The Supergirls : Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines

“__The Supergirls__ is a long overdue tribute to the fabulous fighting females whose beauty and bravery brighten the pages of your favorite comics."—**STAN LEE** “A thoughtful, comprehensive history of women in comics . . . __The Supergirls__ gleefully celebrates the medium itself, in all its goofy, glorious excess." —**NPR “Best Five Books To Share With Your Friends" citation** “Sharp and lively—and just obsessive enough about women who wear capes and boots to be cool but not creepy. [Madrid] clearly loves this stuff. And he's enough of a historian to be able to trace the ways in which the portrayal of sirens and supergirls has echoed society's ever-changing feelings about women and sex." —**__Entertainment Weekly__** Has Wonder Woman hit the comic book glass ceiling? Is that the one opposition that even her Amazonian strength can't defeat? Entertaining and informative, __The Supergirls__ explores iconic superheroines and what it means for the culture when they do everything the superhero does, only in thongs and high heels. This much-needed alternative history of American comic book icons—from Wonder Woman to Supergirl and beyond—delves into where these crime-fighting females fit in popular culture and why, and what their stories say about the role of women in society from their creation to now, and into the future. **Mike Madrid** is the author of __Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics__ (forthcoming from Exterminating Angel Press in October 2013) and __The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines__, an NPR “Best Book To Share With Your Friends" and American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Project Notable Book. Madrid, a San Francisco native and lifelong fan of comic books and popular culture, also appears in the documentary __Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines__. A much-needed alternative history of American comic book superheroines—from Wonder Woman to Supergirl and beyond—where they fit in popular culture and why, and what these crime-fighting females say about the role of women in American society from their creation to now, and into the future. The Supergirls is an entertaining and informative look at these modern-day icons, exploring how superheroines fare in American comics, and what it means for the culture when they do everything the superhero does, but in thongs and high heels. A cultural history of comic book heroines. Is their world of fantasy different from our own-- or an alternative saga of modern American women?