Pen-Elayne on the Web

Girls in Comic Books

The Friends of Lulu is an organization committed to promoting and encouraging female readership and participation in the comic book industry. And, let me tell you, girls have been around in comic books for a long time. While Elayne and I are both active in getting more women to read/write/draw/enjoy comic books, that's not what this blog entry is about. No, this is quite literally about girls in comic books. Particularly, my favorite fictional female friends.

Now, I could go on for months and months about all the various female characters I like, but I've decided to limit myself quite a bit. I'm going to try to stick with characters who are currently appearing in books, or whose appearances are readily available. And I'm going to go "token" on the superhero books, although there are plenty of characters I like in them. I'm enough of a superhero fangirl that I could too easily go overboard into boring super minutia. So, here are some of my favorite fictional female friends, and why I like them.

First off I have to mention Akiko. She's the star of Akiko on the Planet Smoo by Mark Crilley, and the self-titled Akiko comic book (as well as a series of children's books now out). She's just a normal girl, caught up in cosmic events in a universe that is a little more fun than our own. The appealing aspect of Akiko is that she has plenty of common sense, and yet is willing to suspend her disbelief long enough to have a rip-roaring adventure. She's steadfast, intelligent, and yet she's still just a normal girl. Her adventures range from strange quests on other planets to more quiet moments with friends.

Along the same lines we have Amelia from Amelia Rules. Amelia's universe is ours, just as hard to live in, just as painful. Amelia's adventures tend to happen from normal events created by her not-so-normal friends, and other normal events created by the silly adults in her life. She's also got a solid dose of practicality to help her along, and a sense of fun. For all that, she's as vulnerable to the next shock as anyone, and that is where the power in her stories comes from.

Amy of Eddybrook Farm is a wee bit different than our first two. She lives on a farm, for one. And her mother is a barbarian clockmaker. Because of that, Amy is unbounded, and that's the title of the comic starring her: Amy Unbounded. She isn't simply the product of her home nation, Goredd. Her father's rebellion against conventions combined with her mother's very different background and upbringing allow her to be open-minded and free in a society with rather strict medieval expectations. Her imagination and joy with life make her a fun fictional friend to hang out with.

Moving on to a steampunk world of mad scientists and constant danger, we have Agatha Clay. An innocent nobody, without the skills to make it in a world where being a mechanic is necessary to improve your life, Agatha is caught up in an unexpected adventure guided by the incessant humming in her mind. That's because she's not really a nobody, she's a Girl Genius, and her natural talents are much more powerful than anyone suspects. Agatha makes the list because once she hits her stride, she takes over. She's her own person, despite the way everyone around her would like to use her.

I'm going to say right now that, despite what it looks like, every comic book female doesn't have a name that starts with the letter "A".

My next favorite fictional female friend would be Chance Falconer from the comic book Leave It To Chance. Chance is heir to a mighty legacy, and she really wants to pursue that legacy. Her father, however, has different plans. Having already lost his wife, he can't bear to let his daughter put herself in danger. But Chance is intelligent, and daring, and attracts trouble. There's just too much of the Falconer clan in her for her to be anything than what she is. And that's why it's a joy to read about her.

On a completely different note is Ms. Kyle from PS238. Her strength doesn't come from being the superheroine "Micro-Might", it comes from the fact that she's an experienced school teacher. Yeah, her classes aren't made up of normal students anymore, but she didn't think her powers would be much use to her so she went ahead and became a school-teacher before she became a hero. And that's how she defines herself. She's remarkably sensible, and looks like a real person instead of a toy doll. I love the way she interacts with the kids in PS238, and would love to read a lot more about her.

Ok, there are a few more I'd like to comment on, but I'm tired of writing and you are no doubt tired of reading my lightweight commentary. So I'll post the rest later. In the meantime, do you have any favorite fictional female friends, and not just from comics, you'd like to mention? There's a nice comments feature for you to use if you can think of any.