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Strong Female Protagonist #1-4
Strong Female Protagonist: Book 1
With superstrength and invulnerability, Alison Green used to be one of the most powerful superheroes around. Fighting crime with other teenagers under the alter ego Mega Girl was fun until an encounter with Menace, her mind-reading arch enemy. He showed her evidence of a sinister conspiracy, and suddenly battling giant robots didn't seem so important.
Now Alison is going to college and trying to find ways to actually help the world while still getting to class on time. It's impossible to escape the past, however, and everyone has their own idea of what it means to be a hero...
Now Alison is going to college and trying to find ways to actually help the world while still getting to class on time. It's impossible to escape the past, however, and everyone has their own idea of what it means to be a hero...
223 pages, ebook
First published July 1, 2014
About the author
Brennan Lee Mulligan
5 books345 followersBrennan Lee Mulligan is a writer, improviser, and actor living in New York. He performs on Harold Night at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and is a member of the UCB Touring Company. He once had a cantaloupe thrown at his head in the middle of a dinner party, and he chopped it perfectly in half with a sword, earning eternal glory for himself and his ancestors.
He graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in Screenwriting, and from SUNY Ulster with a degree in Philosophy.
Brennan has had his writing optioned, purchased and produced, and is also one half of the creative force behind the web comic Strong Female Protagonist. He is a proud cast member of the nationally acclaimed Story Pirates.
He graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in Screenwriting, and from SUNY Ulster with a degree in Philosophy.
Brennan has had his writing optioned, purchased and produced, and is also one half of the creative force behind the web comic Strong Female Protagonist. He is a proud cast member of the nationally acclaimed Story Pirates.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 578 reviews
May 12, 2015
I haven't been great about updating my graphic novel reading, it's hard to think of Goodreads as a place to review them, but why not, I have a shelf dammit! This is my latest read, a thick graphic novel that was crowd funded on Kickstarter, which is cool.
I'll be honest: the title was a bit of a turnoff for me. I think the phrase is so overused in media that I had to overcome a bit of unconscious reluctance to get into this. Thank goodness I overcame it! This is a really fun journey of a girl trying to be normal even though she's "super". It reminded me a lot of the new Ms Marvel, which I ADORE. In certain parts it did feel like it was trying to hard to check the boxes of rebellion against the tropes of Superhero comic, but the ability of the author to generally put an interesting twist on them, especially later on in the book, was really refreshing. I was drawn into the story and would love to read more!
I'll be honest: the title was a bit of a turnoff for me. I think the phrase is so overused in media that I had to overcome a bit of unconscious reluctance to get into this. Thank goodness I overcame it! This is a really fun journey of a girl trying to be normal even though she's "super". It reminded me a lot of the new Ms Marvel, which I ADORE. In certain parts it did feel like it was trying to hard to check the boxes of rebellion against the tropes of Superhero comic, but the ability of the author to generally put an interesting twist on them, especially later on in the book, was really refreshing. I was drawn into the story and would love to read more!
January 9, 2015
One of the best aspects of NetGalley is that I get to try things that are a bit outside of my wheelhouse or that I wasn't previously aware of until I skimmed the latest offerings. It led me to discover the sublime Sex Criminals, Volume I last year and now I've come across another gem with Strong Female Protagonist.
This web-comic takes ingredients from some of the main-stream comic publishing events (Marvel's Civil War springs to mind) and the sensibility of Buffy and other Whedon-verse shows to offer us the story of Alex Green. Once known as Mega Girl and part of an elite fighting force of superheroes, Alex publicly unmasked and is trying to live a normal life. As a freshman in college, Alex struggles with the remnants of her fame, including a professor who holds an obvious grudge against her (and when it's revealed why, it's one of the most heartbreaking and moving moments in a story filled with them) and the fact that she can't stop at fast food place to enjoy a burger and fries without being recognized.
As a deconstruction of super hero stories, Strong Female Protagonist works extremely well. But more than that, the story is a compelling, fascinating character examination of not only Alex but also others affected by the realization that they have super powers. It's a world where these powers have consequences, both negative and positive. One haunting aspect is a former super villain who has come up with an interesting way to use her powers to atone for her sins. There's also the fourth chapter of the book that fills in details of Alex growing up and her relationship with his family and the family's favorite pet. The fourth chapter alone is worth the price of admission for this book, but I'd say it's far more affecting having spent the first three chapters getting to know Alex and her world.
As if all that weren't enough, each page of the comic includes an aside from the authors, highlighting certain aspects of the story, deconstructing what is happening on the panels above or offering asides that will tickle your funny bone or offer character insight. (One of them pokes fun at the reader's attempt to read more significance than is necessarily there by pointing out how the author drew the inspiration. Again, more than worth the price of admission).
After reading four chapters of Strong Female Protagonist, I'm intrigued enough to want to read more about Alex and her world. I'll happily tune in to new installments as their released on-line at Strong Female Protagonist and hope that this won't be the only collection of this comic that we get to see on our shelves.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This web-comic takes ingredients from some of the main-stream comic publishing events (Marvel's Civil War springs to mind) and the sensibility of Buffy and other Whedon-verse shows to offer us the story of Alex Green. Once known as Mega Girl and part of an elite fighting force of superheroes, Alex publicly unmasked and is trying to live a normal life. As a freshman in college, Alex struggles with the remnants of her fame, including a professor who holds an obvious grudge against her (and when it's revealed why, it's one of the most heartbreaking and moving moments in a story filled with them) and the fact that she can't stop at fast food place to enjoy a burger and fries without being recognized.
