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DC: Women of Action
DC: Women of Action is a collection of female Super Heroes and Super-Villains in the DC universe. This book focuses in on the fierce, strong, and independent heroes, along with the real-life women integral to their development.
The gorgeously illustrated volume features Wonder Woman™, Lois Lane, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Amanda Waller, and many more.
• A vivid celebration of the amazing and inspirational women of DC
• Features lush illustrations of each Super Hero and Super-Villain
• Offers fans an enjoyable, in-depth look at their favorite DC women
DC: Women of Action is a celebration of the Super Heroes who have inspired us to reach new heights, find strength in adversity, and access our inner power for decades.
• The perfect gift for DC comic fans, Comic Con attendees, and anyone who loves pop culture and strong female heroes
• Celebrates the women in the DC universe and those behind-the-scenes
• Great for those who loved DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe by Matthew K. Manning and Alex Irvine, DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths by Shea Fontana, and Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
All DC characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s19)
The gorgeously illustrated volume features Wonder Woman™, Lois Lane, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Amanda Waller, and many more.
• A vivid celebration of the amazing and inspirational women of DC
• Features lush illustrations of each Super Hero and Super-Villain
• Offers fans an enjoyable, in-depth look at their favorite DC women
DC: Women of Action is a celebration of the Super Heroes who have inspired us to reach new heights, find strength in adversity, and access our inner power for decades.
• The perfect gift for DC comic fans, Comic Con attendees, and anyone who loves pop culture and strong female heroes
• Celebrates the women in the DC universe and those behind-the-scenes
• Great for those who loved DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe by Matthew K. Manning and Alex Irvine, DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths by Shea Fontana, and Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
All DC characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s19)
176 pages, Hardcover
Published October 22, 2019
23 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Shea Fontana
118 books53 followersShea Fontana is a writer for film, television and graphic novels. Her credits include developing and writing the DC Super Hero Girls animated shorts, TV specials, movies and graphic novels; Polly Pocket (developed and story editor), Doc McStuffins, The 7D, Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets (wrote show bible and first season), Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (story editor), the new Muppet Babies series; two Disney on Ice shows where she wrote new material for the worlds of Mickey Mouse, Inside Out, Disney Princesses, Finding Dori, Frozen, and other Disney and Pixar properties; and the feature film, Crowning Jules. She has also written for top comic titles including Justice League, Wonder Woman, Batman: Overdrive (coming 2019), Catwoman/Looney Tunes, and contributed anthology pieces starring Deathstroke and Teen Titans.
Her DC Super Hero Girls graphic novels have been New York Times Best Sellers. Her debut graphic novel, Finals Crisis, was honored with Diamond's 2016 Gem Award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel, and DC Super Hero Girls: Past Times at Super Hero High won the 2017 Gem Award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel as well as the Comixology Reader's Pick award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel of 2017. DC Super Hero Girls won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel. She was listed 61st on Bleeding Cool’s Power List of Comics for 2018. The London Free Press declared her “not afraid to be corny,” which is an accurate assessment of her persona both on and off the page.
She lives in sunny Los Angeles where she enjoys hiking, hanging out with her beagle, Ziggy, and changing her hair color. Using the secret identity “Shea Q. Off,” Shea played roller derby until her angry knees forced her into early retirement.
Her DC Super Hero Girls graphic novels have been New York Times Best Sellers. Her debut graphic novel, Finals Crisis, was honored with Diamond's 2016 Gem Award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel, and DC Super Hero Girls: Past Times at Super Hero High won the 2017 Gem Award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel as well as the Comixology Reader's Pick award for Best All-Ages Graphic Novel of 2017. DC Super Hero Girls won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel. She was listed 61st on Bleeding Cool’s Power List of Comics for 2018. The London Free Press declared her “not afraid to be corny,” which is an accurate assessment of her persona both on and off the page.
