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Mighty Marvel: Women of Marvel
Eight tales showcasing Marvel's most powerful women! Collecting: Women of Marvel: Firestar, Lady Deadpool, Namora, Valkyrie, Rescue, Sif, Spitfire, X-23, Galacta, Women of Marvel #1-2
286 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2011
About the author
Mary H.K. Choi
23 books2,610 followersMary H.K. Choi is a Korean-American author, editor, television and print journalist. She is the author of young adult novel Emergency Contact (2018). She is the culture correspondent on Vice News Tonight on HBO and was previously a columnist at Wired and Allure magazines as well as a freelance writer. She attended a large public high school in a suburb of San Antonio, then college at the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in Textile and Apparel.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 6, 2011
The ONLY reason I gave this otherwise wonderful book a 3 star was because of the Galacta story. Ugh, it was too long, too wordy, too boring, too whiny, too creepy, too much 'daddy, you never answer my calls so I'm going to keep calling you and calling you' too 'I'm always hungry, maybe I should consider self cannibalization' too much twitter, too much ego preening, the art was wonky, the coloring was weird and over all, I felt the book would have fared SO much better without this story, and also, it didn't do any background so I spent the whole story trying to figure out when Galactus had a kid!
Otherwise, the book was great, great showcase of female characters and different artists. I would have liked if some stories had had background bios, some stories had them to help understand the characters, others didn't and I was confused about Songbird and Galacta and Satana and Brunhilde, oh, and Namora. The stories were well written and beautifully rendered but it would have been nice to have a bio to explain who/what the characters' thing was, like they did for Spitfire and Firestar and X. I found myself tearing up reading Firestar, her questions about her future reminded me so much of my own questions about my future, and Namora's story was so touching, when she has to give up happiness for truth. Lady Deadpool was funny, if a bit disjointed, but then again, Deadpool's always like that, huh?
Aside from the Galacta story, this was amazing.
Otherwise, the book was great, great showcase of female characters and different artists. I would have liked if some stories had had background bios, some stories had them to help understand the characters, others didn't and I was confused about Songbird and Galacta and Satana and Brunhilde, oh, and Namora. The stories were well written and beautifully rendered but it would have been nice to have a bio to explain who/what the characters' thing was, like they did for Spitfire and Firestar and X. I found myself tearing up reading Firestar, her questions about her future reminded me so much of my own questions about my future, and Namora's story was so touching, when she has to give up happiness for truth. Lady Deadpool was funny, if a bit disjointed, but then again, Deadpool's always like that, huh?
Aside from the Galacta story, this was amazing.
May 31, 2016
Once again I have been utterly disappointed by the portrayal of Marvel’s female characters. This graphic novel is a compilation of first issues; basically it’s an introduction to a bunch of D-list heroes. Unfortunately, half of the stories rely on humor (instead of having Lyra, Hulk’s daughter, bash in some Skrulls, we watch her try on prom dresses) and a third are cliché and generic, copies of male counterparts with boobs.
The worst of the worst has to be Galacta, teeny bopper daughter of Galactus. Not only is this premise stretched thin over way too many pages, but it is partly told through TWEETS, what? It was ridiculously annoying. Other wastes of time included Firestar, Dazzler, Spitfire, Songbird (I could not even get through), and the Cinderella parody with the Fantastic Four, I mean really come on!
The best hands down was the very first (x-23) this story has original artwork that was gritty and gripping, it actually made me want to read the rest of her series. I was also pleasantly surprised by Rescue’s story in which actual heroics occur! Also worth reading were the stories pertaining to Lady Deadpool, Namora, Sif (Beta Ray Bill makes an appearace!), Black Cat & Santana, and Valkyrie's wasn't too bad either.
Ultimately this collection felt like it was more about quantity than quality.
The worst of the worst has to be Galacta, teeny bopper daughter of Galactus. Not only is this premise stretched thin over way too many pages, but it is partly told through TWEETS, what? It was ridiculously annoying. Other wastes of time included Firestar, Dazzler, Spitfire, Songbird (I could not even get through), and the Cinderella parody with the Fantastic Four, I mean really come on!
