The title of this blog isn't for nothing, y'all! It's time to recommend a comic that is gender-friendly and all-around amazing:
THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL
This new Marvel series (2015-present) is everything I have ever wanted in a comic - it's funny and smart, has great art and well-written storylines and dialogue. What makes it SUPERB, though, is who Ryan North and Erica Henderson have re-made Squirrel Girl into as a character. She is independent, but not afraid to accept help from her furry and non-furry friends alike, making her a strong character without turning her into "strong independent lady" archetype #5,971,867,657. One of her best traits is her accepting, empathetic, friendly nature - she befriends a prickly (read: I identify strongly with her) roommate and has one of the funniest, heart-warming conversations I've ever read with big-baddie Galactus (issue #4).
Can I also give a shout out to her admirable self-esteem? She actually made me reconsider my own reflection in the mirror. I thought representation was something I talked about and theorized, until it happened to me. Seeing her so confident and happy with her body, I kid you not, altered my self-esteem. I finally had a superhero who looked more like me and was....*gasps*.....happy with herself!
I look forward to reading Squirrel Girl pretty much constantly - her adventures are exciting, fun and make me laugh out loud but also think. She gives me the hope to go on wading through rack after rack of images of inexplicably tiny costumes, absurd body types and positions, and mind-numbingly misogynistic writing. Squirrel Girl is truly unbeatable by villains or society. She is complex, multifaceted and, though part squirrel, very human.
GO, RUN, CLICK and buy her comics digitally here
See when the next one will come out or where to buy one here
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