She lives in sunny Los Angeles where she enjoys hiking, hanging out with her beagle, Ziggy, and changing her hair color. Using the secret identity “Shea Q. Off,” Shea played roller derby until her angry knees forced her into early retirement.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 15, 2020
This is pretty much what it appears to be: a celebration of DC Comics women, both characters and creators, with an emphasis on female empowerment. It's not intended as an exhaustive list of either, but more of an introductory level course: Women of DC 101.
For the characters, we get full page portraits--sometimes more than one--and a general overview of their history with emphasis on their most current incarnation. Which makes sense. That's the version of the character that new readers are going to be most familiar with. Pretty much the usual suspects are covered: Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Starfire, Vixen, etc.
For the creators, we get brief bios that make some surprising omissions. For instance, Jill Thompson’s entry makes no mention of Scary Godmother, arguably her most famous creation. It could be argued that, being an indie book rather than a DC publication, they opted not to include it. But Colleen Doran’s entry namechecks her early indie success, A Distant Soil. Louise Simonson’s bio glosses over her entire Marvel career.
In the end, this was a fun, but superficial book. It's a book that will look nice on a coffee table, and will possibly delight fans who know the characters only from movies and TV. But if you're a longtime comics fan, you know most of this stuff already.
For the characters, we get full page portraits--sometimes more than one--and a general overview of their history with emphasis on their most current incarnation. Which makes sense. That's the version of the character that new readers are going to be most familiar with. Pretty much the usual suspects are covered: Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Starfire, Vixen, etc.
For the creators, we get brief bios that make some surprising omissions. For instance, Jill Thompson’s entry makes no mention of Scary Godmother, arguably her most famous creation. It could be argued that, being an indie book rather than a DC publication, they opted not to include it. But Colleen Doran’s entry namechecks her early indie success, A Distant Soil. Louise Simonson’s bio glosses over her entire Marvel career.
In the end, this was a fun, but superficial book. It's a book that will look nice on a coffee table, and will possibly delight fans who know the characters only from movies and TV. But if you're a longtime comics fan, you know most of this stuff already.
June 25, 2020
Great book filled with amazing art & great heroes & villains I can share with my young daughter. It’s a nice overview of the women writers & artists who worked on these wondrous female characters
September 17, 2022
Wow did I overlook and underappreciate this tome the first time I read it over a year ago, and wow did I underestimate its importance, and passion in its writing, expertise, structure, and artwork. Maybe I was just pissed that Amethyst Princess of Gemworld isn't included in her own chapter, even though she is mentioned in the summary of a female DC and Vertigo editor (Karen Berger) in the 'Behind the Scenes' segment at the end of the book, and that's why I rated it three stars and not four. I still think the Amethyst absence is a shame.
Otherwise, 'DC: Women of Action' is pretty brilliant. Reading 'Marvel Fearless and Fantastic!' made me come to my senses, and in my opinion, its DC counterpart in 'Women of Action' is of superior quality.
The fun and life and love come in leaps and bounds out of its every page. I loved reading about the intelligent, thoughtful and warm writings about the history and impact of Wonder Woman, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batwoman, Catwoman, Supergirl, Black Canary, and Jessica Cruz. The shorter chapters on the comparatively lesser-known heroines are still good: there's Power Girl, Big Barda, Raven, Starfire, Zatanna, Huntress, Katana, Renee Montoya, Stargirl, Wonder Girl (every incarnation is mentioned), Carrie Kelly, and Mary Marvel and Darla of the Shazam family. Unlike 'Fearless and Fantastic!', 'Women of Action' doesn't exclude female villains! The Cheetah, Circe, Killer Frost, Granny Goodness, the Women of the League of Assassins (Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, and Chesire), and others are given their due. Civilians or women without superhuman or metahuman powers, or who otherwise have no need of superhero identities, also receive their own gushing chapter, such as Lois Lane, Amanda Waller, and Etta Candy! Barbara Gordon as Oracle has her own chapter separate from Batgirl!
Speaking of Babs, in the Batgirl chapter there is a not-so-subtle jab at the sexist, creepy, disgusting and just plain unnecessary Batgirl and Batman romance that keeps popping up in DC media outside of the comics. Nice. Much appreciated.