The best hands down was the very first (x-23) this story has original artwork that was gritty and gripping, it actually made me want to read the rest of her series. I was also pleasantly surprised by Rescue’s story in which actual heroics occur! Also worth reading were the stories pertaining to Lady Deadpool, Namora, Sif (Beta Ray Bill makes an appearace!), Black Cat & Santana, and Valkyrie's wasn't too bad either.
Ultimately this collection felt like it was more about quantity than quality.
June 27, 2012
This collection of stories featuring female superheroes in the Marvel universe was a VERY mixed bag. Some of the stories were excellent (X-23, Sif), some were good (Lady Deadpool, Valkyrie), and the rest ranged from mediocre to awful. If it were possible to rate the individual stories, X-23 and Sif would both get 4 stars. Taken as a whole, though, this book is OK at best.
December 30, 2017
I would have given it three, but that Galacta story was so boring I couldn't finish it. Overall, it isn't too bad. They're just snippets of superheroes that can entice you to the own collection (if they have any). None spoke to me personally, I there was a range in character plots that revolved in something other than men. I feel like they could further develop their personalities so they're not mainly analytical caring women, yet I assume that's what the other comics or for. The costumes were also questionable at times, but they were a lot better than what I expected.
May 9, 2018
This is mostly terrible. The first two stories are solid comics from Marjorie Liu and Kelley Sue DeConnick but by the time you get to Galacta and the genuinely awful Lady Deadpool this collection really falls off a cliff with only shorter entries by G Willow Wilson and Mary H.K. Choi saving this from the recycling bin.
December 14, 2019
Great art, and some really good stories. Kind of all over the place, but still good.
December 19, 2023
Love black cat, x 23, and dazzler. Although I already adored them and picked this up to check out some new girlies but all the other stories were beyond boring and overall not worth it.
June 14, 2015
Featuring the first issue for many of Marvel's female superheroes, and as such, a very mixed bag. I thought for sure I'd like X-23/Laura's, since it was written by Marjorie Liu and I liked her in Black Widow, but it was a no go for me. I also didn't like Galacta (clever idea, I guess, but all she did was whine about calories) or Lady Deadpool, which had a remarkable amount of shaming in it. Others I skipped because the art was just so objectifying, it wasn't worth it. But I quite liked Firestar and want to learn more bout her, Pepper Potts s Rescue was definitely interesting and Spitfire was super interesting. I liked Sif and Valkyrie and wouldn't mind learning more about them, too. The Thor fonts always drive me crazy, though, so not sure I could get through a ton of their stuff.
April 5, 2012
This includes a bunch of shorts about a ton of female marvel characters that I had never really read about before and I was happy to read it. There are definitely a bunch of characters I would like to know more about including Sif and X-23. I had never read anything from Dazzler that wasn't older so it was nice to read something about her that wasn't silly and all in all I really enjoyed it.
The only two stories I wasn't in love with were Galacta and Lady Deadpool. Both just felt a little bit long to me.
The only two stories I wasn't in love with were Galacta and Lady Deadpool. Both just felt a little bit long to me.
October 30, 2014
Some great, some awful. VERY marvel. Lady Deadpool, X-23 and Spitfire stood out. Some of them were just straight up bad. Also- HORRIBLE cheesecake at the end. HORRIBLE cover. Really does a disservice to women in comics. So overall this was okay- nothing special and more annoying than good
March 18, 2016
I dream of a world in which female superheroes don't have unrealistically exposed cleavage. Some interesting stories, and the variety in artists made for a cool variety of drawing styles, but I'm still so distracted by their stupid costumes that I can't fully appreciate the characters themselves.
October 20, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this book, I loved seeing the amazing representation and diversity of the women and the beautiful illustrations and it is definitely a very important book to empower young girls.
January 26, 2013
The five stars are for Kelly Sue's Sif story, though I enjoyed the rest of them (except for lady deadpool and galactica, that is).
June 1, 2013
This was a pretty good collection, though it is kind of hard to read through so many "#1"s at once. The Galacta story was completely unnecessary in my opinion and is the collection's biggest blemish.
October 13, 2014
Mainly read this because of Black Cat, but the stories involving other characters were good enough. Some a little wacky, but enjoyable nonetheless.
March 27, 2013
Hit and miss.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews