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Girl Comics #1-3
Girl Comics
Marvel is proud to bring you a celebration of amazing women in comics with a brand-new anthology created entirely by the most talented and exciting women working in comics today, including Ann Nocenti (DAREDEVIL), Valerie D'Orazio (PUNISHER), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Laura Martin (SECRET INVASION), G. Willow Wilson (Air), Devin Grayson (NIGHTWING), Stephanie Buscema (WEB OF SPIDER-MAN), and more! With stories featuring your favorite Marvel characters, from the Punisher to Mary Jane, don't miss what will be one of the most talked-about series of the year!
COLLECTING:
Girl Comics #1-3
COLLECTING:
Girl Comics #1-3
168 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Colleen Coover
111 books93 followersColleen Coover is an Eisner Award-winning comic book artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her comics include the adult title Small Favors and the all-ages Banana Sunday. She has been published by Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Marvel, and many others. She works with her husband, writer Paul Tobin, on the acclaimed series Bandette.
Bandette received the Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2013, 2016, and 2017. It was listed by YALSA as a Great Graphic Novel For Teens in 2014 and 2017.
Small Favors, originally printed by the Eros imprint of Fantagraphics Books, has now been reprinted in its entirety by Limerence Press.
Bandette received the Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2013, 2016, and 2017. It was listed by YALSA as a Great Graphic Novel For Teens in 2014 and 2017.
Small Favors, originally printed by the Eros imprint of Fantagraphics Books, has now been reprinted in its entirety by Limerence Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 7, 2012
This is a charming project Marvel presented in a three issue miniseries and collected in this hardcover. It features the comic books industry’s top female creators on their top female characters. It is a great line-up, featuring a mix of A-list creators and up and coming indie newcomers. The collection evokes a mix of nostalgia and edgy underground feel. It is a great book to have just to see Louise Simonson and June Brigman work on their original creation Power Pack again, Colleen Coover’s retro sensibilities in the opening strips and Jill Thompson’s painted Inhumans short story and cover. Current independent comics darlings Carla Speed McNeil, Faith Erin Hicks and Ming Doyle show off their unique styling that made them critical favorites and apply them to Marvel characters.
This is a great book and the work that the newcomers pour in here only proves they are ready for prime time. Theirs is a unique and refreshing take on what has become a derivative superhero genre. It is a slim volume but each story in it is a satisfying read by itself since it is one and done and with no continuity baggage. It is a nice change of pace from reading a lot of mainstream action and adventures stories. It has an edgy indie vibe and proves that Marvel isn’t afraid to experiment with genre bending projects.
This is easily a 4 star book and it is easily accessible for new readers eager to sample superhero stories without all the violence and issues and back stories to follow.
This is a great book and the work that the newcomers pour in here only proves they are ready for prime time. Theirs is a unique and refreshing take on what has become a derivative superhero genre. It is a slim volume but each story in it is a satisfying read by itself since it is one and done and with no continuity baggage. It is a nice change of pace from reading a lot of mainstream action and adventures stories. It has an edgy indie vibe and proves that Marvel isn’t afraid to experiment with genre bending projects.
This is easily a 4 star book and it is easily accessible for new readers eager to sample superhero stories without all the violence and issues and back stories to follow.
January 29, 2015
*Shallow Comic Reader Buddy Read* Books with female leads
Hmm. This was interesting. A collection of shorts entirely by female creators, featuring Marvel characters.
Some of these made sense. Others didn't.
Some were cute. Others weren't.
The best part were the biographies of female pioneers in the comics world.
Not sure I can really recommend this to anyone, but it's a short read if you have some time to spare.
Hmm. This was interesting. A collection of shorts entirely by female creators, featuring Marvel characters.
Some of these made sense. Others didn't.
Some were cute. Others weren't.
The best part were the biographies of female pioneers in the comics world.
Not sure I can really recommend this to anyone, but it's a short read if you have some time to spare.
July 31, 2014
I really wanted this to not be terrible but it kind of was.
First off, this collection is not based on female superheroes as the title led me to believe, it actually focuses on the fact that everyone in this collection who wrote/illustrated/edited/etc. was female. (This isn’t completely true but close enough)
These stories are very short and vary in art style and subject matter. Scattered throughout the book, between the stories are biographies of influential and successful female Marvel writers and illustrators.
