Girls to the front! If you?re looking for feminist-friendly comics to share with kids aged 7?11 here are some titles they might enjoy which don?t contain adult content or anything too scary. Please do check them yourself first though as your mileage may vary.
I?ve read all of these and enjoyed them so they?re definitely good for big kids too! This list is a spin off from a much bigger list of Comics With Women and Girls In.
Key
Supernatural: ? Science: ?Robots: ? Fairytales / Princesses: ? Space / Aliens: ? Occult / Magic: ? Mystery: ? Superheroes / Villains: ?
Woman creator (writer or artist): ??? Webcomic: ? WOC as a central character: ?? LGBTQ themes or characters: ???? Person with a disability as a central character: ? Suitable for all ages: ?????
The Tea Dragon Society
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Katie O?Neill, 2017, Oni Press. http://teadragonsociety.com/ and https://oni-press.myshopify.com/collections/new-releases/products/the-tea-dragon-society
I can barely cope with the loveliness of this story about a young apprentice blacksmith learning about the world of (tiny, leafy) tea dragons and making some new friends along the way. There?s a nice theme around craft, but the big message is about being kind and taking care of each other. It also has at least one (possibly two) queer love stories. There is a little bit of swearing at the start of chapter two.
Bandette
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Paul Tobin and Coleen Coover, 2013-, Dark Horse. http://www.colleencoover.net/?page_id=4131
Bandette is sort of a cross between Amelie and the Artful Dodger, a teenage burgler stealing from the rich and sometimes helping bumbling detectives with the assistance of a motley crew of street urchins and? ballerinas. Like Bandette herself it?s charming and stylish. I?ve given this an ?all ages? icon but there is a fleeting glimpse of a couple making out in a state of undress in the first issue in case that bothers you.
Lady Castle
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Delilah Dawson, Ashley A. Woods, Elsa Charretier, 2017, BOOM! Studios. https://shop.boom-studios.com/comics/detail/7081/ladycastle-1
I love that Fairytale Princess Story Subverted is basically a whole comics genre now, with Princess Princess Ever After, Another Castle, and Lady Castle here. One of my most adored series of books when I was a kid was the Song of The Lioness sequence by Tamora Pierce, so I cannot get enough of this stuff. The premise is simple: the male inhabitants of Mancastle have been eaten by a dragon on an ill-fated quest, so the women take over. From there Lady Castledoes exactly what you want it to: shows lots of women doing cool stuff, working, learning, and growing together, discovering their inner strength, being different but awesome (the inhabitants of Lady Castle are very diverse and it?s no big) and occasionally having cool fights in armour. More often they find a nonviolent resolution and I guess that has its place too.
Lumberjanes
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Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson, 2014-, BOOM! Studios. http://www.boom-studios.com/series/lumberjanes/
Lumberjaaaanes! Joyful, irreverent adventure series about a group of girls at a summer camp in a forest full of strange creatures and mysteries. The group of friends have different qualities, strengths, and flaws, I?m sure every reader will find someone they relate to. There?s also some great, positive representation of a trans girl and a very sweet lesbian romance. I found the first volume wasn?t especially gripping but then the pace picks up and the adventures get more exciting. So much fun it almost makes me want to go outside and get some exercise instead of staying in bed reading comics. Almost.
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur
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Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder, 2015-, Marvel. http://marvel.com/comics/issue/57014/moon_girl_and_devil_dinosaur_2015_1
A fricking adorable, funny story about a girl genius and her friend/sidekick, a magic red T-Rex. Lunella Lafayette (aka Moon Girl) is super smart, brave, confident, and determined. She?s not interested in fitting in or hiding her intelligence because she has things to do, dammit. Science things. And no one is going to stand in her way, not even the Incredible Hulk.
