Welcome back to my annual female positive comics holiday gift list!
So the holidays are upon us again and you’ve decided that in these tough economic times you want to support the comic industry by giving everyone on your list sweet comics. And not only that, but you want to take it one step further and only give female friendly comics…well, in that super specific case you’ve found the right list.
Like previous years, in addition to picking excellent female friendly titles, I also limited myself to books released in 2014 only. If you’re looking for more books that just those released in 2014, I urge you to check out my previous lists here: 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Now, I’ve put links to everything here for your convenience but as always, buy at your local shops when you can! These are in no particular order - and there are about 15 items and 3 pages so don't stop before you've seen them all...let’s get started, yes?
SAGA DELUXE EDITION VOL 1 HARDCOVER
Brian K. Vaughan (writer). Fiona Staples (artist). Image Comics. $49.99. Hardcover. Color. 504 Pages.
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples Saga has simply dominated since it released in early 2012, locking up a ton of fan love, critical acclaim, and even six Eisners (for best writer, best painter/multimedia artist, best new series, and best continuing series) so if you’re a fan (and you should be, yes, even you Greg Burgas!) you’re going to want to get your hands on this gorgeous deluxe hardcover collecting the first eighteen issues of the series—oversized, filled with extras including never before seen sketches, script pages, a roundtable discussion, and a “shocking” all new cover by Fiona Staples—the book clocks in at over 500 massive pages. Basically it’s a must for any fan. I also read somewhere that they’re only printing so many of these (at least as a first run)…so you might want to get in on this while they’re around.
Female Friendly Factor: Female Creator (Staples). Technically the lead character is Hazel, since she narrates and it is, at heart, her story. This might feel like a cheat since Hazel is a child, but the book is chock full of fascinating female leads/supporting cast as well (Alana, Gwendolyn, Sophie, Klara, The Stalk, The Brand, Isabel and more).
GLORY - THE COMPLETE SAGA
Joe Keatinge (writer). Ross Campbell (artist). Ms,Shatia Hamilton, Joseph Bergin III, Owen Gieni and Charis Solis (colorists). Image Comics. $34.99. Hardcover. Color. 352 Pages.
I’m a sucker for magnificent editions of comics I love and oversized hardcovers of epic totally off the wall brutal comics that also happen to have incredible unconventional all new covers? Automatic buy. This hardcover edition, the first time the entire series has been collected in one volume clocks in at 352 pages and includes tons of extras—sketchbook material, scripts, interviews, and commentary. It’s also deliciously oversized which is the best possible way to experience Keatinge and Campbell’s fantastically bonkers story that never pulls a punch and feels deliciously zany while still telling the story of a millennia spanning intergalactic war that will leave you breathless to its last heartbreaking pages. Especially for Campbell's epic visionary artwork unlike anything you'd see on a typical superhero comic this edition is not to be missed. This is superheroes as you’ve really never quite seen them before.
Female Friendly Factor: Female creator for part of the series (Hamilton). Full of fascinating unconventional female leads, most especially the hugely muscled awesomeness that is Glory.
THIS ONE SUMMER
Mariko Tamaki (writer). Jillian Tamaki (artist). First Second. $21.99. Hardcover. Limited Color Washes. 320 Pages.
Probably my favorite OGN of the year. Mining well-worn themes of friends growing simultaneously together and apart, trauma and simple pleasures, the edge between childhood and adulthood, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki's This One Summer is so effortless and beautifully executed that it manages all these things while remaining cliché-free, delivering a stunning, emotionally engaging, beating heart of a book. Though the themes and issues of This One Summer are large and emotional, Tamaki and Tamaki execute the story with such precision and care that it never tips into melodrama, instead preferring to be quiet and nuanced and thus infinitely relatable, real, and emotional. This One Summer is the definition of a five-star book and an example of two creators working in such perfect sync they appear more as one creator than two. (some text taken from my CBR review of this book).
Female Friendly Factor: Female Creators (Tamaki and Tamaki). Rose and Windy are exceptional female leads, both as different and as the same as any pair of summer friends could be. The book also emphasizes the other female characters and has a story that will likely be especially relatable to women.
IN REAL LIFE
Cory Doctorow (writer) Jen Wang (artist). First Second. $17.99. Softcover. Color. 192 Pages.
I wrote about In Real Life back in October when it came out, but I’ll reiterate what I said then – it’s a smart, sweet, highly relevant story about a girl gamer who revels in her multiplayer game life that allows her to be many things she’s missing in her real life. But when she begins fighting against players that are committing illegal gaming offenses, she realizes that things are not as simple as they seem and ends up fighting some real world injustices instead. It’s a gaming story that is refreshingly free of cynicism and whose messages hit home powerfully without ever feeling saccharine. It's also a book that could not be more relevant given the upheaval in gaming of late, and yet it's free of any of the grotequeness that is attached to those current political issues in a wonderful welcoming way. There's a purity to In Real Life that's almost magical. Wang's gorgeous expressive visuals are an especially bright spot in the book and her colors are divine.
