twist that will warm the heart of any comic book fan, Marvel's biggest rival, DC Comics, officially stepped up to express solidarity with Heather Antos too.

Marvel's response was equally touching, offering their rival a chance to share the milkshake.

Not to be outdone, Archie Comics promptly suggested a milkshake with three straws, expressing their support for Antos as well!

Right now, the comic book community seems more united than ever before — and crucially, they're united against these trolls. Amusingly enough, Dan Slott (writer of The Amazing Spider-Man and Silver Surfer) has even noted that the whole thing is serving a very useful purpose for him.

Social media often seems to bring out the worst in human beings. This time round, though, it's allowed comic book fans to show their best.

Heather Antos Is Touched

As you'd expect, Antos herself has been left stunned at the reaction.

By Monday, she was tweeting again, and it seems milkshakes have just become the staple drink over at Marvel Comics!

Twitter is often a savage place, one where people would rather attack first and discuss later. Trolls on Twitter are notorious for relentlessly attacking anyone they disagree with, but in this case, that kind of behavior profoundly backfired. The comic book community has stood united in defense of Heather Antos, and the trolls have been put in their place. Speaking as a member of that community, I couldn't be more proud.

So, until the unbelievable Gwenpool retires as a superhero and takes up knitting:#MakeMineMilkshake.