Power Girl's chapter needed to be longer, though. And why the everloving hell was Batwoman/Kate Kane's twin sister not mentioned at all in her bio? Why not give Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown their own Batgirl chapters? They deserve it. At least give Stephanie as Spoiler a bio page. Same goes for Donna Troy and Cassandra Sandsmark in their roles as separate Wonder Girls. Nubia definitely should have had her own chapter, as well.
Oh well. I guess you can't have it all when it comes to detailing superheroes with decades of history to them, within the limitations of a publication such as this.
The artistry of each of these superwomen and girls is gorgeous. Bold and beautiful, to reflect the women of action.
For passionate, feminist info on the best and most diverse superheroines in the DCU (this book is definitely pro-trans rights - it mentions Barbara's friend Alysia Yeoh as the first transgender character in mainstream comics - and includes quotes from trans authors, and it lists nonbinary artists, writers and contributors), 'DC: Women of Action' is for you, the fangirl, the fanboy, the geek, the fan.
'DC: Women of Action' - how fun and feminist! Recommended.
Final Score: 4/5
Otherwise, 'DC: Women of Action' is pretty brilliant. Reading 'Marvel Fearless and Fantastic!' made me come to my senses, and in my opinion, its DC counterpart in 'Women of Action' is of superior quality.
The fun and life and love come in leaps and bounds out of its every page. I loved reading about the intelligent, thoughtful and warm writings about the history and impact of Wonder Woman, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batwoman, Catwoman, Supergirl, Black Canary, and Jessica Cruz. The shorter chapters on the comparatively lesser-known heroines are still good: there's Power Girl, Big Barda, Raven, Starfire, Zatanna, Huntress, Katana, Renee Montoya, Stargirl, Wonder Girl (every incarnation is mentioned), Carrie Kelly, and Mary Marvel and Darla of the Shazam family. Unlike 'Fearless and Fantastic!', 'Women of Action' doesn't exclude female villains! The Cheetah, Circe, Killer Frost, Granny Goodness, the Women of the League of Assassins (Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, and Chesire), and others are given their due. Civilians or women without superhuman or metahuman powers, or who otherwise have no need of superhero identities, also receive their own gushing chapter, such as Lois Lane, Amanda Waller, and Etta Candy! Barbara Gordon as Oracle has her own chapter separate from Batgirl!
Speaking of Babs, in the Batgirl chapter there is a not-so-subtle jab at the sexist, creepy, disgusting and just plain unnecessary Batgirl and Batman romance that keeps popping up in DC media outside of the comics. Nice. Much appreciated.
Power Girl's chapter needed to be longer, though. And why the everloving hell was Batwoman/Kate Kane's twin sister not mentioned at all in her bio? Why not give Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown their own Batgirl chapters? They deserve it. At least give Stephanie as Spoiler a bio page. Same goes for Donna Troy and Cassandra Sandsmark in their roles as separate Wonder Girls. Nubia definitely should have had her own chapter, as well.
Oh well. I guess you can't have it all when it comes to detailing superheroes with decades of history to them, within the limitations of a publication such as this.
The artistry of each of these superwomen and girls is gorgeous. Bold and beautiful, to reflect the women of action.
For passionate, feminist info on the best and most diverse superheroines in the DCU (this book is definitely pro-trans rights - it mentions Barbara's friend Alysia Yeoh as the first transgender character in mainstream comics - and includes quotes from trans authors, and it lists nonbinary artists, writers and contributors), 'DC: Women of Action' is for you, the fangirl, the fanboy, the geek, the fan.
'DC: Women of Action' - how fun and feminist! Recommended.
Final Score: 4/5
March 26, 2021
I’m a huge fan of DC/Vertigo but on the Vertigo side of things. Traditional superhero comics don’t do much for me and it takes a while to get into the movies too. I checked this book out because just to find out how many women of action I would know/recognize/be interested in. Turns out quite a few, thanks to the movies, the latest DC ones have been doing a far superior job with female casting than the male one. In fact, female superheroes movies have been far superior.
