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Stuff I've been reading: comics about female superheroes
I read more manga than US comics, but there are a few titles (Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Faith) that I've been enjoying lately:
Ms. Marvel: the current version, that is, featuring Kamala Khan, a Muslim-American teenager who acquires superpowers and takes up the mantle of her idol Ms. Marvel, who is now Captain Marvel. She also used to write Avengers fanfic before becoming a superhero herself. She's smart and funny and likeable but not perfect, struggling to balance superhero-ing with her day-to-day life, like the normal conflicts of a teenager who wants more freedom than her somewhat conservative parents are willing to give. (At the same time, her parents are sympathetic characters who clearly love their daughter and want the best for her, even if they don't always understand her.) Sometimes Kamala makes mistakes and does the wrong thing, sometimes with far-reaching consequences, but she always does her best to own up to them and make things right.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Another fun Marvel title, this time featuring Lunella Lafayette, a fourth-grade genius and inventor who finds some alien technology that opens a portal to another world through which Devil Dinosaur (a sort of miniature red T-Rex) comes through. Much chaos ensues, but eventually Devil Dinosaur becomes Lunella's friend and companion, and they fight crime together as--you guessed it--Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, although their efforts often result in more (albeit well-meaning) chaos.
This title is a lot of fun--more silly and comedic than Ms Marvel, though it has a few serious moments too, with Lunella at times being teased or ostracized by her classmates because of her genius and eccentricities. And speaking of Ms. Marvel, Kamala makes a guest appearance in vol. 2 of the trade paperbacks where she tries to act as a mentor to Lunella. It was great to see a crossover with two of my favorite superheroes!
Faith (the Valiant Comics series): I came across vol. 1 (Faith: Hollywood and Vine) at the library and fell in love with her. Faith Herbert (superhero name "Zephyr," due to her having the power to fly) is a plus-sized superhero who is strong and attractive and confident. (Her size is often mentioned in reviews, but does not seem to be an issue in the comic universe itself, where Zephyr is admired as a superhero and she seems comfortable with her body and image.)
The first volume did feel like I was jumping into the middle of a series rather than the beginning, with Faith/Zephyr dealing with feelings of loss after having left the superhero group she used to belong to (due to a friend dying during a mission) and having broken up with her boyfriend, who also belonged to said superhero group. Some googling told me that this is due to the Faith series being a spinoff of Valiant's Harbinger series, but enough background info was given that it wasn't a problem to follow the story without having read the previous series.
In the aftermath of the breakups, Faith is working incognito as a writer for an entertainment website (like a sort of a more modern Clark Kent), while also working as a solo superhero, until eventually her two worlds intersect. It was a fun read, mostly humorous and lighthearted, but with a bit of angst due to the backstory, and I think it made a good combination. I liked it enough that I bought the second volume when I saw that the library didn't have it, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Ms. Marvel: the current version, that is, featuring Kamala Khan, a Muslim-American teenager who acquires superpowers and takes up the mantle of her idol Ms. Marvel, who is now Captain Marvel. She also used to write Avengers fanfic before becoming a superhero herself. She's smart and funny and likeable but not perfect, struggling to balance superhero-ing with her day-to-day life, like the normal conflicts of a teenager who wants more freedom than her somewhat conservative parents are willing to give. (At the same time, her parents are sympathetic characters who clearly love their daughter and want the best for her, even if they don't always understand her.) Sometimes Kamala makes mistakes and does the wrong thing, sometimes with far-reaching consequences, but she always does her best to own up to them and make things right.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Another fun Marvel title, this time featuring Lunella Lafayette, a fourth-grade genius and inventor who finds some alien technology that opens a portal to another world through which Devil Dinosaur (a sort of miniature red T-Rex) comes through. Much chaos ensues, but eventually Devil Dinosaur becomes Lunella's friend and companion, and they fight crime together as--you guessed it--Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, although their efforts often result in more (albeit well-meaning) chaos.
This title is a lot of fun--more silly and comedic than Ms Marvel, though it has a few serious moments too, with Lunella at times being teased or ostracized by her classmates because of her genius and eccentricities. And speaking of Ms. Marvel, Kamala makes a guest appearance in vol. 2 of the trade paperbacks where she tries to act as a mentor to Lunella. It was great to see a crossover with two of my favorite superheroes!
Faith (the Valiant Comics series): I came across vol. 1 (Faith: Hollywood and Vine) at the library and fell in love with her. Faith Herbert (superhero name "Zephyr," due to her having the power to fly) is a plus-sized superhero who is strong and attractive and confident. (Her size is often mentioned in reviews, but does not seem to be an issue in the comic universe itself, where Zephyr is admired as a superhero and she seems comfortable with her body and image.)
The first volume did feel like I was jumping into the middle of a series rather than the beginning, with Faith/Zephyr dealing with feelings of loss after having left the superhero group she used to belong to (due to a friend dying during a mission) and having broken up with her boyfriend, who also belonged to said superhero group. Some googling told me that this is due to the Faith series being a spinoff of Valiant's Harbinger series, but enough background info was given that it wasn't a problem to follow the story without having read the previous series.
In the aftermath of the breakups, Faith is working incognito as a writer for an entertainment website (like a sort of a more modern Clark Kent), while also working as a solo superhero, until eventually her two worlds intersect. It was a fun read, mostly humorous and lighthearted, but with a bit of angst due to the backstory, and I think it made a good combination. I liked it enough that I bought the second volume when I saw that the library didn't have it, and I'm looking forward to reading it.