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Publisher: I.B. Tauris
Date: 2010
ISBN:
1845119657

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Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology

From Wonder Woman to Buffy Summers, Emma Peel to Sydney Bristow, Charlie’s Angels to The Powerpuff Girls, Superwomen are more than just love interests or sidekicks who stand by their Supermen. Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology shows how the female hero in modern mythology has broken through the boy’s club barrier of tradition and reveals the pivotal role of high-heeled crimefighters in popular culture. Featuring spies and sexuality, daddy’s girls and super-mothers, this is a comprehensive, engaging and thought-provoking guide to female detectives, meta-humans and action heroines, as well as their creators, directors, performers, and consumers. The book also includes a glossary of modern mythic women, from Aeon to Zoë, as well as a foreword by acclaimed cultural commentator Roz Kaveney, author of Superheroes! Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films.

Praise

“Female heroes abound in literature, film and all walks of life, although most people don’t know that they do. Not surprising given how much they challenge the gender roles in which women and girls have historically been confined. This wonderful book shows female heroes breaking out of gender boxes left and right and illuminates new possibilities for the indomitable hero in all of us.”
—Kathleen Noble, Ph.D., author of The Sound of the Silver Horn: Reclaiming the Heroism in Contemporary Women’s Lives.

“Once upon a time—only a few years ago, actually—women could turn on their TV sets and glory in the adventures of Buffy, Xena, Sydney Bristow, Dana Scully, and many more strong, ass-kicking women. Today there is not one show on the small screen that stars a female action hero. What happened? Comics are not much better. Aside from the occasional exception (for which we are grateful) like Birds of Prey, and women writers like Ivory Madison (The Huntress) and Gail Simone’s newly feminist interpretation of Wonder Woman, most comic book action heroines continue to be male-written and drawn creations whose breasts are bigger then their personalities.

Now along comes Jennifer Stuller, with her very entertaining book, Ink-Stained Amazons, to explore the whys and wherefores of pop culture super women, and perhaps jolt us all into demanding more and stronger women characters. Thank you, Jennifer. We need those role models!”
—Trina Robbins, author of From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women’s Comics from Teens to Zines

Book Reviews

Fangirlblog Reflection: Book Review: Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors

“What Ink-Stained Amazons provides is deep knowledge about past portrayals of women, effective (and not-so-effective) characterization, and the ruts that storytellers get stuck in.

Self-awareness grows as you read the book. Jennifer is very effective at demonstrating the ways that we truly do write what we know in terms of tropes, relationships with our family, and our own internal biases from a lifetime of experience. Once a writer recognizes his or her own bias – yet another form of rut that can trap our storytelling – that is the path to breaking new ground, making the stories better.

Finally, Jennifer’s book reminds everyone that writers must have empathy, for their characters and for their audience. This book should be a must-read for any writer working in genre storytelling. As a resource for women in fantasy and science fiction who are still searching for that sense of who they are, this book will be a big help as well.” MORE…

Sliver of Ice: Book Review: Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors by Jennifer K. Stuller
Book Review by Erica McGillivray

The book is very accessible and easy to read, even if you aren’t familiar with every movie, show, comic book, or novel which Stuller references. (There’s an appendix filled with footnotes and notes on characters and the author’s own recommended reading and viewing.) It’s definitely a geeky book as Stuller is very excited to share with you, the reader, about the media and super-powered women she loves. MORE…

Geek Mom: Ink-Stained Amazons Should Adorn Your Stocking This Holiday
Review by Cathé Post, GeekMom at GeekDad.com

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. I am overwhelmed with quotable material from Jennifer K. Stuller’s book Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology. “Amazon already gave this book a 5 star review. I would like to go one step further and give the author 5 stars as well.”