Written and Illustrated by Various
Edited by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published by DC Comics
Taking inspiration from the short features of remarkable women that ran in the Wonder Woman comics from 1942-1953 (created by Alice Marble, an Editor at DC who took on the position after retiring from a career as an 18 time Grand Slam tennis champion during the 30s) the graphic novel, Wonderful Women of the World (edited by author Laurie Halse Anderson- Speak, Chains) have expanded those biographies and feature a diverse selection of women who have impacted society with their courage, drive and never-ending strength, all to inspire the next generation of young readers to go out into the world and be unafraid.
Broken down into subjects like: Justice, Compassion, Truth, Strength and Equality, each bio gives the reader a taste of the accomplishments and struggles that these women have gone through, creating a thirst to eventually go deeper and seek out more info about each of these girls and women. Highlighting historical figures (Marsha P Johnson and Ruth Bader Ginsberg), scientists (Khatijah Mohamad Yusoff), pop culture icons (Beyonce’), athletes (Venus and Serena Williams), activists (Mari Copeny, Malala Yousafzai, Judith Heumann, and Greta Thunberg) and other amazing women in an easy-to-read format, WWoW is an accessible introduction to important women who may otherwise get lost in an information-saturated world.
Besides the subjects themselves, each of these biographies are written and illustrated by a group of women who are at the top of their game professionally and gives another layer of “Girl Power” to the impressionable readers this book wants to excite (hello to: Marieke Nijkamp, Sarah Kuhn, Kami Garcia, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Amanda Deibert, Mikki Kendall, Cat Scaggs, Natasha Donovan, Safiya Zerrougui, Laylie Frazier and many, many more). I truly appreciate how each area of this book seeks to motivate their audience into seeing just how important and capable women really are in all areas of life.
Another level of praise has to go to the differing styles of artwork which helps to propel the stories nicely and creates good breaks for the eye so that young readers (who may have a difficult time paying attention to a 200 page book) are able to really sink into each of the bios without becoming confused when it ends and a new bio begins. While fans of the anthology based graphic novels may already be familiar with this format, for new readers (the audience age for this book is middle-grade to young adult) who might not normally read the genre, it can sometimes be intimidating (so much art). The different artist styles act as natural buffers for young readers and allows them to form attachment to the bios that affect them emotionally and that is a great way for these artists to grow a new fanbase.
I also love that the book features women who haven’t always been given their due but have made significant progress in their fields, some of whom I, myself (at 47 years old) did not know about. People like physicist Márcia Barbosa and disability activist Judith Heumann (which is horrible since I am disabled). It is unfathomable to me how many of these women in this book have made such crucially important strides but are not celebrated the way they should be, but thankfully are given the space here (trust me, I’m already ordering books and checking out documentaries on these ladies).
One other sweet little nod to influential women are the one-shot illustrations that introduce each new section, just a quick shout-out to people like: former DC Comics president Jenette Kahn, British-Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole, first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, Ada Lovelace who was a programmer of the first computer (the Analytical Machine back in 1837) and tennis great Venus Williams. It’s a wonderful way to honor these women and make you go “I need to know more about these ladies”.
The Wonderful Women of the World is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about some of the amazing women who have changed (or are changing) the world, but it is especially important to all the young girls out there who sometimes need to be reminded that they are worthy of inspiring others and being inspired by strong women warriors.
I highly recommend it.