Female Friendly Factor: Female Creator (Wang). Excellent female leads, strong female supporting characters, and an overall strong message that will resonate especially with young women.
THROUGH THE WOODS
Emily Carroll (writer/artist). Simon & Schuster. $14.99. Hardcover. Black & White with Spot Color. 208 Pages.
Emily Carroll has made an indelible mark on comics, especially web comics over the last few years, with truly powerful stories that have captured hearts and minds (usually with terror) and her first collection is an exceptional realization of those stories into print. For someone that designed her stories so specifically for web reading Carroll has translated them perfectly to this gorgeous hardcover collection. For those of you that like dark fairy tales, Carroll will take your breath away with stories that have a bit of sweet and a whole lot darkness. Carroll takes on all kinds of subject matter, from a jealous man that murders his brother (only to have him return, alive, three days later), to a body snatchers story unlike any you have ever read before. There is even a Red Riding Hood story with the tiniest tweak that gives it a whole new terrifying meaning. Carroll’s sensibility has always trended to the macabre, and her execution — the colors she chooses, the poetry of her words, how she structures her panels and her text — is nothing short of masterful. (some text taken from my write up of Through The Woods on Lit Reactor).
Female Friendly Factor: Female Creator (Carroll). Female leads and/or supporting characters in various stories as well as some tales that will be especially relatable for women.
YOUNG AVENGERS OMNIBUS
Kieron Gillen (writer). Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton (artists). Matthew Wilson (colorist). Marvel Comics. $49.99. Hardcover. Color. 360 Pages.
Gillen and McKelvie’s 15-issue Young Avengers run is too short but wonderfully sweet and devastatingly beautiful. Off-the-wall and refreshingly unconcerned with much beyond its own pages the book is unequivocally a Gillen/McKelvie joint, which is high praise. Unfiltered drama that feels smart and fresh and decidedly young without trying too hard it’s just effortlessly cool and yet emotionally resonant too. Add to all of that the fact that McKelvie delivers some of the smartest most creative storytelling I’ve seen in years and this book is a slamdunk (i.e. it’s definitely on MY wish list!)
Female Friendly Factor: Two excellent female leads/supporting characters in Miss America and Hawkeye and especially in the case of Miss America/America Chavez, a character that Gillen and McKelvie have basically helped put back on the map in a big way.
LAZARUS BOOK 1
Greg Rucka (writer). Michael Lark (artist). Santi Arcas (colorist). Image Comics. $34.99. Hardcover. Color. 245 Pages.
Easily my favorite ongoing book right now, this hardcover collects the first nine issues plus additional content like never before seen sketches and exclusive world building content. In a future where several crime families rule the world and each have a physically advanced brutally trained warrior, or Lazarus, representing them, Forever Carlyle is the Carlyle Lazarus and nothing is quite what she thinks it is in this fantastic creator owned Greg Rucka and Michael Lark book with gorgeous colors by Santi Arcas. Month after month Lazaurs has delivered smart, insightful, and emotionally engaging narratives that feel devastatingly real. It’s some of the best character development and world building I’ve ever seen in a comic and the slow build is paying off in an emotional resonance that reads as well in one sitting as it does in satisfying month to month pieces. Lark and Arcas’s visuals are devastatingly beautiful and sometimes just plain devastating. It also happens to be some of Greg Rucka’s best comics work to date and one of his best new characters, which is impressive to say the least.
Female Friendly Factor: Forever Carlyle is easily one of the best female characters to come out of comics in the last decade. It’s no real surprise she’s coming from creator Greg Rucka who has a whole lot of experience with this. There’s also a strong female supporting cast.
MARVEL COMBO PACK! MS. MARVEL VOLUME 1: NO NORMAL & CAPTAIN MARVEL VOLUME 1: HIGHER, FURTHER, FASTER, MORE
Ms. Marvel: G. Willow Wilson (writer). Adrian Alphona (artist). Ian Herring (colorist). Marvel Comics. $15.99. Softcover. Color. 120 Pages.
Captain Marvel: Kelly Sue DeConnick (writer). David Lopez (artist). Lee Loughridge (colorist). Marvel Comics. $17.99. Softcover. Colors. 136 Pages.
A combo pack of the first volume of Ms. Marvel - the hottest new heroine on the superhero scene in just this side of forever and the first volume of the new Captain Marvel - coming soon (sorta) to a theater near you. Both will leave readers giddy with pure undiluted superhero fun.
