This week we celebrate National Comic Book Day (Sept. 25), which means that it’s time to brush off the dust jackets on our most treasured issues and tomes. I’m the first to admit that I’m more of a visitor than an expert on the wild, vast world of comic books and graphic novels. But for those who love to dive into new realities, staring at pages with intricate art that flows from one plot point to the next, comic books and graphic novels are a form of magic. And it’s a type of sorcery that’s being wielded by many women at the top of their game — as writers, artists, and world builders.
Here are some of the comic books and graphic novels written and created by women that have left an indelible mark on our psyches.
Absolute Wonder Woman
by Kelly Thompson
It’s hard to overstate how much all of us Original Spinsters love Wonder Woman and long to visit (or settle down on) Themyscira. Kelly Thompson has a knack for writing complex, badass heroines.
She’s also the brilliant writer behind the Birds of Prey comic series, which features Harley Quinn and her merry sisterhood as they break faces on their audacious adventures.
Monstress
by Marjorie Liu
The first time I came across the breathtaking cover for Monstress at the library, I gasped. The art pulled me in and the content did not disappoint. Set in a matriarchial world that draws inspiration from 20th century Asia, this is the story of Maika Halfwolf, a teenage girl with mysterious powers.
A sprawling epic that combines the traditions of comic books, manga, and other art forms, this is one to savor.
Through the Woods
by Emily Carroll
It’s almost October, which means that spooky season is here. If you’re the horror afficionado of your friend group and consider The Conjuring a love story, then Emily Carroll’s strange, unnerving collection of illustrated stories is for you.
May I recommend reading “His Face All Red” with the lights on? That one is pure, delicious nightmare fodder.
Bitch Planet
by Kelly Sue DeConnick
No list of great women comic book writers is complete without Kelly Sue DeConnick and the Bitch Planet series, set in a world where women who fail to comply with the patriarchal overlords are shipped off to a penal planet elsewhere in the galaxy (haha not relevant these dark times at all).
Fun fact about DeConnick: her first published comic book was a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation story.
Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitude
by Trina Robbins
Calling all ancient mythology buffs! This one’s for you. Created by cartoonist Trina Robbins, who was a legend in the underground comix movement, this collection bills itself as relating “the tales of twenty nasty, bitchy, totally amusing and utterly enjoyable goddesses.”
Say no more, Trina. Say no more. We’re 100% on board.
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For
by Alison Bechdel
Many of us know Alison Bechdel for being the originator of the Bechdel test, in which a fictional work passes the test only if it features two women having a conversation about something other than a man.
But she’s also a brilliant cartoonist and in this book, which Bechdel herself refers to as “half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel,” we readers get to dive into the world of a group of friends living in America. You can be sure this one passes the Bechdel test.
So there we have it — a woefully incomplete but fun guide to some of the women in comic books and graphic novels who are rocking our world.
We’re always looking for our next great read, so if we’ve missed your favorite women in comic books and graphic novels, please share them! Next week, we’ll be sharing a list of some of our favorite women characters in comic books and graphic novels, so stay tuned for more illustrated bad bitches.