Unfortunately, all of these stories really really suck. There is little to no action. Instead of seeing our favorite superheroes fight crime we see them getting their hair done, drinking at a bar, or shopping at the grocery store, gee how fun and exciting.
There are some really nice cover art pieces and one or two entertaining stories such as “A Brief Rendezvous” starring the Punisher, “Head Space” with Jean Grey, and my personal favorite “Doom love’s Sue” because the idea of Human Torch and the Thing prank calling Dr. Doom pretending to be Galactus is pretty funny.
The worst of the worst has to be the disastrous story about Venus trying to become the fashion editor of a beauty magazine, I kid you not.
Still, some of the stories had some really nice art and none of them were very long. It was also semi-interesting to read some of the biographies.
I love humor and camp but there has to be balance with action and an actual plot, this mostly just ended up being ridiculous.
First off, this collection is not based on female superheroes as the title led me to believe, it actually focuses on the fact that everyone in this collection who wrote/illustrated/edited/etc. was female. (This isn’t completely true but close enough)
These stories are very short and vary in art style and subject matter. Scattered throughout the book, between the stories are biographies of influential and successful female Marvel writers and illustrators.
Unfortunately, all of these stories really really suck. There is little to no action. Instead of seeing our favorite superheroes fight crime we see them getting their hair done, drinking at a bar, or shopping at the grocery store, gee how fun and exciting.
There are some really nice cover art pieces and one or two entertaining stories such as “A Brief Rendezvous” starring the Punisher, “Head Space” with Jean Grey, and my personal favorite “Doom love’s Sue” because the idea of Human Torch and the Thing prank calling Dr. Doom pretending to be Galactus is pretty funny.
The worst of the worst has to be the disastrous story about Venus trying to become the fashion editor of a beauty magazine, I kid you not.
Still, some of the stories had some really nice art and none of them were very long. It was also semi-interesting to read some of the biographies.
I love humor and camp but there has to be balance with action and an actual plot, this mostly just ended up being ridiculous.
September 11, 2014
Well the title misled me as to what this collection was. I thought it was based on female superheroes; instead, it highlights that everyone who worked on this book was female. I am all about girl power, but it's just very disappointing that this was as awful as it was. While there were a few art covers that were lovely, there was no story to accompany them. The rest of the art was cartoon-y to the point of childishness, but of course, this was the artwork that had the "plots." There was no action. Our favourite leading ladies hardly appear and, when they do, it's in stereotypical roles. So much for that.
October 28, 2011
This comic led me to question why there aren't many women working in the comics industry. I used to believe it was due to sexism or cultural influences, but now, as terrible as it sounds, I'm starting to question whether women just tend to be shit at comics.
Because Girl Comics is a terrible collection of stories. I can think of only three out of all of them that were actually enjoyable to read. And sadly, they were some of the shortest stories as well.
If you want to see good comics done by women look elsewhere.
Because Girl Comics is a terrible collection of stories. I can think of only three out of all of them that were actually enjoyable to read. And sadly, they were some of the shortest stories as well.
If you want to see good comics done by women look elsewhere.
September 29, 2011
I was unsure what to expect when I picked this up. My past experiences with comic anthologies have not been good, and I was a little afraid that the potential feminist tone of the book would come off as to obnoxious.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. Don't get me wrong, half the stories in here were not even worth reading, but that's par the course of anthology's. It was MUCH better than the other comic anthologies I've read which tended to have at the most only ONE story I felt was worth reading.
The Punisher story, of him pretending to be an under age kid to set up and kill a pedophile was perfect for short story medium and I really liked the set up of the narration being their online text conversation. The story of Jean Grey reading Scott Summer's fears was also perfect for the medium and well delivered. I think my favorite short was the one that followed the Subhumans trying to give Lockjaw a bath. It was a funny little story, once again perfect for this medium, and on top of that I REALLY liked the art. It definitely wasn't normal super hero art, I think the lack of inking lines was what made it seem so out of place, but it still manged to look very super hero-ee, just a little bit different. Just enough to be enjoyable but not too far off to feel like it didn't belong in the genre. I also really enjoy the little Power Pack story, which felt very much like a nice throw back to an age gone in cannon. It was a cute piece of nostalgia only people familiar with that era of comics could get, which I feel was fitting for a comic short story.