MS MARVEL: Collecting the first five-issues of Wilson and Alphona’s Ms. Marvel a fresh new book unlike most everything else around it. A YA female lead of color and Muslim to boot, Kamala Khan is a heroine that so many have been waiting for a long time. The book is fun and bright and full of hope and filled with a new take on classic superhero stakes. The art by Alphona is high energy and wonderfully expressive, as well as fantastically creative with Kamala’s power set and in its interpretation her world and the characters within it.
CAPTAIN MARVEL: Collecting the first six-issues of DeConnick and Lopez’s Captain Marvel a second run at a great character in the new title role and an all-around great title that definitely deserved a second shot. Practice makes perfect and this time they got so much right -- Carol is wonderfully flawed but still majestically heroic, and the result is a heroine with a ton of humanity and humor. Lopez’s art is bright and appropriately superheroic and very smart when it comes to character design and expression work. Lopez and Loughridge are as comfortable on Earth as they are on alien planets, the darkness of space, and the confines of a spaceship, making all of it hum along with DeConnick’s vision, a finely tuned machine.
Female Friendly Factor (Ms. Marvel): Female Creator (Wilson). Kamala is the bold YA female lead many have been waiting for a very long time. Also has some female supporting cast.
Female Friendly Factor (Capt. Marvel): Female Creator (DeConnick). Carol is a female lead I never thought I could fully love (Rogue 4eva!) and yet DeConnick has made her wonderfully human, relatable, and magnificently heroic all at once. Also has a really impressive female supporting cast.
SEX CRIMINALS VOLUME 1
Matt Fraction (writer). Chip Zdarsky (artist). Becka Kinzie (color flatting). Image Comics. $9.99. Softcover. Color. 128 Pages.
A brilliant and funny concept—two characters that can freeze time when they orgasm who meet one another and fall in love—is taken to even more bizarre and emotional ends thanks to Fraction and Zdarsky’s total embrace of the concept and exceptionally smart execution. It's an idea that could have fizzled after initial intriguing launch, but with a wicked sense of humor and impressive narrative beats, Fraction and Zdarsky found a really emotional and relatable center amid the high-concept idea. I expected to grow weary of the title when the concept wore thin or the jokes began to feel stale, but instead I found myself enormously invested in the characters and their rich believable lives. Sure, there’s still hi-jinks and zaniness galore but it’s the characters I’m here for now and you will be too. One note -- though I fully recommend this book, if you’re intrigued by it (or already a fan) you may want to wait for the deluxe hardcover which drops in March and looks like it will be fantastic (I mean, it's awesomely pink and it’s called “Big Hard Criminals” so it must be good).
Female Friendly Factor: Female creator (Kinzie). Female lead Suzie is one of the better female leads to come around in a long time – smart, funny, cool and painfully human. The book also has several good female supporting characters.
SECONDS
Bryan Lee O’Malley (wrter/artist). Ballantine. $25.00. Hardcover. Color. 336 Pages.
Bryan Lee O’Malley is fantastic at creating wonderfully layered fantastically flawed characters (and drawing great outfits) and Seconds is no exception. Somehow totally different from his Scott Pilgrim and yet still effortlessly "O'Malley," Seconds is a self contained stand alone OGN unlike the ongoing six volume saga that was Scott Pilgrim. O’Malley’s lead character Katie is kind of a mess, but in the best and most relatable of ways. The illustration work is stunningly gorgeous and magnificently funny. Some of the sci-fi/plot is a bit wobbly but that didn’t keep me from devouring it in one day and falling in love with some of the characters. It’s a beautiful hardcover volume – I’d expect no less from O’Malley – that will be at home on any book/comic lover’s shelf.
Female Friendly Factor: Terribly flawed and thus utterly magnificent and hilarious lead Katie, and a very strong female supporting cast.
HOW TO BE HAPPY
Eleanor Davis (writer/artist). Fantagraphics. $24.99. Hardcover. Color. 152 Pages.
How To Be Happy collects some of some of Eleanor Davis' most important and moving work in one gorgeous hardcover by Fantagraphics. Davis, long known for her insightful and emotionally gutting short stories, brings together a strong selection that will leave readers aching for more. There's a haunting and almost disturbing quality to Davis' work -- in both idea and execution -- that cuts to the heart of very serious subjects with a hypnotic ruthlessness. So vast is Davis' talent and approach to storytelling that a casual flip through the book might lead readers to believe this was a collection by many creators, not just one. It's simply all the fantastic sides of Davis on stunning display. Stories range from meticulously crafted (but simple) line drawings detailing the skinning of a fox to the lovingly illustrated sepia toned washes of "Seven Sacks" and the controlled saturated colors of "Nita Goes Home." Like a chameleon, Davis draws and approaches story in a hundred different ways. She tackles all manner of subjects and finds the perfect way to express each of them, but the beating heart is what links them all. There's an emotional resonance to these short stories that few creators can manage in twice the page time. Davis has an effortless way of distilling her messages very personally to the reader. What you bring to the table invariably determines what you take away. Davis doesn't seek to teach a cliché lesson or shame anyone, she's simply grasping for the truth, and reading her work will leave you grasping for it too. (this write up taken in part from my CBR review of the book).
Female Friendly Factor: Female creator (Davis). Many stories lead by and/or featuring women as well as many stories that will be particularly relatable to women.
THE WAKE
Scott Snyder (writer). Sean Murphy (artist). Matt Hollingsworth (colorist). Vertigo. $24.99. Hardcover. Colors. 256 pages.
Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy’s 2014 Eisner Award Winning The Wake is a highly engrossing insanely detailed sci-fi horror epic is not to be missed and collected in one place in hardcover form may be the best possible way to read (or re-read) it. Snyder and Murphy’s mini-series spans literally millions of years and is ambitious in every way but thanks to Murphy’s miraculous world-building and Snyder’s boldness the story is unlike any other. As always with Snyder, there’s a delicious darkness and one fitting of the apocalyptic tale. Hollingsworth’s colors are also a particularly bright spot in the series, as they’re incredibly smart and well-considered from a world building perspective and yet evocative and emotional too.
Female Friendly Factor: The two leads – Dr. Lee Archer and Leeward are both badass ladies.
VELVET VOLUME 1
Ed Brubaker (writer). Steve Epting (artist). Elizabeth Breitweizer (colorist). Image Comics. $9.99. Softcover. Color. 128 Pages.
Collecting the first five issues of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s wonderful Velvet series, a brutal period spy story with an older female lead, who is (miracle of miracles) actually drawn that way (i.e. as an older character). This kind of lead is shockingly rare but Brubaker and Epting need not rely on that novelty because the book is just damn good regardless. Smart and intense, gorgeously rendered and with some of the best colors I’ve ever seen by Elizabeth Breitweizer, the book is a delight. Velvet, instead of being the perfect flawless super agent is actually plenty flawed, both emotionally and as she tries to utilize her rusty skills when thrown back into the field on the run after years at a desk. At the same time she is magnificently capable and all her wins feel incredibly earned. This book also has one of the best and smartest fight scenes I’ve seen in comics in just this side of forever, no small feat given comics are a medium with a whole hell of a lot of fight scenes to choose from.
Female Friendly Factor: Female Creator (Breitweizer). Unconventional female lead in Velvet Templeton and a few good supporting female characters.
DEADLY CLASS VOLUME 1: REAGAN YOUTH
Rick Remender (writer). Wes Craig (artist). Lee Loughridge (colorist). Image Comics. $9.99. Softcover. Color. 160 Pages.
Collecting the first six issues of Rick Remender, Wes Craig, and Lee Loughridge’s Deadly Class this book is not for everyone but is DEFINITELY for those with a whole lot of nostalgia for the 80’s. The concept -- an underground high school in the 1980’s for gifted youngsters, that trains them to be assassins -- is worth its weight in gold. And since it’s a creator owned book from Image, creators Remender and Craig are free to cut completely loose. They pull no punches, whether it be sex, violence, or drug use, and the book is all the better and more real for it. Craig’s art is a particular delight, giving the book a look that feels both retro/80’s appropriate and also somehow new and modern. It’s a smart and impressive balance well struck. The issues in which the group goes on a road trip and our lead ends up in a crazy drug induced nightmare haze is both Remender’s funniest bits and Craig and Loughridge’s most impressive, innovative, and ballsy visual work.
Female friendly factor: Some seriously interesting female characters, including the biggest badass in the whole book.
And in the shameless self promotion category... STORYKILLER - A prose novel by Kelly Thompson (aka yours truly!) and the hardcover edition includes illustrations by some of comics greatest artists - Stephanie Hans, Ross Campbell, Meredith McClaren, Kris Anka, Noelle Stevenson, Dustin Nguyen, Rebekah Isaacs, Stacey Lee, Declan Shalvey, Ben Caldwell, Jake Wyatt, Brett Weldele, Renae De Liz, Matthew Southworth, Thomas Boatwright, Caanan Grall, Cassandra James, Ming Doyle, and Kyla Vanderklugt. Limited edition signed hardcovers (and all sorts of awesome extras) are on sale now. Female friendly factor: Female creators, a female lead, and a strong female supporting cast! 'Natch ;)
So, that's my list of things to give and things to get in 2014...what are you giving and asking for this year? Sound off in the comments!
Kelly Thompson is a freelance writer living in Manhattan. She is the author of the superhero novel THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING recently optioned to become a film, and her new novel STORYKILLER is out now. She is also writing the forthcoming Jem and The Holograms comic from IDW. You can find Kelly all over the place, but twitter may be the easiest: @79semifinalist