As a deconstruction of super hero stories, Strong Female Protagonist works extremely well. But more than that, the story is a compelling, fascinating character examination of not only Alex but also others affected by the realization that they have super powers. It's a world where these powers have consequences, both negative and positive. One haunting aspect is a former super villain who has come up with an interesting way to use her powers to atone for her sins. There's also the fourth chapter of the book that fills in details of Alex growing up and her relationship with his family and the family's favorite pet. The fourth chapter alone is worth the price of admission for this book, but I'd say it's far more affecting having spent the first three chapters getting to know Alex and her world.
As if all that weren't enough, each page of the comic includes an aside from the authors, highlighting certain aspects of the story, deconstructing what is happening on the panels above or offering asides that will tickle your funny bone or offer character insight. (One of them pokes fun at the reader's attempt to read more significance than is necessarily there by pointing out how the author drew the inspiration. Again, more than worth the price of admission).
After reading four chapters of Strong Female Protagonist, I'm intrigued enough to want to read more about Alex and her world. I'll happily tune in to new installments as their released on-line at Strong Female Protagonist and hope that this won't be the only collection of this comic that we get to see on our shelves.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 16, 2016
I actually read this in webcomic form, but I'm going to have to go out and buy this because I /loved/ it. This is my most philosophical, thought-provoking read in a long time. This examines superheros in so many different ways, presenting a whole array of ways to look at that possibility while tying them into a bigger narrative of power dynamics between people. Except that it's also just Allison's life, trying to discover who she is since she decided (as a teenager) to quit being a superhero while still wanting to save the world. Also feminist as fuck. This is dense and weighty while being funny and engrossing. Like Nimona, I'd heard this was good in a general way, but I had no idea what I was getting into. I actually think this would be a cool book club read. It definitely brings up a lot of points of discussion. I've caught up with the webcomic now, but I'm tempted to just start over again. I'm still craving that reading experience.
December 27, 2014
*** Received from NetGalley in exchange for honest review. ***
Strong Female Protagonist is a tie-in of webcomics about Alison Green, a retired super-heroine. With other teenage superheroes, she used to fight crime with her superstrength, but eventually she decided to lead a normal life and go to college.
To be honest, it's been a month since I read the first sixty pages and besides some accidents with her superstrength I can't recall what was going on. It happens to me only rarely that I don't finish something. I usually make myself to do it, it might take a month or a year but I usually do it eventually. But with this one, I just couldn't. I'm about 60 pages in and I lost any interest I could have had to read this comic book. And that was a month ago so I don't think there's any chance I will finish this.
I wanted to say some good things about this comic book but I don't think I actually liked anything about it. Starting with the art, it wasn't appealing at all to me. It's black and white and bit shaky. And I realize the ebook version is not a great quality but in this case it was just plain annoying. What I thought from the beginning and I know for sure is that a colour makes it better - apparently the new parts of the webcomic are in colour and it makes it so much better!
What I found most annoying were the bottom explanation lines that are not in the original webcomic but were for some reason added here. I don't know if they're supposed to be funny or helpful but for me they were very distracting. (And I tried skipping them but it's always weird when there's always one more like to read on the page and you just skip it.)
As for the main character, Alison, there just wasn't anything I could relate to and she just wasn't interesting at all. She was incredibly whiny, which is probably the main reason I didn't care at all about her history nor her future. She is super strong but she doesn't seem to control her power very much which seems to be a reason of her insecurities. I think the insecurity was supposed to make her more human but it just make me dislike her more.
The only reason Alison is called strong female protagonist is because she's physically strong. And maybe I'm just too dismissive with her but to me she's just... not anyone I want to read about.
I think it might be better to actually follow the comic series on the website because I can't stand this for longer time periods... I wanted to like it but it just didn't happen.
Strong Female Protagonist is a tie-in of webcomics about Alison Green, a retired super-heroine. With other teenage superheroes, she used to fight crime with her superstrength, but eventually she decided to lead a normal life and go to college.
To be honest, it's been a month since I read the first sixty pages and besides some accidents with her superstrength I can't recall what was going on. It happens to me only rarely that I don't finish something. I usually make myself to do it, it might take a month or a year but I usually do it eventually. But with this one, I just couldn't. I'm about 60 pages in and I lost any interest I could have had to read this comic book. And that was a month ago so I don't think there's any chance I will finish this.
I wanted to say some good things about this comic book but I don't think I actually liked anything about it. Starting with the art, it wasn't appealing at all to me. It's black and white and bit shaky. And I realize the ebook version is not a great quality but in this case it was just plain annoying. What I thought from the beginning and I know for sure is that a colour makes it better - apparently the new parts of the webcomic are in colour and it makes it so much better!
What I found most annoying were the bottom explanation lines that are not in the original webcomic but were for some reason added here. I don't know if they're supposed to be funny or helpful but for me they were very distracting. (And I tried skipping them but it's always weird when there's always one more like to read on the page and you just skip it.)
