Believe in the power of women and believe in women with this Kickstarter-funded anthology celebrating 50 women from various walks of life that have personal connections to each contributing creator. Part biographical, part inspirational, you’ll be left feeling like you can do just about anything.
Cover by Philip BondWritten and Illustrated by Various
Edited by Shelly Bond, Kristy Miller, and Brian Miller
Colored by Claudia Aguirre, Jordie Bellaire, Tamra Bonvillain, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Irma Kniivila, Lee Loughridge, Fabi Marques, Rick Taylor, and Hi-Fi
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar50 female trailblazers of yesterday and today each get a 4-color sequential tribute in Femme Magnifique. From astronauts and archaeologists to muckrakers and mathematicians, Femme Magnifique will stimulate and educate. Comic book luminaries Gail Simone, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Bill Sienkiewicz, Kieron Gillen, Sanford Greene, Jill Thompson, Gilbert Hernandez, Gerard Way, and Marguerite Bennett, to name a few, lend their talents to a celebration of kickass women who are truly magnifique.
The musical Hamilton asks “What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” Uttered by Alexander Hamilton in the moments of his death, he muses on what he will leave behind for the young America when he leaves Earth. Has he planted enough seeds? Has he designed things that will outlive him? The answer to this question does not only come from self-reflection; the true measure of legacy comes from the thoughts and reflections of others. This Kickstarter-funded anthology applies this measure to 50 women throughout history, from all walks of life, to examine the legacy each has left on a particular creator through a brief biographical sketch.
One would expect that a comics anthology focusing on life and career influences would be heavy on fellow stalwarts in the industry. There’s actually only two comics professional profiled here (manga artist Rumiko Takahashi and “Brenda Starr” creator Dale Messick) and stepping away from making this a work of navel-gazing is refreshing. With many works celebrating the role of women in comics (“She Changed Comics,” “The Inking Woman,” the documentary film She Makes Comics), another collected celebration of the female contributions to the medium, while welcomed, may not be immediately necessary. The larger scope of the lineup of subjects not only gives dimension to the lives of the writers and artists paying tribute, but of the subjects they praise and elevate. And what a lineup it is! The subjects here run a cross-section of walks of life, from science to politics to activism to the arts. Many achieved worldwide fame, others are heroes within their own families. These are snapshots of life, far from complete. The reader is left to fill in the gaps and consider the relationships between profiler and profiled.
No such collection of women, while powerful and inspiring in their own right, is without fault. The anthology does lean heavily on the arts for its subjects, particularly writers. No surprise there; writers love to salute fellow writers, but if the book tips anywhere into navel-gazing territory, it’s here. There’s also a distinct lack of subjects from the world of sport; only pro skateboarder Cindy Whitehead received a profile. Sports do provide society with some of the most uplifting and hopeful tales. Was there really nothing to be learned from the female athlete (or related sport professional) when it comes to persistence and boundary breaking, traits celebrated in the arts day in and day out? And while praise is due to featuring women from all walks of life; only one-quarter of the book’s profiles are women of color. Any representation is better than no representation. Yet, can this really be considered an intersectional feminist work when only 1/4 of the book’s profiles are not white women? Fortunately, the contributor lineup is a veritable rainbow of representation. I only wish that had bled over into choice of subject.
Subject choice aside, nearly all of these stories tug at the heartstrings. Hope Nicholson shows the maternal side of feminist writer Margaret Atwood – – more than just a mentor or colleague, but a friend. Che Grayson found the world of Octavia Butler in similarities in her own film school work, both touching on themes of Afrofuturism. Paula Sevenburgen’s letter to Judy Blume in grade school illustrates just what Judy knew best in her writing: the desires of girls. Chynna Clugston-Flores found career inspiration and the strength to knock down the doors of the old boys club of comics through the story of Rumiko Takahshi. Some are just straight biographical sketches with little to no personal connection, and while well-executed, the ones with that deeper personal touch resonate the most.
Continued belowWhere the personal connection isn’t in script, it’s in artwork. Each team carefully and lovingly combines their own art style with a style that highlights the best of what these women offer the world. Sonny Liew’s look at Elizabeth Choy is pastel with Golden Age flair. Brett Parson somehow makes Magdalene Visaggio’s Judith look straight out of “Kim and Kim,” that combination of strength and femininity, but all modern and punk. (“Kim & Kim Volume 3: Badass Bitches of the Old Testament?” I’m here for it if you’re listening, Mags.) The same is said for Brian Miller’s look at his wife Kristy, archaeologist extraordinaire – – Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre look to drop Kristy right alongside the Fighting Kims. Steven T. Seagle’s look at Peggy Guggenheim relies just on paintings, themselves a curated exhibition of her life and career. Dan Parent’s look at actress Marlo Thomas pops with 1960s mod It-Girl flair. And for one profile (Hillary Clinton) the art of Elsa Charretier takes Kelly Sue DeConnick’s script of women helping women and executes it without a single word, proof that a picture really is worth a thousand words.
The real heroes of “Femme Magnifique” are not just those contained in its pages; but the coloring and lettering team. Outside of a few artists who chose to color their own stories, a small team worked on these 50 profiles, adapting their colorwork to fit the artist and subject flawlessly. It may also be hard to believe when you look at these pages, but one person (Aditya Bidikar) handled all the lettering. Too often colorists and letterers do not receive the praise and accolades of the writers, pencilers, and inkers. On a work like this that requires nimble hands and minds to make each story as individual as possible, they deserve every honor and laurel due to them.
Let’s revisit A.Ham’s question at the start: What is a legacy? Is it really planting seeds for something you never will see? One hopes that those profiled here that are still of this earth have received a copy so they know the richness of their garden.
