Over the years we have heard plenty of complaints that women aren’t represented enough in comics. While there is still a long way to go in equality between the sexes (yes, even for the Supes), I feel it is important to acknowledge the bold women who have been there to represent us over the years. Many of us grew up idolizing these strong women who could kick butt and always looked good doing it.
In the early days of comics, women were found mostly in the Career Girl comics (like the Millie the Model and Nellie the Nurse), in Romance comics, or in Teenage Comics (like Archie and Josie and the Pussycats). Many people believe that the very first female superhero was Wonder Woman. I mean, it would make sense for the female counterpart to Superman to be the very first, and while she is still one of the most popular and recognizable symbols of strong women in comics, we would be wrong to call her the first. In fact, the very first female superhero was Fantomeh. She was an ancient Egyptian who lived in the jungles of Africa, protecting the wildlife from poachers and scientists. She had mostly undefinable powers (which seemed to change with every issue) and had the quirk that whenever she used said powers her face became a blue skull! She debuted in Jungle Comics #2 in February of 1940 (a whopping 72 years ago this month!). The comic was distributed by publisher Fiction House, who were known for carrying a cast of strong and independent femmes in their comics.
Wonder Woman hit the shelves for the first time in All Star Comics #8 issue in December 1941. Her comic has been printed nearly continuously since than (with a small break in 1986). She is the iconic representation of Women’s Liberation. Even her creator, William Moulton Marston, believed that she should be a model of strong, liberated women.
“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”
Marston wrote in a 1943 issue of The American Scholar. His vision of Wonder Woman has inspired generations of women.
Of course these weren’t the only female supes from the Golden Age. The original gal who wore tight black and rode around on a motorcycle beating criminals was Black Cat, a hollywood stunt woman turned vigilante. She debuted in 
Harvey comics Pocket Comics #1 in August of 1941, predating the more well-known Bat-Woman by 15 years. Another fellow feline crime fighter was Miss Fury, created by one of the first female comic artists Tarpé Mills. Miss Fury (originally called the Black Fury) was the first ever female superhero created by a woman.
The Silver Age of comics brought some new challenges to the empowered super woman of the 40′s and 50′s. Along with the creation of the Comic Book Code, publishers created editorial guides for their writers and artists. In the book Batman In The 50′s author Michael Uslan reveals that DC created a portion of their Editorial Policy Code specifically to instruct on the purpose of women in comics.
“ The inclusion of females in stories is specifically discouraged. Women, when used in plot structure, should be secondary in importance and should be drawn realistically, without exaggeration of feminine qualities.”
This, along with a strong popularity of romance comics during the age, casued the creation of many of our favorite superhero love interests, such as Lois Lane for Superman, Carol Ferris for Green Lantern, and varying love interests for the ever commitment stunted Batman. There were a few notable female supes from this era, such as Bat-Woman (and the more successful Bat-Girl), and Invisible Girl; however they were written more soft-spoken and gentile than the bombshells of the Golden Age.
The Bronze age brought a light of hope for our favorite gals along with the rise of the feminist movement. With the renewed strength of the Women’s Liberation movement, inspiring countless memorable and strong female characters, especially from Marvel. Ms. Marvel was introduced originally as non-power Carol Danvers in Marvel Super-heroes #13 in March 1968. She was then given her own comic, debuting in Ms. Marvel #1 in January 1977. Another notable Bronze age heroine, is not only one of the most recognizable females in comics, but it the most popular and well-known black superhero ever. Her name is Ororo Iqadi T’Challa, née Munroe, aka Storm. Storm was one of the most influential female characters of the times. She was strong, self-confident, wise, patient and independent from her very creation, and has continued to be to this day.
Many of the already established female characters received personality makeovers, becoming reflective of the new feeling of empowerment in the women of the time. Invisible Girl became Invisible Woman, taking command of the Fantastic Four. Wasp became leader of the JLA. Even Storm became the leader of the X-
men in Uncanny X-men #139 in November 1980. Many of the strong women from this era were the result of Marvel writer Chris Claremonte. Claremonte was so known for creating characters with intelligent, powerful personalities that female characters who resist and represent female strengths are often labeled “Claremont Women”, a term still used today in the comic industry.
The Modern age of comics has seen a plethora of strong females, especially from the independent publishers. In December 1989 Joseph Michael Lisner introduced the world to the superhero/goddess Dawn in Cry for Dawn #1. His character represented the long worshiped magical aspect of women and their connection to creation. A personification of Mother Earth, Dawn sought to learn the secrets of the universe and to protect those she cared for and who worshiped her. She was ever changing, but still flawed. She dealt with issues which haunt many women, such as the prospect of being barren.
Another female juggernaut of the independent comics was from publisher Top Cow. Police woman turned supernatural weapon balancing good and evil in New York, Sarah Pezzini was introduced as the Witchblade in Witchblade #1 in November 1995. But the Modern era hasn’t only been good for the indie comics.
DC has made a comeback for their female characters, giving them new challenges and progressive stories. In Alan Moore’s Batman: the Killing Joke from 1988, Barbara Gordon is shot by the Joker and paralyzed. Did she let that stop her vigilante career? No sir! She became Oracle, the most relied upon informant in the DC Universe. She didn’t stop there, teaming up with Black Canary and forming the all girl super group Birds of Prey. Birds of prey is almost an all-star cast of strong females from the DC Universe having had members such as Huntress, Big Barda, Black Alice, Katana, Gypsy, Lady Shiva, Starling, Hawk Girl, Power Girl, Manhunter, Misfit, Infinity, Vixen, and even Poison Ivy.
All in all, we gals have got some pretty great role models in the comic world. While there may still be more of the Super guys out there, we gals have got a lot to be proud of. As the population of female readers continues to grow we can expect more wonderful characters and challenges for our heroines.
Tags: Women
I tend not to leave many comments, however after reading some of the comments on Femme Fatales of Superherodom | SuperHeroStuff.com. I do have a couple of questions for you if it’s okay. Could it be just me or do a few of these responses appear as if they are left by brain dead folks?
And, if you are writing on additional online social sites, I would like to keep up with you. Would you list of all of your social community sites like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
Thanks Lakisha! We are in a bunch of different places. You can find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/superherostuff and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/superherostuff