At any rate, this is a fairly basic overview, it provides a few page entry for each character and one or two pages of art. It also features short bios of the women behind the scenes, writers, letterers, creators, editors, etc. It turns out that DC is very female friendly, like awesomely so, and has been for decades, hiring and promoting women who in turn created and promoted all sorts of stories of female empowerment and expanding representation to not only more women of action, but also more women of various minorities, etc. So kudos to DC.
The book though…well, it’s kind of like a coffee table book. The writing’s very basic, very all age appropriate, very generic and presents as very self promotional. In fact if someone ever says something about DC’s scarcity of female representation, DC can wallop them with this book as a counteraction. But the main thing with coffee table books is usually the art, right? And the art here really, really underwhelmed. Most of the character art had a very similar style to it, some of the traditional superhero variety and entirely too many of a weirdly teeny boppy cartoony sort of thing that really didn’t sing for me at all. Actually, I was surprised to find out how many different artists (all female or queer, of course) were featured, because the art was so indistinct. And sure, it’s DC, they must have a certain look and style they go for, so some sort of uniformity must be expected, but if these are the best female artists working today, I am not impressed. I shall have to do further research to find some I like.
So overall, it was ok, a perfectly decent, inoffensive, generic and wildly self congratulatory promo. It read very quickly, maybe 115 minutes or so and the comic geek in me delighted at a few things here and there. Go DC, represent, girl power and all that. And thanks to the lasso of truth, this review is 100% authentic.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
At any rate, this is a fairly basic overview, it provides a few page entry for each character and one or two pages of art. It also features short bios of the women behind the scenes, writers, letterers, creators, editors, etc. It turns out that DC is very female friendly, like awesomely so, and has been for decades, hiring and promoting women who in turn created and promoted all sorts of stories of female empowerment and expanding representation to not only more women of action, but also more women of various minorities, etc. So kudos to DC.
The book though…well, it’s kind of like a coffee table book. The writing’s very basic, very all age appropriate, very generic and presents as very self promotional. In fact if someone ever says something about DC’s scarcity of female representation, DC can wallop them with this book as a counteraction. But the main thing with coffee table books is usually the art, right? And the art here really, really underwhelmed. Most of the character art had a very similar style to it, some of the traditional superhero variety and entirely too many of a weirdly teeny boppy cartoony sort of thing that really didn’t sing for me at all. Actually, I was surprised to find out how many different artists (all female or queer, of course) were featured, because the art was so indistinct. And sure, it’s DC, they must have a certain look and style they go for, so some sort of uniformity must be expected, but if these are the best female artists working today, I am not impressed. I shall have to do further research to find some I like.
So overall, it was ok, a perfectly decent, inoffensive, generic and wildly self congratulatory promo. It read very quickly, maybe 115 minutes or so and the comic geek in me delighted at a few things here and there. Go DC, represent, girl power and all that. And thanks to the lasso of truth, this review is 100% authentic.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
January 7, 2021
If I hadn’t read the Marvel equivalent first, I might have rated this book higher. Overall it falls short of giving real details about some amazing women characters that I would have loved to find out more about. Instead many women have a large paragraph and that’s it. I expected better and was disappointed.
November 27, 2022
As someone who is more familiar with Marvel than DC, this book was very informative. I met some new characters and learned some new things about the ones I already knew. The illustrations were very cool as well.
October 11, 2019
Great illustrations and information about DC super she-roes.
March 18, 2024
Loved, loved, loved this book! I especially admire how Shea Fontana included all the women at DC- both superheroes (Super Hero as they're classified in this book) and villains! Starting off with full page illustrations of Wonder Woman and reading up on when she first appeared, and how her character arcs progressed with the decades was such a nostalgic ride! Some notable women I didn't know existed - Big Barda, Thunder and Lightning, Circe, Silver Banshee, Renee Montoya, Carrie Kelley, Granny Goodness, Mary and Darla from the Shazam Family and lastly the Bombshells.... wowzers these women are truly underrated both on the big and small screens!
