Mom & Me Reviews: A Super-Heroine Guide

If you are a lover of the comic superhero realm, you’ve likely been asked this classic question:
Marvel or DC?

It is a timeless question with many variations of answer.

Sam Maggs, a comic book maker, suggests we might love both. She wrote both Marvel Fantastic and Fantastic– Female Super Heroes Save the World, AND Brave and Bold!– Female DC Super Heroes Take on the Universe.

First Line:

(Brave and Bold): “In a universe filled with adventure and danger, the brave female Super Heroes of DC’s comic books change the world and shape the future.”

(Fearless and Fantastic): “Students, warriors, secret agents, inventors, crime fighters, journalists… the inspiring female Super Heroes of Marvel Comics make their marks in many different ways.”

Summary: The two books aver compatible in organization, illustration, and writing. If you are looking for a brief introduction to the heroes of both the DC and Marvel world, these two books are a decent place to start. If you are particularly interested in the FEMALE superheroes, this is a GOOD place to start.

Considering the size of each book, Maggs does a good job choosing which characters to introduce to the audience. Fresh artwork of each character fills one of two pages allotted to them. About two paragraphs lie on the adjacent page– words devoted to a brief description of WHY this character got into the superhero business, and where their abilities lie. One of the most interesting features of these books, is the footnote at the bottom of each entry, directing the reader to two to four other superheroes who are “friends, allies, and role models” of the character in question. Of course, only other heroes listed within the book are included. Pepper Pots might love Tony Stark, but he is not listed among the allies at the bottom of her page.

My Thoughts: One caveat of these books are the age directed, when reflecting the writing. Carrying a Lexile of approximately 1200-1400, one would suggest this book be directed to 5th graders (at the youngest). However, because the content is at such an introductory level it could also be directed to younger age groups. In these cases, I’d suggest the content be read aloud by an adult to the young ones. (My daughter is in 2nd grade, at the time of reading, and this worked well for us. Every once in awhile I had to explain the meaning of a word, but it wasn’t often enough to make it not worth the while.)

Today is a great day to introduce your littles to these “wonderful women”. Boy or girl, young or old, having women worth looking up to is important. Though fictional, these women are a great place to start.

Happy reading, my friends!

Mama Lala (Chelsea) & Maggie