Nimona
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Noelle Stevenson, 2012?2015, Gingerhaze. http://gingerhaze.com/nimona and https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780062278234/nimona
Nimona is a determined young woman (who also happens to be a powerful shapeshifter) who appoints herself as sidekick to arch villain and evil scientist Lord Ballister Blackheart, who reluctantly accepts her help in his quest to defeat his nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. The comic is hilarious and has lots of fun playing with fantasy tropes. There are also points of darkness and real pathos as the story explodes stereotypes, explores the challenges of friendship, and grapples with the complexity of good and evil.
Princess Princess Ever After
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Katie O?Neill, 2014, Oni Press http://strangelykatie.com/princessprincess/ and https://oni-press.myshopify.com/products/princess-princess-ever-after
Just that classic tale: a princess trapped in a tower (Sadie) is rescued by another princess (Amira) who has decided to become a hero. Together they rescue a prince (Vladric) and have an adventure, and then the tables are turned and Sadie must rescue Amira. It?s a deceptively simple story with nuanced characters and it?s stopped from becoming too sugary by the gently snarky sense of humour.
Cursed Pirate Girl
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Jeremy A. Bastian, 2016, Archaia. http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Cursed-Pirate-Girl/Jeremy-Bastian/9781608868339
I really enjoyed this bizarre, baroque nautical adventure story. It has been compared to Alice In Wonderland set on the high seas, but this time round Alice is considerably more kickass. The artwork is stunning ? incredibly intricate, full of entertaining grotesqueries and handsome details. It might be a little scary for young children (the eponymous heroine does lose an eye along the way, for example) but it has the same dreamlike quality as Alice, which prevents CPG?s escapades getting too dark.
Another Castle
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Andrew Wheeler and Paulina Ganucheau, 2017, Oni Press. https://oni-press.myshopify.com/products/another-castle-grimoire
A fine addition to my favourite new genre: princess stories subverted. Princess Misty takes on her evil husband-to-be King Badlug of Grimoire with the help of some misfit monsters and witches. Another Castle ticks all the same boxes as Lady Castle and Princess Princess Ever After but takes the ?badass princess who saves herself and her kingdom? story to the next level by questioning whether a monarchy is actually an ethical system of government in the first place *double thumbs up*
Veda: Assembly Required
? ????? Samuel Teer and Hyeondo Park, 2015, Dark Horse https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/23-906/VEDA-Assembly-Required-TPB
Veda is a young orphan girl hiding in a giant futuristic factory and raised by assembly robots. But she rebels against her machine family when recruited by the gremlin that also lives in the factory. Amongst the fun of Veda?s life living in the nooks and crannies of the factory, dodging the security guard, there are some surprisingly moving moments. The robots are imbued with impressive emotional range given that they are basically just a giant arm, and the ?machine language? of icons and emojis that Veda learns to speak is a nice touch. Veda is forced to make some difficult choices, and decide who she wants to be: hooman, machine, gremlin or something else entirely.
DC Superhero Girls: Finals Crisis
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Shea Fontan and Yancey Labat, 2016, DC http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/dc-super-hero-girls-2016/dc-super-hero-girls-vol-1-finals-crisis
Ok, I?m gonna level with you here. I don?t think this is a great comic, as the title of this post might suggest. I?m not even sure if it?s very good. What I do know is that if I?d picked this up when I was 7 it would have BLOWN MY TINY MIND. The premise is simple: Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Katana, Bumblebee, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are friends studying at Super Hero High School (run by Principal Amanda Waller!) They take classes, hang out at Capes & Cowls Cafe, and fight crime for extra credit. In this story their final exams are approaching and each chapter follows one of the girls as they prepare, but a mysterious adversary seems determined to get in their way… As a grown up DC fan it?s not exactly a gripping read but I found it very satisfying to see so many of DC?s brilliant women characters in one place (including brief cameos from Lois Lane, Hawk Girl and even Lady Shiva!) And the little in-jokes are lots of fun, from the pun in the title to the stuffed toy Nightwing in Batgirl?s Batcave. If you?re a DC-lovin parent this could be a great way to start sharing the characters that you love.
