Feminist comic books for kids

Is it too much to ask for… non-sexist pulp? An exciting story with heroes, villains, monsters, maybe some space ships and giant squids, and some non-irritating female characters?

Suggested Works

• Akiko - comic book, but not a superhero. A great adventurer with friends.
• Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
• Corrector Yui
• Courtney Crumrin by Ted Naifeh
• Fables and Runways
• Franny K. Stein, mad scientist. Heavily illustrated but not a comic book & not a superhero
• Girl Genius: A Gaslamp Fantasy with Adventure, Romance & Mad Science by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio at http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
• Go Girl by Trina Robbins
• JLA Unlimited
• Kamichama Karin
• Leave It To Chance by James Robinson
• Little Lit series, ed. Art Spiegelman
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds. Not quite a superhero, but she flies around on a cool glider and is a scientist with a laboratory and experiments, and is never helpless or captured.
• Neotopia
• Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh
• PS 238 - An elementary school for children of superheroes
• Runaways - A group of teenagers; story not sexist; points for positive portrayals of gay characters. Story a little advanced for a 6-year-old.
• Star Wars: Legend series (upcoming) by John Ostrander. "[A] lot of the characters are female and look reasonably authoritative and tough. In other words, there are female fighters and generals, and they’re not all drawn to look like they’re 17 with a Hollywood boob job."
• Teen Titans
• Yoko Tsuno series, by Roger Leloup
• Yotsuba@!
• Young Avengers - points for positive portrayals of gay characters; geared for kids around 10yo
• Young Justice - For kids
• The X-Men - Some of the specific runs, like Dark Phoenix.

• Movies & TV: "Batman cartoons are slightly less stupid and sexist than Superman ones, and the stories aren’t completely insipid."

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External Links

• FeministSF Blog Posting + Comments (2006/6/13)
• List of recommended manga, by age group
• A Parents' Guide to Anime