As for the main character, Alison, there just wasn't anything I could relate to and she just wasn't interesting at all. She was incredibly whiny, which is probably the main reason I didn't care at all about her history nor her future. She is super strong but she doesn't seem to control her power very much which seems to be a reason of her insecurities. I think the insecurity was supposed to make her more human but it just make me dislike her more.
The only reason Alison is called strong female protagonist is because she's physically strong. And maybe I'm just too dismissive with her but to me she's just... not anyone I want to read about.
I think it might be better to actually follow the comic series on the website because I can't stand this for longer time periods... I wanted to like it but it just didn't happen.
April 5, 2019
This story opens with Allison Green, retired superhero, celebrating her 20th birthday and heading home to college after winter break. In a moment of inattention she steps in front of a bus- which severely damages the bus but does not effect her at all, since she developed powers of super strength and invulnerability at puberty. She is one of many teens world wide gifted or cursed with biodynamism, the sudden unexplained onset of powers of various usefulness (think X-men). She and three others formed a crime-fighting team called The Guardians and skipped high school to take down a handful of villains and save the world a few times. It was only when Allison faced down her greatest nemesis, the mind-reading, hyper-intelligent Menace and talked to him that she realized how very little she really knew about the world. She unmasked herself and went back to school to focus on problems that are harder to beat with a punch in the face: poverty, inequality, the energy crisis, domestic violence, and global peace. This is one of the smartest, most nuanced and thought provoking superhero series I've ever read. It's also one of artist Molly Ostertag's earliest published works. Compared to her current work, the art is rough, especially right at the beginning. But it's a kick to see her work develop throughout the story, which was originally posted online as a webcomic (and is still available to read for free at https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com).
June 14, 2018
This may be the most thoughtful book about superheroes I've ever read. Alison Green used to be Mega Girl. She was really good at punching robots... until she discovered that punching robots couldn't save the world. Now she's in college, trying to live a normal life and figure out how to actually save the world. But things are more complicated when you have superpowers.
There is so much heart in this book, so much love for Alison, and Alison has such deep love for people. Mulligan and Ostertag explore the question of what you should do with your abilities, whatever they may be. And they do it well. The second book came out since I first started recommending this series, and it was completely satisfying. We're definitely in for the third!
You can read Strong Female Protagonist online, since it was a webcomic before being collected in book form. The printed book has an advantage, though, because they included a line at the bottom of every page that's semi-hidden as mouseover text in the webcomic. It's like director's commentary, but bite-size and funny. I like the book lettering better, too.
There is so much heart in this book, so much love for Alison, and Alison has such deep love for people. Mulligan and Ostertag explore the question of what you should do with your abilities, whatever they may be. And they do it well. The second book came out since I first started recommending this series, and it was completely satisfying. We're definitely in for the third!
You can read Strong Female Protagonist online, since it was a webcomic before being collected in book form. The printed book has an advantage, though, because they included a line at the bottom of every page that's semi-hidden as mouseover text in the webcomic. It's like director's commentary, but bite-size and funny. I like the book lettering better, too.
February 7, 2017
OMFG. That was amazing! Succeeds where all the other superhero-am-I-really-doing-any-lasting-good? Or because-I-can-save-the-world-does-that-mean-I-should storylines fail .... because really that is the whole storyline: a former "superhero" who's admitted she's just a kid who doesn't know what she's doing and goes on to try and figure out what is the best thing to do with her life as a human. Feels all around, a family unit (she's not an orphan!) everyone will wish was theirs, and some good old fashioned moral dilemmas that don't actually have answers. Thank you for this!
December 25, 2025
Love this deconstruction of super-heroism that leans more into philosophy and ethics rather than “what if Superman BAD 😳 SO EDGY!!”
You can tell Brennan was a philosophy major for sure.
You can tell Brennan was a philosophy major for sure.
February 17, 2018
This. This is what The Adventures of Superhero Girl wants to be when it grows up.
While it does improve markedly, the art early on was occasionally a problem. It looks like a series of concept drawings, and sloppy composition had word balloons pointing to the wrong character a couple times. Also, the baggage-laden title could use some work.
But it's damned smart, challenging writing. Alison is a 19yo retired Superman-esque superhero, a sophomore in college, and a frustrated idealist. She wrestles with life as a reluctant celebrity, her failure to have any lasting impact on the world, her developing identity, her responsibilities to family, friends, and the world at large. Various opinions are proffered about what precisely are the world's problems and which strategies stand a chance at improving things. There are no easy answers. It rings wonderfully true.
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Re-read 2/17/18. Damn I love this book.
"At the end of the day, the problem is education. Without an educated population, it doesn't matter what other problems you try to tackle. It's not gonna work. Think of how much less powerful campaign contributions would be if people had the critical thinking skills to see through advertising? Think of how many of our problems are based just on pure ignorance, whether it's antiscience people or bigots or whatever."
"An adult human being is the most fearsome, terrifying, and powerful animal on the planet, and parenting is the act of creating an adult human being."
While it does improve markedly, the art early on was occasionally a problem. It looks like a series of concept drawings, and sloppy composition had word balloons pointing to the wrong character a couple times. Also, the baggage-laden title could use some work.
But it's damned smart, challenging writing. Alison is a 19yo retired Superman-esque superhero, a sophomore in college, and a frustrated idealist. She wrestles with life as a reluctant celebrity, her failure to have any lasting impact on the world, her developing identity, her responsibilities to family, friends, and the world at large. Various opinions are proffered about what precisely are the world's problems and which strategies stand a chance at improving things. There are no easy answers. It rings wonderfully true.
