Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron

 

Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved every aspect of this comic, from the concept to the art to the writing. Of particular interest was the sly poking of fun at misogyny and those readers who complained that their "childhood had been ruined", or some such.

Thor, the Goddess of thunder, is kick-ass. Some of the panels are extremely visceral and violent. Covered in blood, bruised and broken, she yet conveys fierceness and resolution.

Even Thor Odinson piqued my interest (and I say this as someone who has never really been interested in his character). His mother, Freyja, is a stalwart, and I felt real loathing for his father, Odin, who still lives by the old-fashioned virtues and insists that no one but his son can wield Mjolnir (was he this vocal when the mantle was worn by a horse-headed alien?).

I can't wait to explore more of this series.

View all my reviews

Modesty Blaise

As part of my research for my tattoo of amazing women, I've been looking for pics of that uber-femme assassin, Modesty Blaise. I've been reading the Modesty Blaise books, written by Peter O'Donnell, since I was but a wee one, and she had a profound influence on me in terms of the concept of simply accepting oneself. Not that I have been able to do so - that's a whole other story - but the fact that Modesty came from pretty bad origins (enslaved as a child, walking across the desert in bare feet over the course of many years, killing her enslaver at a very tender age) gave me a great sense of respect for this woman who lived life on her own terms.

Modesty and her sidekick, Willie Garvin, were closer than any couple in love. The best thinga bout them was, they weren't a couple; they simply ... were. Willie was quite the player, and to be honest, so was Modesty. She didn't give a damn about her bad reputation long before Avril Lavigne sang the song.

Modesty was almost perfect. Almost. She had the money, the means, the abilities; she was a killer second to none. Even when she was on the back foot, she never lost her sense of self. And if it ever all got too much for her, there was only one person who was allowed to see her weak - Willie. They relied on each other for everything.

Again, it's about the concept of making family for yourself. Neither of them had anyone else; they had lots of friends - they were an outgoing pair. But when it came to the person who could be relied on to take a bullet for them, no questions asked, well, the list was very small.

Modesty was fallible, of course. She sometimes got the snot kicked out of her just so she could infiltrate an organisation. But she was hardcore. She would take any kind of humiliation, do whatever was necessary, to get where she needed to be and do what she had to.

She was unflinchingly loyal to her friends. She made her family, not just from Willie, but from a very few, very select people with whom she'd shared experiences that would have killed most people. She never needed to be saved; she was usually the one doing the saving.

Modesty was one of my first childhood heroines. She's withstood the test of time.

I just hope there's never going to be a remade movie about her ... I don't think they could bring her quiet strength, indomitable spirit and plain sexiness to the screen without sexualising her and making her 'vulnerable' for the sake of it.

Via dcwomenkickingass

Via dcwomenkickingass:

I’ve just learned the Renae De Liz, the mastermind behind the wonderful Womanthology project, is very ill and in the hospital. You can read the details here. As happens with many freelance artists she and her family do not have insurance.
If you have time to send Renae good wishes they will…

Please read, and if you can, wish Renae well. She did one of the most amazing things to happen to comics in a decade, with many skeptics and doubters and detractors, and she held that dream and succeeded beyond anyone’s imagination. For that alone, she’d be a hero of mine. But she is also a lovely person and a gifted artist. She lit a candle instead of cursing he darkness. Hell, she lit a bonfire. Get well, lady.

Disney princesses with attitude

How awesome are these? I've never been a huge Disney fan, especially when it comes to the princesses - I'm just not princess material! I'm more likely to want to punch someone on the nose than offer them tea and biscuits - and that's just what these ladies seem capable of doing.

Snow White's my favourite. Maybe it's the black hair? Or the usefully folded fists.

Although I have a thing for redheads, like Ariel. Not crazy about the costume, but it *is* sexy.

And Pocahontas in those jeans - my kind of gal.