Although my favorite short of the book wasn't the Jubilee one, it's the one that I felt was the most stand out story. When I picked this up that story was what I hoped all the story's would be like. A super hero story with story telling and art that feels like it was lifted from your average or above average normal issue of a marvel comic. I really didn't feel like I got that with most of the stories, even the ones I liked. Especially the art. Almost all of the art REALLY didn't feel like super hero art. I like diversity in art style, but if your style is too different, such as the ones that were far too cartoony, it stops feeling like a super hero comic. So much of the writing and art in here felt so out of place in a Super Hero anthology, which is sad. I would hope that the stylistic choices and talent between the sexes not seem so glaringly different. It could just be that this just wasn't the best collection of artists, or that the company made pore choices in allowing stories that had little to do with super heroes be included, or maybe it's just good old confirmation bias of seeing "girl comics" on the cover and going into this read knowing it's something that is not the norm. What ever it was, I felt very aware that this was abnormal comic fair...
I did enjoy the snippets of history and background of female's in Marvel history, but with all ideologically presented history I came away from it with a tad of a sour taste in my mouth. Having just about every bio start with some version of "she was practically the only woman working at Marvel at the time" kind of takes away from it. And I detest the use of the word "herstory". It's things like using that word that only helps perpetuate the idea that women and their art are somehow "different" than the males and their art, using the terms seems like a self imposed version of "seperate but equal". I'd rather us all just be equal and together. So here's to when women are so much a part of Marvel comics that the need to have a special series showcasing their work alone is unnecessary.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. Don't get me wrong, half the stories in here were not even worth reading, but that's par the course of anthology's. It was MUCH better than the other comic anthologies I've read which tended to have at the most only ONE story I felt was worth reading.
The Punisher story, of him pretending to be an under age kid to set up and kill a pedophile was perfect for short story medium and I really liked the set up of the narration being their online text conversation. The story of Jean Grey reading Scott Summer's fears was also perfect for the medium and well delivered. I think my favorite short was the one that followed the Subhumans trying to give Lockjaw a bath. It was a funny little story, once again perfect for this medium, and on top of that I REALLY liked the art. It definitely wasn't normal super hero art, I think the lack of inking lines was what made it seem so out of place, but it still manged to look very super hero-ee, just a little bit different. Just enough to be enjoyable but not too far off to feel like it didn't belong in the genre. I also really enjoy the little Power Pack story, which felt very much like a nice throw back to an age gone in cannon. It was a cute piece of nostalgia only people familiar with that era of comics could get, which I feel was fitting for a comic short story.
Although my favorite short of the book wasn't the Jubilee one, it's the one that I felt was the most stand out story. When I picked this up that story was what I hoped all the story's would be like. A super hero story with story telling and art that feels like it was lifted from your average or above average normal issue of a marvel comic. I really didn't feel like I got that with most of the stories, even the ones I liked. Especially the art. Almost all of the art REALLY didn't feel like super hero art. I like diversity in art style, but if your style is too different, such as the ones that were far too cartoony, it stops feeling like a super hero comic. So much of the writing and art in here felt so out of place in a Super Hero anthology, which is sad. I would hope that the stylistic choices and talent between the sexes not seem so glaringly different. It could just be that this just wasn't the best collection of artists, or that the company made pore choices in allowing stories that had little to do with super heroes be included, or maybe it's just good old confirmation bias of seeing "girl comics" on the cover and going into this read knowing it's something that is not the norm. What ever it was, I felt very aware that this was abnormal comic fair...
I did enjoy the snippets of history and background of female's in Marvel history, but with all ideologically presented history I came away from it with a tad of a sour taste in my mouth. Having just about every bio start with some version of "she was practically the only woman working at Marvel at the time" kind of takes away from it. And I detest the use of the word "herstory". It's things like using that word that only helps perpetuate the idea that women and their art are somehow "different" than the males and their art, using the terms seems like a self imposed version of "seperate but equal". I'd rather us all just be equal and together. So here's to when women are so much a part of Marvel comics that the need to have a special series showcasing their work alone is unnecessary.
October 7, 2011
eh, all the comics were just a couple pages long, so none of them really had room to develop. some of them were good, others were bleh. i liked that they added profiles of females who helped build the comics industry, but as it's not personally a big interest of mine, it didn't add much to my experience. all and all, nice to have something that features female comic book authors, but otherwise not spectacular.
September 5, 2016
I wanted to love this collection by and about women creators. The mini bios of women who worked for Marvel and Colleen Coover's illlustrations were my favorite part, but the stories themselves were too often focused on romance or were stories about male characters. Many of the stories didn't pass the Bechdel test, and that's pretty weird for a book that's supposed to celebrate the female characters of Marvel.
April 14, 2011
A collection of shorts by women creators at Marvel. There's a lot of really good stuff in here and a couple of incomprehensible pieces. There's also a handful of spotlights on women creators who worked for Marvel from the 60s to the 90s. Good stuff!
October 25, 2010
Maybe a dozen readable pages in this whole crap-fest. Too bad.
October 12, 2013
The stories are very hit and miss. The hits are well worth it I guess.
Also too many stories all about the men. Sadness.
Also too many stories all about the men. Sadness.
December 30, 2014
What the fuck did I just read?
January 14, 2018
I didn't quite understand why these particular comics were picked. To be honest, only a few of them were interesting and the rest were filler-style comics that focused on the softer side, which would have been fine if it hadn't been almost the whole books worth. It seemed a little off, like the editor decided that if someone wanted to read comics written by women, they wanted to read stereotypical storylines (romance, hair dressing, etc.).
An example of how ridiculous it was at times was the story of Ann Nocenti who we're told did all kinds of writing for different comics and eventually became a writer for Daredevil where we're told she stayed for four years, creating the character Typhoid Mary and integrating her own political and social beliefs, which was unheard of. Then, the selected comic input as an example of her work is a pretty throw-away comic set in a bar where people are hooking up. What a disappointment!
The most interesting part of Girl Comics were the stories about the writers, inkers, and colorists themselves - both how long they'd been in the industry and how they got there (basically a man had to vouch for them and place them in the spot they were in). It was nice to see that some of these women got their start in the 40's and at the same time incredibly disappointing that they had to be reliant on the men around them to get a foot in the door.
I also rather liked one of the squares in the Jubilee comic, since she looked like me, if I were feminine. But that is neither here nor there. All in all, I'm a little disappointed that I spent my Denver Comic Con self-imposed book limit on this book.
An example of how ridiculous it was at times was the story of Ann Nocenti who we're told did all kinds of writing for different comics and eventually became a writer for Daredevil where we're told she stayed for four years, creating the character Typhoid Mary and integrating her own political and social beliefs, which was unheard of. Then, the selected comic input as an example of her work is a pretty throw-away comic set in a bar where people are hooking up. What a disappointment!
The most interesting part of Girl Comics were the stories about the writers, inkers, and colorists themselves - both how long they'd been in the industry and how they got there (basically a man had to vouch for them and place them in the spot they were in). It was nice to see that some of these women got their start in the 40's and at the same time incredibly disappointing that they had to be reliant on the men around them to get a foot in the door.
I also rather liked one of the squares in the Jubilee comic, since she looked like me, if I were feminine. But that is neither here nor there. All in all, I'm a little disappointed that I spent my Denver Comic Con self-imposed book limit on this book.
February 16, 2020
An anthology of stories from the Marvel Universe; and spotlighting not the stars or starlets of said verse. I did not know the Greek gods played a role in Marvel, thought that was solely DC. Watching Venus long to be a fashion magazine designer like she had been in the 50s was entertaining. The first tale was quick blunt and good: Nightcrawler in a club setting where mutants are not targeted, so he could just unwind, but his heroic heart doesn't allow him to ignore his vigilant observation. My favorite is probably the bit about the "super-salon" run by Molly Fitzgerald: a fun and simple concept yet endearing and revealing. Albeit its a bit sexist; heroines gotta think about their hair though they risk their lives every day.
Both the Wolverine as main character stories are a bit creepy, but his appearance in Cyclops mind was an awesome peek into his psychosis and obsession with Jean.