------------------------
Re-read 2/17/18. Damn I love this book.
"At the end of the day, the problem is education. Without an educated population, it doesn't matter what other problems you try to tackle. It's not gonna work. Think of how much less powerful campaign contributions would be if people had the critical thinking skills to see through advertising? Think of how many of our problems are based just on pure ignorance, whether it's antiscience people or bigots or whatever."
"An adult human being is the most fearsome, terrifying, and powerful animal on the planet, and parenting is the act of creating an adult human being."
November 29, 2014
Five stars, which is what I give to books so good I believe you should read them even if they are not your genre at all. It's also all free online, at Strong Female Protagonist.
I started reading it expecting... a kind of comedy of manners, I guess. Superhero dealing with university life! How wacky, yeah?
Twenty pages in, it hooked me. It got... well, it wasn't ever un-smart, but it got pointed. Then there was the TV interview scene in issue 2, and issue 3 has a beautiful story arc with Feral. I really cannot summarize it, but you can read it! It's free online! And it's just...
I am not doing it justice, but it's so damn thoughtful. The comic basically takes the statement "There are superheroes!" and answers it with "So what?" Not a dismissive so what, not a trite so what, a genuinely thoughtful and considerate examination of the question. And it's beautiful.
(And my copy of the book has Feral and Menace hand-drawn on the signed frontispiece. You cannot imagine the squee.)
I started reading it expecting... a kind of comedy of manners, I guess. Superhero dealing with university life! How wacky, yeah?
Twenty pages in, it hooked me. It got... well, it wasn't ever un-smart, but it got pointed. Then there was the TV interview scene in issue 2, and issue 3 has a beautiful story arc with Feral. I really cannot summarize it, but you can read it! It's free online! And it's just...
I am not doing it justice, but it's so damn thoughtful. The comic basically takes the statement "There are superheroes!" and answers it with "So what?" Not a dismissive so what, not a trite so what, a genuinely thoughtful and considerate examination of the question. And it's beautiful.
(And my copy of the book has Feral and Menace hand-drawn on the signed frontispiece. You cannot imagine the squee.)
January 31, 2016
Strong female protagonist is a bind up of 5 issues of a webseries that got funding through kickstarter to become this little book.
I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels as they never have enough story for my liking.
Overall it was an ok experience but not one that I'll be tripping over myself to recommend.
I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels as they never have enough story for my liking.
Overall it was an ok experience but not one that I'll be tripping over myself to recommend.
March 29, 2020
Was a bit muddled at the beginning but it picked up steam and ended up being a really lovely comic - and funny - and human - and of course great art by Molly Ostertag! This is sort of a Watchmen lite - it questions the idea that superheroes are inherently moral.
September 7, 2016
Strong Female Protagonist is exactly what I want in a story about tights and capes. Not only is this wonderful graphic novel full of well written characters and wonderful art, but it does what many superhero stories are afraid to do. It asks the reader to apply the idea of real world consequences to the familiar landscape of a superhero narrative.
Strong Female Protagonist is not about the Kick! Punch! Bang!. (Although there is certainly some of that.) Instead, its primary focus is centered on building a world that is grounded in reality with all the fun parts of human nature and those pesky gray areas.
What would really happen if young children began to develop super powers? What do superheroes and villains do to our sense of morality? What is the real fall out when innocent lives and property become collateral damage in a bigger fight? What is the political and global response outside of the USA? How do people with powers who don't wear tights integrate into society?
All of these concepts are wrapped around the story of Alison Green, a young woman and former superhero. After she revealed her own secret identity to the world in attempt to break free from it she is just a girl trying to attend college and live her life as best she can. Her friends, her family, and her personal opinions about what makes a superhero is the centre to what is clearly a personal journey and a mysterious evil force still stalking her life. She is a legitimately interesting character with motivations that make me want to keep reading.
If you are the kind of person who when reading a comic or watching the latest blockbuster has to stop and ask yourself what would really happen then this graphic novel will probably be for you. Strong Female Protagonist is essentially CONSEQUENCES!: The graphic novel and I loved it.
Strong Female Protagonist is not about the Kick! Punch! Bang!. (Although there is certainly some of that.) Instead, its primary focus is centered on building a world that is grounded in reality with all the fun parts of human nature and those pesky gray areas.
What would really happen if young children began to develop super powers? What do superheroes and villains do to our sense of morality? What is the real fall out when innocent lives and property become collateral damage in a bigger fight? What is the political and global response outside of the USA? How do people with powers who don't wear tights integrate into society?
All of these concepts are wrapped around the story of Alison Green, a young woman and former superhero. After she revealed her own secret identity to the world in attempt to break free from it she is just a girl trying to attend college and live her life as best she can. Her friends, her family, and her personal opinions about what makes a superhero is the centre to what is clearly a personal journey and a mysterious evil force still stalking her life. She is a legitimately interesting character with motivations that make me want to keep reading.
If you are the kind of person who when reading a comic or watching the latest blockbuster has to stop and ask yourself what would really happen then this graphic novel will probably be for you. Strong Female Protagonist is essentially CONSEQUENCES!: The graphic novel and I loved it.
