• Marvel 70th Anniversary
• Books

by Arcee on 04.22.10

I am going to be real honest here, so please don’t make too much fun of me for my opening up a bit. When I got my first comic book back in the 1980s, the reason that I was so into it, and the real reason why I wanted to go buy more, was because I was captivated at how beautiful Emma Frost looked. Yep, my love of comics all started because I was attracted to the White Queen and how she looked in that white corset outfit and white cape. I know, a bit pathetic, but that is what drew me in. Of course, as I got… well, not older, but more mature, my love of comics came from the stories rather than the art, but I still had a soft spot for the female characters. But not just for how they were drawn now, but because, for the most part, they seemed like the more interesting characters more so than the male ones.

Jean Grey, Rogue, and Storm always seemed more interesting than half of the male X-Men characters. Wonder Woman had better stories and more complicated situations than Superman. Silver Fox and Elektra pretty much had their ways with Wolverine and Daredevil, respectively, as did Catwoman with Batman. Wasp and Scarlet Witch had better side stories than Vision or Ant-Man. Lady Death had total control over Evil Ernie. Carol Ferris, Arisia, Jade were some of the best Green Lantern supporting characters. And then there was Mary Jane who was simply a doll; a super model and actress married to the everyday man turned superhero. To me, they were just more interesting characters. Even today they are some of the most captivating figures in all of comicdom.

Now, the reason I started off with that admission is because recently I picked up the magazine sized special by Marvel to help celebrate Marvel’s 70^th anniversary, Women of MARVEL: Celebrating Seven Decades at a local shop. Inside this 100 plus paged special, the people at Marvel take a lightly detailed look at how their female characters have affected the fabric of what goes on in the Marvel universe. Looking back at how timidly Marvel was at introducing female characters in the 1940s to how certain female characters shined through despite those trepidations, including characters like Miss America, Patsy Walker (who would later become Hellcat), the original Black Widow, and Millie the Model, to name a few. They then go on to look at how integral women became during the Silver Age revival taking on lead or prominent roles such as the Invisible Girl, Aunt May, Gwen Stacy, the Wasp, Marvel Girl, the Scarlet Witch, and the Enchantress. Their addition to the titles showcased strength of character that was a breath of fresh air to the male dominated comic book scene.

Aside from just the way female characters affected the lay of the Marvel land, they also showcase some of the female creators within Marvel who helped create and bring to life several characters. Talking about creators like Tarpe Mills, Ruth Atkinson, Virginia Barclay, Marie Severin, Flo Steinberg, Jean Simek, Wendy Fletcher (who had an interesting start in comics and I suggest you look her up), Linda Fite, Louise Simonson, Mary Jo Duffy, Gail Simone, to Laurel K. Hamilton, and countless of other female creative geniuses that have graced the halls and pages of Marvel comics. They shed light on just how much of a contribution women have made on comics, and how sometimes are quickly forgotten in talks of memorable creators.

Of course, as with most Marvel specials released on the market, there are some funny and quirky articles included in the magazine as well. There is a segment titled “America’s Next Top Mutant Model” that pokes fun at some of the best and worst costumes the X-Women have worn over the years. “X-Love” deals with some of the most questionable relationships that have happened in the mutant culture. “Bring on the Bad Girls” takes a look at how the villainesses and morally questionable characters have changed and affected the Marvel universe, detailing the profiles of Elektra, the Scarlet Witch, the White Queen, Viper, and others, and even giving quick introductions to some of the newest batch of femme fatales making the scene nowadays.

There are also several reprinted stories inside that feature the origins and some of the most memorable moments some of Marvel’s most prominent female characters. These include the original 1940s back up story that introduces a satanic Black Widow in Mystic Comics 4, the introduction of the 1960s Black Widow in Tales of Suspense 52, the first appearance of She-Hulk in The Savage She-Hulk 1, and how Storm became leader of the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men 201. All of which are classic issues, and I was extremely glad they reprinted them here seeing as how it is very hard to get a hand on a copy of the original issues.

The special closes out with a look at Spider-Girl and how her loyal fan base refuses to let this character and her title remain cancelled, and even after 13 years, she remains a much loved character who was only meant to star in What if? 105. They talk with her creator, Tom DeFalco, and how he has had so many ups and downs with the character during her long run and multiple cancellations, and tries to explain just what the appeal of the character is and why her fans are so die hard that they keep rescuing her from cancellation time after time. In my opinion, it is a fitting end to a book whose purpose is to shine a light on the strengths of the women of Marvel, both those drawn within the pages of the comics, and those who helped put them there during the creative processes behind the scenes.

This is one special I definitely feel you should not miss. It has insightful facts and details on how women changed the very course of Marvel Comics. It is empowering, yet never in your face with how much have women mattered at the House of Ideas. And it is a great piece of historical importance in that it brings to light names and creations that have sometimes been forgotten, especially from those in the 1940s and 50s. At first glance at the cover of the book, I thought it would be another poster book or something along those lines that just showcased some art and sketches of some of the best Marvel characters out there. But I was amazed and taken aback by how much was actually in there and how much even I learned from reading it. To any Marvel fan, female comic book fan, or curious onlooker, don’t cheat yourself and pick this one up.