A decent group of stories that left me wanting more female-centric tales that did not revolve around love, self appearance, or ladies as back up to the male characters. On that note, I get paying homage to a marketing scheme to get more female readers but "Girl Comics" as a title seems demeaning.
Both the Wolverine as main character stories are a bit creepy, but his appearance in Cyclops mind was an awesome peek into his psychosis and obsession with Jean.
A decent group of stories that left me wanting more female-centric tales that did not revolve around love, self appearance, or ladies as back up to the male characters. On that note, I get paying homage to a marketing scheme to get more female readers but "Girl Comics" as a title seems demeaning.
June 11, 2021
It's rare I rate any book one star but I felt really disappointed by this.
I made one major mistake, I cold pulled this book off the shelf and it was plastic wrapped and didn't do any research.
Most of the stories are couple pages long. The art is mostly subpar, only the cover page and splash pages between stories are really great.
I didn't get this book at all.
I love plenty of female writers and artists but hav no idea why this was seen as a showcase of anything but 2 pages pointless stories.
I hate being this negative but I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I made one major mistake, I cold pulled this book off the shelf and it was plastic wrapped and didn't do any research.
Most of the stories are couple pages long. The art is mostly subpar, only the cover page and splash pages between stories are really great.
I didn't get this book at all.
I love plenty of female writers and artists but hav no idea why this was seen as a showcase of anything but 2 pages pointless stories.
I hate being this negative but I would not recommend this book to anyone.
December 7, 2020
Full review with pictures at https://amanjareads.com/2020/12/07/gi...
Girl Comics is an attempt from Marvel to show that they totally have women creators and characters there! Don't believe them, well they managed to scrounge together a couple dozen stories written by them. They also put together little bios for a few of them. Honestly, the whole thing is just sad.
I knew what this book was going into it. I knew it was not likely to be good. These kinds of pandering projects never are. I guess I just wanted to see how bad it actually is.
There were a couple things to like about it. I liked that the authors and artists were seemingly given free range to write any characters and storylines they desired. This gave the book a few unexpected stories. However, most of the stories were extremely short. Like 2 pages short. Which doesn't add up to a lot of substance.
Also, for some reason, many of the creators wrote Wolverine stories. I'm not sure why that was the character they all chose but it happened. It could be worse, Wolverine actually does have some positive feminist history, but it just seemed strange to me in a book called Girl Comics.
Outside of a couple of okay stories there were a few very offensive ones. Including one involving Goddess Venus trying to get a job at a fashion magazine. SIGH! Okay, I've honestly never seen Venus used in a way that didn't bring feminism back 100 years. Marvel, please put her to rest.
The profiles of female creators at Marvel needed to go back all the way through the company's history in order to fill out the required page limit of these issues. It's heartbreaking that they couldn't come up with more than a couple women throughout their longevity worth featuring in this book.
I sincerely hope that Marvel has done better since this book was written. Unfortunately, this book was written in 2010, only 10 freaking years ago, so it could be assumed that not actually that much has changed.
I'd also love to see diversity in creators and content speak for itself. I'd love to see a time when we don't need a book called Girl Comics to showcase the couple examples they have. It'd be a much stronger statement to just have representation for women to begin with.
It's the same problem with any minority. How offensive would it be to put out a book called "Black Comics" or "Gay Comics"? But we let them get away with Girl Comics? Not even Women Comics. Girl. The very title is diminutive.
2020 is almost complete and the most I can hope is that Kelly Thompson stays employed and continues to be the young female voice of comics. But I would love it if I had many more choices.
Girl Comics is an attempt from Marvel to show that they totally have women creators and characters there! Don't believe them, well they managed to scrounge together a couple dozen stories written by them. They also put together little bios for a few of them. Honestly, the whole thing is just sad.
I knew what this book was going into it. I knew it was not likely to be good. These kinds of pandering projects never are. I guess I just wanted to see how bad it actually is.
There were a couple things to like about it. I liked that the authors and artists were seemingly given free range to write any characters and storylines they desired. This gave the book a few unexpected stories. However, most of the stories were extremely short. Like 2 pages short. Which doesn't add up to a lot of substance.
Also, for some reason, many of the creators wrote Wolverine stories. I'm not sure why that was the character they all chose but it happened. It could be worse, Wolverine actually does have some positive feminist history, but it just seemed strange to me in a book called Girl Comics.
Outside of a couple of okay stories there were a few very offensive ones. Including one involving Goddess Venus trying to get a job at a fashion magazine. SIGH! Okay, I've honestly never seen Venus used in a way that didn't bring feminism back 100 years. Marvel, please put her to rest.
The profiles of female creators at Marvel needed to go back all the way through the company's history in order to fill out the required page limit of these issues. It's heartbreaking that they couldn't come up with more than a couple women throughout their longevity worth featuring in this book.
I sincerely hope that Marvel has done better since this book was written. Unfortunately, this book was written in 2010, only 10 freaking years ago, so it could be assumed that not actually that much has changed.
I'd also love to see diversity in creators and content speak for itself. I'd love to see a time when we don't need a book called Girl Comics to showcase the couple examples they have. It'd be a much stronger statement to just have representation for women to begin with.
It's the same problem with any minority. How offensive would it be to put out a book called "Black Comics" or "Gay Comics"? But we let them get away with Girl Comics? Not even Women Comics. Girl. The very title is diminutive.
2020 is almost complete and the most I can hope is that Kelly Thompson stays employed and continues to be the young female voice of comics. But I would love it if I had many more choices.
December 7, 2020
This is about what you'd expect from an anthology series. Lots of bland and forgettable stories, some spectacular ones that make you glad you read it in the first place. I thought it would be about female characters but no, it's female creators writing whoever the heck they feel like writing. Everyone from the X-Men to the Inhumans to Punisher, from goddesses to mercenaries. There's lots of incredible talent here that I'd love to see more of, you just need to pick through it all to find it.
January 30, 2019
I enjoyed discovering some new illustrators and writers in this comic book showcase of female talent within the industry as much as I enjoyed reading the bios of some of the women pioneers to the industry.
Well worth a read!
Well worth a read!
August 25, 2017
Introduction to some lesser known Marvel women, as well as highlighting actual women artists behind the scenes. Created entirely by women. Recommend.
May 14, 2018
Highly shifting quality from story to story but my general impression was good.
July 8, 2024
Fun collection of female themed superhero stories.
January 13, 2025
For stuff that was all written and illustrated by women, some of it felt like it was pandering to the male gaze.
September 18, 2012
I'm glad I got this for cheap, and for the $7 for a hardcover, I'll consider it a good deal. But I would have been pretty annoyed if I'd paid the usual $20 for a trade.
Given the price, this was an impulse buy, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm trying to find super hero comics that I can get into, and the cover of this one made me smile. It turns out this isn't exactly what I expected - I had thought it was something of an ensemble super hero comic not a group of short stories created by women.
I do like the variety provided in the book. There are super hero action comics, a few more indie style comics, some particularly... kiddy comics I guess?, some cheesecake pictures of supers, and a few little biographical sketches of women involved with Marvel over the years. It's quite an anthology.
Unfortunately a lot of the works just seem REALLY girly and token-y. It's awesome to learn about 'the only woman inker' and 'the only woman writer' and 'the particularly accomplished secretary'. But that's also frustrating after each successively more recent creator is still 'the only woman doing X'. I do still appreciate the nods to history though and I think it IS important to acknowledge the creations of women in the field that have probably gone un-noticed.
The stories are often very short and some rely on you knowing the characters and their backstories better than I did. I felt like there were inside jokes that I just didn't catch. That's fine, but I also think that this is an anthology trying to reach out to women who may not get it. I'm not saying that all women need a Marvel Comics 101, but I think I do.
Mostly I was annoyed by how... non-comicky a lot of the stories felt. Much of the art was much brighter and cartoony than I associate with super hero comics, and some of the stories were just embarrassingly 'this is what girls do'. Where was the action and heroics? I think that women do like a little more 'day to day life' in their stories, but I felt like this was a little heavy on the hairdressers, grocery shopping stuff.
There were a few stories that I particularly liked. Jubilee and Wolverine had a cute father/daughter talk, and the Power Pack story was fun - I'd never heard of them but it was light-hearted kid stuff that I enjoyed as sort of super-hero-Bobbsey-Twins. The last story with Kitty Pryde turning 21 was more of what I had expected from the book - a huge ensemble cast of Marvel characters, but with a focus on the women instead of the headlining males. Except the girl ends up puking her guts out and hanging in the Ladies with all the girls putting on makeup while the guys have an epic drinking contest. >_<
I'm glad to see female artists highlighted, it's important. And I want to see more women interested in comics, working in comics, and creating superhero comics so that I will want to read them. And I appreciate that Marvel is acknowledging that need and giving these artists an opportunity to showcase their work. But I felt like there was some overkill and too much of a focus on 'stuff we think girls would like'.
Given the price, this was an impulse buy, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm trying to find super hero comics that I can get into, and the cover of this one made me smile. It turns out this isn't exactly what I expected - I had thought it was something of an ensemble super hero comic not a group of short stories created by women.
I do like the variety provided in the book. There are super hero action comics, a few more indie style comics, some particularly... kiddy comics I guess?, some cheesecake pictures of supers, and a few little biographical sketches of women involved with Marvel over the years. It's quite an anthology.
Unfortunately a lot of the works just seem REALLY girly and token-y. It's awesome to learn about 'the only woman inker' and 'the only woman writer' and 'the particularly accomplished secretary'. But that's also frustrating after each successively more recent creator is still 'the only woman doing X'. I do still appreciate the nods to history though and I think it IS important to acknowledge the creations of women in the field that have probably gone un-noticed.
The stories are often very short and some rely on you knowing the characters and their backstories better than I did. I felt like there were inside jokes that I just didn't catch. That's fine, but I also think that this is an anthology trying to reach out to women who may not get it. I'm not saying that all women need a Marvel Comics 101, but I think I do.
Mostly I was annoyed by how... non-comicky a lot of the stories felt. Much of the art was much brighter and cartoony than I associate with super hero comics, and some of the stories were just embarrassingly 'this is what girls do'. Where was the action and heroics? I think that women do like a little more 'day to day life' in their stories, but I felt like this was a little heavy on the hairdressers, grocery shopping stuff.
There were a few stories that I particularly liked. Jubilee and Wolverine had a cute father/daughter talk, and the Power Pack story was fun - I'd never heard of them but it was light-hearted kid stuff that I enjoyed as sort of super-hero-Bobbsey-Twins. The last story with Kitty Pryde turning 21 was more of what I had expected from the book - a huge ensemble cast of Marvel characters, but with a focus on the women instead of the headlining males. Except the girl ends up puking her guts out and hanging in the Ladies with all the girls putting on makeup while the guys have an epic drinking contest. >_<
I'm glad to see female artists highlighted, it's important. And I want to see more women interested in comics, working in comics, and creating superhero comics so that I will want to read them. And I appreciate that Marvel is acknowledging that need and giving these artists an opportunity to showcase their work. But I felt like there was some overkill and too much of a focus on 'stuff we think girls would like'.
January 16, 2016
I really really really wanted to like this comic collection. The comic industry needs to spend less time getting in the way of female creators and let them make good comics. This was what is promised in the blurb about this collection. We should see the best of the best made by female creators. Now do not get me wrong several of these stories are excellent and some of the better comics I have seen.
But the first story in the collection stars a male character saving a damsel in distress - this is something that shows up regularly in comics and nothing special at all. We have a story about the goddess of Love doing love things, we have another story with "girls" gossiping at a hair salon. We even have stories where the female characters are in and out of their clothes. All of this I could have seen by just reading regular comics from male creators.
If I was ever given a chance to write for a comic called "girl comics" I would not write a comic with the same old male characters. I realize this might be a female creator's only chance to write certain characters, but still did we need another Wolverine story? I guess reading the Fearless Defenders just raised my standards of female based hero stories.
There was so much potential here that was not fully explored. Sigh
But the first story in the collection stars a male character saving a damsel in distress - this is something that shows up regularly in comics and nothing special at all. We have a story about the goddess of Love doing love things, we have another story with "girls" gossiping at a hair salon. We even have stories where the female characters are in and out of their clothes. All of this I could have seen by just reading regular comics from male creators.