May 9, 2019
Well, this was fantastic. I kind of figured it would be, from the moment I spotted it at Fitgers Books. Reasons I love Strong Female Protagonist:
1) The title. I mean, really. It's pretty much my genre kryptonite, as the good folks over at Book Riot would call it.
2) The book's blurb. A former superhero trying to be "normal"? Yes, please.
3) Graphic novel.
4) At the beginning of the first chapter, there's a note that the original online comic had mouseover text, which is included at the bottom of every page. YES. "xkcd," "Dumbing of Age," "Girls with Slingshots"--mouseover text is so much fun, those little notes by the authors/artists about the comic, either a little insertion of opinion or a reaction or some other detail.
5) The story! Of course I loved the story. Alison Green, formerly known as Mega Girl, is just trying to get through her freshman year of college. But try as she might to forget her past, it seems no one around her can. This ranges from inadvertently taking advantage of her invulnerability and super strength, to holding a bit (an understatement in some cases) of a grudge against her because of her abilities. What I just realized, and makes me appreciate this even more, is that even thought there's some stuff that goes down that she must jump into the fray for, the story really isn't focused on some big, overarching bad-guy-versus-good-guy plot. Instead, the story asks some of the more nuanced questions of good versus bad--and what is "good" and what is "bad"? And how do we choose which one we are? Though Alison is a biodymanic human, she still has humanity in spades, and like any young adult, struggles with her identity, with how the world works, and how she relates to and lives in that world.
1) The title. I mean, really. It's pretty much my genre kryptonite, as the good folks over at Book Riot would call it.
2) The book's blurb. A former superhero trying to be "normal"? Yes, please.
3) Graphic novel.
4) At the beginning of the first chapter, there's a note that the original online comic had mouseover text, which is included at the bottom of every page. YES. "xkcd," "Dumbing of Age," "Girls with Slingshots"--mouseover text is so much fun, those little notes by the authors/artists about the comic, either a little insertion of opinion or a reaction or some other detail.
5) The story! Of course I loved the story. Alison Green, formerly known as Mega Girl, is just trying to get through her freshman year of college. But try as she might to forget her past, it seems no one around her can. This ranges from inadvertently taking advantage of her invulnerability and super strength, to holding a bit (an understatement in some cases) of a grudge against her because of her abilities. What I just realized, and makes me appreciate this even more, is that even thought there's some stuff that goes down that she must jump into the fray for, the story really isn't focused on some big, overarching bad-guy-versus-good-guy plot. Instead, the story asks some of the more nuanced questions of good versus bad--and what is "good" and what is "bad"? And how do we choose which one we are? Though Alison is a biodymanic human, she still has humanity in spades, and like any young adult, struggles with her identity, with how the world works, and how she relates to and lives in that world.
July 25, 2018
Interesting and well done, but fairly familiar territory at this point.
February 19, 2019
Read for Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
April 10, 2020
I had no idea what this was about, going into it, so I was surprised to find superheroes!! And as the title indicates, a female superhero. :)
I enjoyed both the art and the storytelling!! I'll definitely read the next volume—interested to find out what happens with Menace and Feral! And Alison's plan to fix the world...I'm interested to see what she might do.
I enjoyed both the art and the storytelling!! I'll definitely read the next volume—interested to find out what happens with Menace and Feral! And Alison's plan to fix the world...I'm interested to see what she might do.
April 23, 2023
Holy crap! SO philosophical! So witty! SO MANY FEELS!
January 2, 2020
2020 is off to a good start, as the first two new full length works that I've read have made it to my favorites shelf. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Popsugar 2020 Challenge: Read a book with an upside down image on the cover
Popsugar 2020 Challenge: Read a book with an upside down image on the cover
November 14, 2014
**A digital reading copy was provided to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
I wanted to love this book... I really, really did. It has an interesting premise, the title is great, and I love that the creators followed through on what they promised. But I only liked it, I couldn't make myself love it.
The world that was created in this series reminded me a little bit of The Incredibles (in a good way). Like The Incredibles, the world knows about the existence of (numerous) superheroes and supervillains. The governments are actively involved in the lives of their superheroes, and there is a lot of collateral damage during the battles between the heroes and the villains. The main difference is that in this story, the superheroes are still very much an active part of maintaining order in this world.
So to briefly sum this up, this is a story about Allison who used to be "Mega-Girl". She threw down her cape, so to speak, and decided to quit being a super-hero and go to college instead. However, she is still very much connected to that world and so it is difficult for her to disassociate with that completely. It was interesting to see Allison struggle with the choices that she made, and there were times that Allison downright surprised me (which was amazing). I also very much enjoyed being privy to Allison's childhood and seeing the path that she was put on, that led her into becoming Mega-Girl.
I am typically not a fan of superhero stories, and so I haven't read much in the genre. But it seemed to me, that the depiction of Allison (both the story AND the illustrations) was influenced by the way women are typically portrayed in most superhero stories/graphic novels. And for that, I applaud them. Allison is a normal-looking girl. She is properly proportioned, she wears normal and comfortable-looking clothes (even as Mega-Girl). And most important of all (at least to me), her story isn't tied into the presence of a significant other. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind boyfriends/girlfriends being in the picture, I just appreciated that she has priorities that don't revolve around finding or maintaining a romantic relationship.
Oh and guess what? Allison also has parents!! I hear that's not a normal thing to happen in the context of a superhero story. And I loved what the authors had to say about that.
However, there were a couple of things that I found a little frustrating. Like The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1, The Faust Act, I found it difficult to keep track of all the superheroes. There was quite a bit of name-dropping, particularly in the first couple of chapters, and eventually I just gave up trying to remember them all and just went on with the story. The second thing that I found frustrating was the font on some of the pages. I couldn't tell if it was because of the digital PDF file that I received, or whether it had to do with the actual print, but it was difficult to read.
Also, I was utterly unaware of the fact that this started off as a web-comic, which was then funded by Kickstarter to become a book. So it completely threw me off when I realized that the comics itself are not in color (especially because I assumed it would be considering the cover). It shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately it did interfere with my personal enjoyment of the story even though the illustrations themselves were quite good.
I would definitely recommend looking at their web-comics linked here. They are updated every Tuesday and Friday.
I wanted to love this book... I really, really did. It has an interesting premise, the title is great, and I love that the creators followed through on what they promised. But I only liked it, I couldn't make myself love it.
The world that was created in this series reminded me a little bit of The Incredibles (in a good way). Like The Incredibles, the world knows about the existence of (numerous) superheroes and supervillains. The governments are actively involved in the lives of their superheroes, and there is a lot of collateral damage during the battles between the heroes and the villains. The main difference is that in this story, the superheroes are still very much an active part of maintaining order in this world.
So to briefly sum this up, this is a story about Allison who used to be "Mega-Girl". She threw down her cape, so to speak, and decided to quit being a super-hero and go to college instead. However, she is still very much connected to that world and so it is difficult for her to disassociate with that completely. It was interesting to see Allison struggle with the choices that she made, and there were times that Allison downright surprised me (which was amazing). I also very much enjoyed being privy to Allison's childhood and seeing the path that she was put on, that led her into becoming Mega-Girl.
I am typically not a fan of superhero stories, and so I haven't read much in the genre. But it seemed to me, that the depiction of Allison (both the story AND the illustrations) was influenced by the way women are typically portrayed in most superhero stories/graphic novels. And for that, I applaud them. Allison is a normal-looking girl. She is properly proportioned, she wears normal and comfortable-looking clothes (even as Mega-Girl). And most important of all (at least to me), her story isn't tied into the presence of a significant other. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind boyfriends/girlfriends being in the picture, I just appreciated that she has priorities that don't revolve around finding or maintaining a romantic relationship.
Oh and guess what? Allison also has parents!! I hear that's not a normal thing to happen in the context of a superhero story. And I loved what the authors had to say about that.
I think it's fascinating that so many fictional heroes are orphans. I know it has deep, profound mythological roots that are significant on a Jungian level, but sometimes the choice to make a character an orphan is because the writer is uninterested in dealing with the main characters' family or finds family life an impediment to their main character's identity. Not exactly intellectual laziness, but also not a purely aesthetic choice.
However, there were a couple of things that I found a little frustrating. Like The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1, The Faust Act, I found it difficult to keep track of all the superheroes. There was quite a bit of name-dropping, particularly in the first couple of chapters, and eventually I just gave up trying to remember them all and just went on with the story. The second thing that I found frustrating was the font on some of the pages. I couldn't tell if it was because of the digital PDF file that I received, or whether it had to do with the actual print, but it was difficult to read.
Also, I was utterly unaware of the fact that this started off as a web-comic, which was then funded by Kickstarter to become a book. So it completely threw me off when I realized that the comics itself are not in color (especially because I assumed it would be considering the cover). It shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately it did interfere with my personal enjoyment of the story even though the illustrations themselves were quite good.
I would definitely recommend looking at their web-comics linked here. They are updated every Tuesday and Friday.
July 6, 2015
DNF.
Things I didn't like, but weren't insurmountable:
- the sketchbook style of the illustration. I feel it distracts from the often-convoluted storyline
- the plot. At times it just came across as trite. I didn't feel like Alison was a strong female protagonist, unless it's a joke on her physical strength. Maybe I missed the joke.
Things that made it DNF:
- The footnotes. On. every. page. It's distracting and it adds NOTHING to the story at all. It's like MST3k is here riffing the book, except the jokes aren't funny and they're meant to somehow enhance the experience but it ends up falling completely flat. It enraged me to the point where I couldn't get past it.
- Name dropping. Because of my rage, I couldn't bond with the characters, so I ended up just getting a little infuriated at the introduction of character names which had ZERO bearing on the story at hand. It felt like talking to hear themselves talk.
Things I didn't like, but weren't insurmountable:
- the sketchbook style of the illustration. I feel it distracts from the often-convoluted storyline
- the plot. At times it just came across as trite. I didn't feel like Alison was a strong female protagonist, unless it's a joke on her physical strength. Maybe I missed the joke.
Things that made it DNF:
- The footnotes. On. every. page. It's distracting and it adds NOTHING to the story at all. It's like MST3k is here riffing the book, except the jokes aren't funny and they're meant to somehow enhance the experience but it ends up falling completely flat. It enraged me to the point where I couldn't get past it.
- Name dropping. Because of my rage, I couldn't bond with the characters, so I ended up just getting a little infuriated at the introduction of character names which had ZERO bearing on the story at hand. It felt like talking to hear themselves talk.
