AS I TYPE THIS IT'S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

And last year I recommended a selection of female characters, artists and writers for you to explore. This year, and perhaps every year after, I'm going to recommend 5 female led books I think you should read. After all, I certainly read enough of them, and hopefully writing something like this can either encourage more people to read more comics, or/and give you a greater appreciation for these books already. So let's get straight into it, in no particular order...

BATWOMAN: HYDROLOGY
'Hydrology' is a Batwoman storyline published as part of The New 52. This is the debut arc of J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman on their 'Batwoman' series, continuing the character's story from the end of her last run in 'Detective Comics' by Greg Rucka, and it fucking rocks.

I feel there's a bad taste in the mouth about this character since Ruby "genuinely cannot act" Rose decided to don the cape and cowl on the BATWOMAN CW show, and proved to us all that looking the part just isn't enough.

Kate Kane just wants to live a simple life, however life has other ideas and thrusts her into the Batsuit and she accepts it like a fucking champ! She does it on her own terms, however. And that is what I love about this character. Kate has had to compromise parts of her identity her entire life, and as Batwoman, that is something she will not do.

​Also check out the art in this bad ass book!
Whenever J.H. Williams III gets a chance, he explodes the panels over two pages to make fantastic action scenes, moments of dialogue or just atmospheric instants for you to gawp over. At least, I do. Check out how Kate saves the missing children of Gotham in this tale straight from the X-Files...

COFFIN BOUND: VOL 1 HAPPY ASHES
'Coffin Bound' is weird, let's get that out the way right now. If you thought anything by Guillermo Del Toro is "a bit freaky for me" this might send you over the edge. It makes Beetlejuice look like The Magic Roundabout.

Our leading lady, Izzy Tyburn, has an unstoppable killer chasing her. Rather than run from what she knows is inevitable, Izzy decides that if the world won't have her in it, it'll have nothing of her at all. This existential, gore-splattered road trip sees us go through the crazy imagination of Watters and Dani, providing you with immediately epochal characters of this world.

Izzy is a perfect product of this spooky plane for us to latch onto as she seems the most calm and down to earth, yet her logic is completely unearthly to us, so we have no choice but to listen and follow what she does, in the hope of a glimpse of getting some understanding of her and what's going on.

Amazingly written and drawn, and has one of the most unique takes on a strip club I've ever seen in sci-fi/horror.

MS MARVEL: NO NORMAL
Khamala Khan is one of the most relatable characters I have seen in comics, ever. She just wants to play video games, hang out with her friends, watch sci-fi, read comics, and be a superhero. She wants to fit in, but as she is. She doesn't let her religion dictate her life, whilst also following and respecting it as much as she genuinely feels she has to. She basically just wants everyone to leave her the fuck alone, let her do her, and I love her for it.

This would be an easy character to write as a moody teen, instead G Willow Wilson writes her as a girl who is always cracking wise, smiling, and essentially pointing out how boring it is to do 'nothing' when faced with any situation.

I see shades of Peter Parker and of Matt Murdock in Kamala, but she is very much her own woman. So much so she's getting her own TV show soon and she's just been a playable character in the 'Avengers' video game.

The reason I recommend this book, other than it being the first chapter of her story, is simple. This is her at her most honest.
Kamala dealing with these new found abilities showcases her entire personality and outlook on life, and what I feel you walk away feeling from this is that every decision she makes is both completely for her, and also completely selfless. I will never not recommend Kamala and, hopefully after reading this, neither will you.

WONDER WOMAN: BLOOD
Would it truly be an INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY without WONDER WOMAN?

Chris and I have spoken in detail about this comic recently if you want to hear what we thought of this and the book that follows, go HERE!

If you want the short version, this book sees Wonder Woman take on her world. There's shades of 'HERCULES', and 'JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS' in here with crazy mythological adventures meet one of the most powerful women in comics, ever.

I especially like how Diana is written in this. What she is trying to accomplish is such a simple end goal; keep a woman and her child safe. You could write it so that the endless waves of supernatural forces that she has to face, sometimes with no knowledge on how to beat them, would call for her to contemplate if it's all worth it, but that never crosses her mind. The goal is clearly the right thing for her to do, and no amount of "Gods" are going to make her think otherwise. A great read!
SEX CRIMINALS: ONE WEIRD TRICK
Whilst you could argue this is a couples driven story, the first book definitely follows our female protagonist, Suzie.

What I love about this book, and all the one's that follow is that this is a barmy, sexy, female led sci-fi story (Volume One is very Suzie driven) that in anyone else's hands would have ended up as a porno but THANKFULLY did not. Suzie isn't just a 'ONE WEIRD TRICK' pony. She is career driven, sociable and it's her drive that pushes the story, and couple, down the road they decide to go.

Matt and Chip take Suzie, and the crazy parts of her life as merely the backdrop for the main story. The story being just how difficult yet funny a sexual relationship can be at any age, for anyone. Something that a lot of movies THINK they get right, but left me, as a young man, thinking it's a male issue e.g. American Pie, Sex Trip etc.

By destigmatising that idea, and highlighting that it's a collective issue that we all have, then it's not as bad. Because we ALL think about sex, we ALL have kinks that we may be afraid to share, and that makes everything a little bit more okay.
Mix in a lot of comedy, self awareness, and the cleverest sex based jokes I've ever seen or read, and you have here a book that exonerates anyone wondering if their sexuality is just 'their' problem, and opens the floor for discussion.

So there you have it. Is there any you'd like to recommend to me? I could end up talking about them on CHRIS'S COMICS PODCAST or writing a review of them on the site.

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​- JB