DC Superheroes: My First Book of Girl Power (Family Comic Friday)

  

 Sorry, it's a day late folks, but I'm on a mini-vacation with my wife in wonderful and weird Asheville, NC. After the week I've had at work, this was much, much needed. My wife's been at a conference during the day, so I've been catching up with friends, owners, and artists about new trends in comics. Oddly, enough, today's article reviews a book that I discovered later after my wife got done with her meetings and we went out to dinner. We stopped at this funky little shop called the L.O.F.T. )Lost Objects, Found Treasures) on our way back to the van. It had tons of cool stuff like a Boba Fett puzzle tower, rap star cookie cutters, bacon flavored floss, and the book I am reviewing today: DC Superheroes: My First Book of Girl Power.

     This book is one of about a dozen titles in the DC Superheroes: My First Book series. The books are board books, geared for early readers. It's also an excellent way for parents who grew up reading comics to introduce superheroes to their children without being violent or scary. 

    The series started in 2011 with My First Superman Book, followed by a Batman and a Wonder Woman edition. All three of those books are touch & feel books, meaning there are things made of different textures for children to explore while reading this book, such as Superman's cape or twine from the Dark Knight's Bat-Rope. Over the past 4 years, series creator David Katz has released books with your favorite DC heroes teaching the ABCs, shapes, and opposites. The most recent book came out in July about the importance of sleep. 

    Girl Power is the only book in the My First Series not written by the series' regular author. It's written by Julie Merberg (creator of the Mini Masters Board Books series that introduces youngsters to famous artists with titles like Painting With Picasso.) This book introduces many of the leading ladies in the DC Universe such as the well known Wonder Woman and Supergirl. It also includes some more obscure characters like Black Canary and Raven from Teen Titans. 

    The art is a bit of a toss up. In all of the books, the artwork is from DC's style guides created around 1978-1986. I recognize some of those same images were used in the creation of Kenner's awesome Super Powers line of action figures and other cool toys. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez was the genius behind much of the artwork, though his regular inker, the equally legendary Dick Giordano penciled some of the guide's artwork as well. I just wish that all of the images were different and not recycled on several pages.

     I bought this book to introduce a new member of our family to the world of superheroes. This Christmas, maybe I'll be the first to read it to them. This series has been a sleeper but from page one, the nostalgia and creativity (and educational value) is a hit. More importantly, it's geared towards girls- a valuable and grossly untapped source of potential comic book readers.  Once again, Marvel gets all of the praise and fandom for crafting adult books that appeal to women readers, but DC excedes in reaching out to the next generation with this awesome series of early reader board books that must become a part of your aspiring comic book collector's reading rotation. Boy or girl!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Roller Girl (Family Comic Friday)

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is my selection for this week's Family Comic Friday. Written and illustrated by an actual roller derby athlete, this all-ages graphic novel gives a semi-autobiographical look at the world of roller derby, in particular, an derby camp for girls in Portland called the Rose City Rosebuds.              

   The main character is Astrid, a young tomboy who's developing into a young woman. But while her best friend is now interested in dance, fashion, makeup and the boys, Astrid is still rough and tumble. When her BFF decides to go to ballet camp, the two girls have a parting of the ways.      

   This leads Astrid to join the Rosebuds, inspired by her favorite player, a skater with colorful socks named Rainbow Bite. Being the youngest and the smallest girl at the camp, and not a very good skater either, will mean that Astrid will have to dig deep if she's going to become the next roller derby Star. Maybe the little girl with pink hair might wanna practice some blocks with her after camp...?

   Roller Girl is girl power in sequential art form. The book isn't preachy though it is feminist through and through. But there is nothing wrong with teaching young ladies that it's okay to not wear frilly dresses or want to be a cheerleader. There's also the great message that there is nothing wrong with being you- it's what makes you unique.          

      I really enjoyed this book. The art was clean and fun. The story was original, but it had a timeless appeal to it. Jamieson's book has been compared to that of Raina Telgemeier ( Sisters) and I agree. I felt like I was reading a true story and the artwork did remind me of Teglemeier's work. (Speaking of which, Telgemeier gives a blurb of praise right on the book's cover. See image above.)                 

      There is nothing to object to here. Though some parents may not approve of the violent nature of roller derby. Plus, Astrid is a little mouthy towards her mom in a couple of scenes, but it's more because of the confusion she is feeling about becoming a young woman and not out of spite. 

   The message of empowering young women to be athletic and different is one that I would teach my daughter if I was a parent. Though I would get her hooked on comic books, Doctor Who, and the Steelers once she emerged from the womb. But, boy, would I take her to roller derby in a heartbeat- but her mother would have to teach her how to skate...

     Ideal for girls AND boys, starting at around age 10. 

    Worth Consuming. 

    Rating 10 out of 10 stars.