June 22, 2017
This is beyond 5 stars for the concept and compelling direction of, shall we say, critical superhero theory? Also for the complexity of our strong female protagonist, Alison. Also for the commentary on activism, general do-goodery, and the beginnings of nuanced discussions of how to go about healing what is crappy in the world. There are a lot of alsos for this...
Overall a 4.5 for me, as some of the writing landed flat. But, in addition to the bits mentioned above that I am smitten with, I adore the family and friendships, and I will be reading all the continuing story I can get my eyes on online! It leaves you (me!) wanting more of the characters and the story line...what's up, Patrick??
An absolutely recommended read, worthy of adding to your shelves at home -- I even think that younger kids could really get a nice introduction to thinking about power and its impacts from this.
Overall a 4.5 for me, as some of the writing landed flat. But, in addition to the bits mentioned above that I am smitten with, I adore the family and friendships, and I will be reading all the continuing story I can get my eyes on online! It leaves you (me!) wanting more of the characters and the story line...what's up, Patrick??
An absolutely recommended read, worthy of adding to your shelves at home -- I even think that younger kids could really get a nice introduction to thinking about power and its impacts from this.
Did Not Finish
February 1, 2015I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Ehhh. DNF.
I want to love this because the title is awesome and the premise is super interesting, but the execution is going to keep me from finishing or really getting started at all.
The novel needs to be read on Adobe Digital Editions, but it's super poor quality and very hard to read. I attempted to muddle through it for a couple of pages, but it's hard on my eyes. I'm literally squinting while trying to read the text in each panel.
Additionally, the snarky notes from the editors/writers at the bottom of each page are obnoxious and got on my nerves pretty quickly.
Oh well.
Ehhh. DNF.
I want to love this because the title is awesome and the premise is super interesting, but the execution is going to keep me from finishing or really getting started at all.
The novel needs to be read on Adobe Digital Editions, but it's super poor quality and very hard to read. I attempted to muddle through it for a couple of pages, but it's hard on my eyes. I'm literally squinting while trying to read the text in each panel.
Additionally, the snarky notes from the editors/writers at the bottom of each page are obnoxious and got on my nerves pretty quickly.
Oh well.
November 21, 2014
This was a fun comic! I'm not great about keeping up with webcomics, so I probably won't read it in real time, but I'll definitely check out Book Two if they publish it. My favorite character was actually Feral, so I'd love to see more of her, and also to get a better idea of what Patrick is up to.
I know some people found the captions distracting, but I thought they were cute.
Overall I enjoyed this and I'd recommend it to fans of independent comics.
Received from Netgalley.
I know some people found the captions distracting, but I thought they were cute.
Overall I enjoyed this and I'd recommend it to fans of independent comics.
Received from Netgalley.
May 25, 2015
Everyone who loves superheroes should read this book. Everyone who thinks there isn't anything new to say about superheroes should read this book. Everyone who gets sad about the world not being better than it is should read this book. Everyone who wants to change the world should change the world. Everyone should just read it okay, that's what I'm getting at here.
January 3, 2015
First read through NetGalley, and I'm pretty pleased with my selection! Good exploration of how people would deal with real-life superpowered individuals. And the 4-issue/volume collection is a good way to quickly catch up on the webcomic.
November 22, 2014
I loved it. I absolutely adored it. I can't wait to read more in the story.
February 21, 2019
This was an enjoyable graphic novel. I don't have a lot to say about it, the story was interesting and I did want to know what happened to the characters. I'll continue on with the series.
June 15, 2021
Why was this mostly done in black and white? Did I just get a bad copy? I haven't put up with black-and-white comics in decades...
Anyway, this was better than I thought it would be. I'm irritated with the popularity of post-modernism, especially with regards to classic superhero motifs. This was very similar to the Netflix special of "Jupiter's Legacy" from a few weeks ago. Both used some cliché superhero imagery to try to criticize the classic superhero ideology, and whether it's worthwhile.
The protagonist of this story, the former "Mega Girl," irritated me with her recent embrace of Nihilism. Make of it what you will, but Mega Girl is not content with incremental change. She spends most of the story thinking that superheroes and supervillains are all pointless, and that really changing the world is necessary. Fortunately, there was a counterargument raised when Mega Girl is confronted by a superhuman willing to use her regenerative abilities to donate life-saving organs repeatedly, every day. Their ideologies then came into conflict; the regenerative superhuman was trying to save the maximum number of lives she could, while Mega Girl was insisting that this act of heroism was ultimately pointless because it didn't change the underlying institutions in place.
In this scenario I could relate to Feral, the regenerative superhuman. I found myself offended by Mega Girl's philosophy throughout most of this graphic novel, though I could relate to her decision to become a firefighter. (I was only very briefly a firefighter, though I am still technically an EMT.)
Her philosophy is bizarre. She acknowledges that she saved the world by punching out some giant robots. But that degree of change, that level of "helping" somehow isn't enough for her. It's like she suffers from some sort of chronic dissatisfaction. She isn't interested in saving the life of one person, or a small group of people, or even the whole world. At least, not so long as those people will eventually die anyway, or the world will still need saving anyway. This degree of Nihilism is so absurd, it begs the question of why a person should bother living at all, if we are all going to eventually die anyway.