See the rest at The Mary Sue, via Buzzfeed

Women in words

Women24's Book Club editor, Tammy February, wrote an article about her top 10 literary heroines (characters, not authors). Go and read it, see what you think.

My picks are a little different, given that I'm not the philosophical type; I'm a guardian. Is it any wonder, then, that the women to whom I'm drawn are proectors before anything else? My comment below:

The first heroine that springs to mind is Eve Dallas from JD Robb's (Nora Roberts) eponymous futuristic crime series. Eve is tough, uncompromising, and committed to seeing that justice prevails, but she's not above bending the law here and there to achieve what's right - if not before the law. She's fiercely loyal, a broken old soul who survived horrific abuse, and completely unable to be "girly" - the situations in which her friends are "going girl" are amongst the funniest I've ever read! My true attraction to this guardian of the victim, though, is that she sees her place in the world as being the voice of the voiceless - the voice of those who can't speak anymore, who have had their voices cruelly taken from them. She's Batman without the cape (and the drama).

I also love Esmerelda Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Fierce, proud, someone who does not suffer fools gladly, Granny Weatherwax is a witch who knows her "dooty" is to take care of those weaker than herself - which is pretty much every average Discworlder. The way she uses "headology" to give people what they need - not necessarily what they want - and her biting commentary on just about every foolishness of political correctness, social mores and frippery, are music to my soul. Besides, she's the only person who's ever scolded Death and lived to tell the tale.

There's Polgara, from David and Leigh Eddings' Belgariad, the sorceress whose immortality and great power have led her to protecting and guarding her sister's children through tens of generations, selflessly giving up her own chances at happiness century after century to ensure that the heir to the kingdom survives, guiding, nurturing and - like Tita - weaving her heart, soul, and a touch of her magic into everything she cooks.

My heroines are mainly guardians or nurturers, and I don't think it's a stretch to put Hermione into that category, too. Apart from her brains, wit and prowess at all things nerdy, Hermione also looks after Harry and Ron, and does her best to keep either them, or their hearts, safe. And she's a scrappy little fighter, too! Put Ginny in there, too - although she's more of a fighter than a brain, she's not without intelligence of her own!

What do you think? Who are your heroines?

Your inner child's superhero

Nicole Wakelin of Total Fan Girl recently wrote a piece about her favourite childhood superheroines - Isis, Wonder Woman and The Bionic Woman. It was quite a reminder for me - I've been reading a lot about Wonder Woman via Twitter and the various geek girls, and of course, Bionic Woman was recently remade (not that I saw the series, but there was a honking big billboard hanging over William Nicol as I turned into Republic that couldn't fail to catch the eye).

It's been a long time since anyone has mentioned Isis, though. I spoke about the show to MadCat who, unfortunately, was too young to have seen it. I remember the frustration of having to go to piano lessons with heather, and knowing that I'd miss the beginning of the show. I loved Isis' strong makeup and magical prowess! Even then, I knew that my folks didn't approve, so I kept as quiet as I could about my enjoyment of the show so I didn't have to deal with the "satanic!" mumblings.

My other favourite shows at that time were Battle of the Planets (G-Force) and Thunder the Wonder-horse. I loved watching Princess and the tension between Jason and Mark. The fact that Princess rode a kick-ass motorbike and wasn't above kicking ass herself were another eye-opener to the fact that females didn't always need to be rescued, but could do the rescuing themselves. "Transmute!"

Then there was Thunder the Wonderhorse (which was dubbed, sadly), which pleased me for other reasons, like the fact that in some part of the world (Texas), kids could ride horses to school in a tarred-road town. And, of course, I was a horse fanatic, back in the day. I often dreamed of having a Thunder of my very own.

Perhaps it was all tied up with my obsession with Westerns back then, particularly Louis L'Amour and JT Edson. I even wrote school compositions featuring the Sacketts and the Floating outfit. Yes, my inner child's superhero is a cowhand. Is there any kind of cowhand superhero out there?