If I was ever given a chance to write for a comic called "girl comics" I would not write a comic with the same old male characters. I realize this might be a female creator's only chance to write certain characters, but still did we need another Wolverine story? I guess reading the Fearless Defenders just raised my standards of female based hero stories.
There was so much potential here that was not fully explored. Sigh
December 30, 2014
Women writers, artists, and editors are given the chance to shine in this anthology of creative comics. While they are not limited to female characters from the Marvel universe many chose to focus on them, and they only benefit from this, being decidedly more true to the gender than usual. Neither are they limited to a style or medium, often departing from the classical types used in comics, some examples include: watercolours, a cute and childlike style, and a more cartoonish type. Many are about a day in the life of...focusing on what they do in their time away from crime-fighting. Quite a few are humourous; the one about the dog Lockjaw is quite fun.
Length varies, with some being more like short comic strips, and others being a lengthier side story.
Extensive bios on some of contributors, and pin-ups also grace these pages.
Nothing is added to any of these characters, but it is a quick and fun read.
Length varies, with some being more like short comic strips, and others being a lengthier side story.
Extensive bios on some of contributors, and pin-ups also grace these pages.
Nothing is added to any of these characters, but it is a quick and fun read.
April 12, 2012
Featuring so many wonderful stories about female superheroes of the Marvelverse—their unique problems, desires and conversations—this is one fine and fantastic collection. You’re bound to have your favorites, as you’re bound to have your favorite ladies.
The book also contains lovely pictures of these ladies that amount almost to pin-up posters. I’ve got no objection to that; like many comic characters, the women are often extremely attractive. Why not flaunt it? However, there’s a really lubricious picture of a gorgeous, buxom She-Hulk that has a teeny weeny (major) flaw. Even though it is clearly her right leg crossed coyly over the left, the exposed right leg is sporting a left foot. Ack! How did the editors miss THIS?!?
The book also contains lovely pictures of these ladies that amount almost to pin-up posters. I’ve got no objection to that; like many comic characters, the women are often extremely attractive. Why not flaunt it? However, there’s a really lubricious picture of a gorgeous, buxom She-Hulk that has a teeny weeny (major) flaw. Even though it is clearly her right leg crossed coyly over the left, the exposed right leg is sporting a left foot. Ack! How did the editors miss THIS?!?
April 28, 2016
This book can be a bit of confusing piece now looking at it with more comic books from marvel under my belt. I think what the book was going for and what it had given were not the same thing. From looking at the cover, you expect to be reading comics of marvel's ladies. Instead it was more of comics created by women that are in the comic book industry, regardless if they work for marvel or not.
This book is more like a nod to women who have created comics past and present. Which is enjoyable however most likely not what people expect when they read the name 'Girl Comics' Some were quite good, others were average. Some of them needed more backstory, especially if they are new to the world of Marvel.
This book is more like a nod to women who have created comics past and present. Which is enjoyable however most likely not what people expect when they read the name 'Girl Comics' Some were quite good, others were average. Some of them needed more backstory, especially if they are new to the world of Marvel.
February 5, 2015
I was pretty disappointed in this volume. Marvel has employed some great female talents, and I expected them to be showcased here. Unfortunately, this collection failed to deliver. The vast majority of the stories seemed thrown together or lacking substance and with a few exceptions the artwork wasn't much better.
On a positive note, the single page biographies of key women in Marvel history included were interesting and worth reading if not much else was.
On a positive note, the single page biographies of key women in Marvel history included were interesting and worth reading if not much else was.
January 19, 2011
A good book if you're interested in the history of Women workers at Marvel Comics, but not much else.
The stories are boring and sometimes barely make sense. Instead of a series of stories showcasing some of their best female heroines its just a collection of odd ball stories thrown together by writer/arists teams that happen to be female.
The stories are boring and sometimes barely make sense. Instead of a series of stories showcasing some of their best female heroines its just a collection of odd ball stories thrown together by writer/arists teams that happen to be female.
August 3, 2012
I loved the idea and some of the mini-stories included (like Logan and a grown-up Jubilee having a drink) were great character and tone pieces. But a lot of it also couldn't help but feel like tokenism and/or "girls just like relationships and playing house." I'd read more any time if it would let female creators free to make whatever they actually are interested in.
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