The protagonist also spends a significant chunk of time explaining her own ignorance, and how those with powers don't have any better idea of how to go about saving the world than anyone else. Which, okay, yeah. If the point were simply to emphasize that superheroes and villains are fundamentally ordinary people, I get that. But when she is explaining that she doesn't actually understand what the Pentagon is, or anything else about her objective ignorance?
There's a simple solution, bitch. Go learn.
The idea she was presenting that all superheroes are unqualified is ludicrous. She was really just making an argument for why superheroes should have to undergo rigorous education and licensing requirements. Since I personally am a licensed EMT, licensed attorney, with a degree in social work, and some martial arts training, I know that it's entirely possible to get relevant degrees in superheroics. This particular protagonist became a firefighter, which I will laud as a relevant and useful career choice. Just-- don't stop there. Keep going.
It's like she was making an argument for educating superheroes, while simultaneously acting like it was a foregone conclusion that superheroes weren't going to get said education.
Anyway, this was better than I thought it would be. I'm irritated with the popularity of post-modernism, especially with regards to classic superhero motifs. This was very similar to the Netflix special of "Jupiter's Legacy" from a few weeks ago. Both used some cliché superhero imagery to try to criticize the classic superhero ideology, and whether it's worthwhile.
The protagonist of this story, the former "Mega Girl," irritated me with her recent embrace of Nihilism. Make of it what you will, but Mega Girl is not content with incremental change. She spends most of the story thinking that superheroes and supervillains are all pointless, and that really changing the world is necessary. Fortunately, there was a counterargument raised when Mega Girl is confronted by a superhuman willing to use her regenerative abilities to donate life-saving organs repeatedly, every day. Their ideologies then came into conflict; the regenerative superhuman was trying to save the maximum number of lives she could, while Mega Girl was insisting that this act of heroism was ultimately pointless because it didn't change the underlying institutions in place.
In this scenario I could relate to Feral, the regenerative superhuman. I found myself offended by Mega Girl's philosophy throughout most of this graphic novel, though I could relate to her decision to become a firefighter. (I was only very briefly a firefighter, though I am still technically an EMT.)
Her philosophy is bizarre. She acknowledges that she saved the world by punching out some giant robots. But that degree of change, that level of "helping" somehow isn't enough for her. It's like she suffers from some sort of chronic dissatisfaction. She isn't interested in saving the life of one person, or a small group of people, or even the whole world. At least, not so long as those people will eventually die anyway, or the world will still need saving anyway. This degree of Nihilism is so absurd, it begs the question of why a person should bother living at all, if we are all going to eventually die anyway.
The protagonist also spends a significant chunk of time explaining her own ignorance, and how those with powers don't have any better idea of how to go about saving the world than anyone else. Which, okay, yeah. If the point were simply to emphasize that superheroes and villains are fundamentally ordinary people, I get that. But when she is explaining that she doesn't actually understand what the Pentagon is, or anything else about her objective ignorance?
There's a simple solution, bitch. Go learn.
The idea she was presenting that all superheroes are unqualified is ludicrous. She was really just making an argument for why superheroes should have to undergo rigorous education and licensing requirements. Since I personally am a licensed EMT, licensed attorney, with a degree in social work, and some martial arts training, I know that it's entirely possible to get relevant degrees in superheroics. This particular protagonist became a firefighter, which I will laud as a relevant and useful career choice. Just-- don't stop there. Keep going.
It's like she was making an argument for educating superheroes, while simultaneously acting like it was a foregone conclusion that superheroes weren't going to get said education.
March 9, 2021
Being a huge fan of unconventional superhero stories, this seems like an exciting read. But in the end the excitement was kind of muted by overwriting, undercoloring and overdoing it with the precociously cutesy asides. Which is to say the novel read too long, kind of dragged at times, only the covers were done in color and the inside panels made you wish for same and at the bottom of each page there was some sort of an absolutely unnecessary and only occasionally funny remark existing for seemingly no reason other than to mess with the fourth wall.
The eponymous protagonist is Alison Green, a retired superhero turned college kid and this is a story of her navigating both worlds. In action, Alison had the best powers around and was a force to reckon, outside of it she’s just a kid desperately trying to fit in. Normalcy, as it turns out, is quite an ordeal in itself. And so you get to hang out with her, lots, meet family and friends, former superpowered colleagues and foes, etc.
It’s decent enough of a story, but something doesn’t quite land. And there’s way too much dialogue, it’s a graphic novel…show, don’t tell. For me, the most enjoyable aspect of it was the worldbuilding, a world where superpowered individuals exist side by side with regular people and the way it affects the social dynamics. So that made it more of an interesting than flat out enjoyable read. To be continued…
The eponymous protagonist is Alison Green, a retired superhero turned college kid and this is a story of her navigating both worlds. In action, Alison had the best powers around and was a force to reckon, outside of it she’s just a kid desperately trying to fit in. Normalcy, as it turns out, is quite an ordeal in itself. And so you get to hang out with her, lots, meet family and friends, former superpowered colleagues and foes, etc.
It’s decent enough of a story, but something doesn’t quite land. And there’s way too much dialogue, it’s a graphic novel…show, don’t tell. For me, the most enjoyable aspect of it was the worldbuilding, a world where superpowered individuals exist side by side with regular people and the way it affects the social dynamics. So that made it more of an interesting than flat out enjoyable read. To be continued…
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