Can't wait to read more on DC characters! Also the artists involved in this book- really inspiring people! 👏
Can't wait to read more on DC characters! Also the artists involved in this book- really inspiring people! 👏
June 9, 2022
FR
Que voulez-vous que je vous dise. C'est du DC; ce sont les femmes qu'on aime, d'autres qu'on aime pas trop. Et celles qui ont participés à leur création. Et d'autres femmes.
Célébrons juste ces femmes; c'est aussi simple que ça !!!!
ENG
What do you want me to tell you. It's DC; it's the women we love, others we don't like too much. And those who participated in their creation. And other women.
Let's just celebrate these women; It's that simple !!!!
Que voulez-vous que je vous dise. C'est du DC; ce sont les femmes qu'on aime, d'autres qu'on aime pas trop. Et celles qui ont participés à leur création. Et d'autres femmes.
Célébrons juste ces femmes; c'est aussi simple que ça !!!!
ENG
What do you want me to tell you. It's DC; it's the women we love, others we don't like too much. And those who participated in their creation. And other women.
Let's just celebrate these women; It's that simple !!!!
August 24, 2021
Ik heb veel bijgeleerd over de personages in het DC universum. Ik heb nieuwe personages ontdekt en bewondert. Ik wist niet dat er zo veel queer helden waren. Het boek opende mijn ogen. Ik ben nu een grotere DC fan dan Marvel fan omdat ik het gevoel heb dat de DC vrouwen meer empowering zijn dan die van Marvel.
May 2, 2023
I read this as an in between book while still being in a DC mood. As someone who can't read TV Tropes pages for comic books because the long histories confuse me, this book did a good job of explaining how some characters were reintroduced through generations. I liked the quotes from the artists/writers behind the scenes, too.
June 4, 2020
Incredible, insightful and empowering.
January 11, 2021
Overall pretty good but it needed more useless facts and information on characters.
July 26, 2021
This was fun and I liked seeing the different art styles.
January 25, 2022
Really cool
April 28, 2025
2.5 ⭐ Una enciclopedia super básica de DC, le falta mucha información
January 3, 2023
I liked seeing all the DC women superheroes and how they differ between universes but it definitely became apparent that there needs to be more BIPOC main heroes. It's good DC is doing it now though :)
January 22, 2020
Great choice having Shea Fontana, the creator of DC Super Hero Girls, write this reference book on the women of the DC universe. Certainly that was a big reason I picked it up. Super Hero Girls introduced me to a bunch of characters I knew nothing about so it was nice to get the history of them as well as others I didn't know. Also nice to see my gals Wondy and Lois getting their due. Felt like the section on the DC writers and artists was a little thin but that's just a small quibble. I now have a list of titles to check out thanks to this book.
Read
January 9, 2020It was very entertaining. Fontana gave a short but informative description of virtually all of DC's female heroes. She also gives a short bio of many of the female creative people responsible for the hereos.
December 28, 2019
If you need a reminder of just how deep DC’s bench of characters is, this will provide it. DC Super Hero Girls show runner Shea Fontana takes a tour through the top 50 or so of DC’s best female heroes, villains, and in-betweens. The corporate history is a little bit sanitized, but it’s fun flipping through the characters, reading their back stories, and imagining directions that new books about them could take.
There’s also a too-short but interesting chapter of write-ups of DC’s women creatives, going all the way back through Louise Simonson and Karen Berger to Dorothy Woolfolk, who was editing comics (and Wonder Woman) in 1942!
There’s also a too-short but interesting chapter of write-ups of DC’s women creatives, going all the way back through Louise Simonson and Karen Berger to Dorothy Woolfolk, who was editing comics (and Wonder Woman) in 1942!
November 3, 2019
A gorgeous celebration of the powerful women of the DC Universe. IT even has profiles on some of the complex female villains in the DC pantheon. I loved the artistic renderings of the characters and the bios. A wonderful celebration of female characters.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews