Girl Comics #1 (2010)

“Girl Comics” is an anthology that you might think would be about female characters, but the “girls” referenced in the title are the creators, not the subjects. So, while we get an intro by Colleen Coover that features dozens of different women, we also get a G. Willow Wilson and Ming Doyle story about Nightcrawler protecting women in a nightclub. The result is an entertaining collection of short stories across three issues that are harmless enough to be considered canon but aren’t essential. After the Nightcrawler tale, Trina Robbins and Stephanie Buscema create a story about Venus competing with Hercules to show she’s just as powerful. She gets a job at a famous fashion magazine but is relegated to copy editor after she’s told she’s too fat to be a model. It’s lots of fun. It actually reminds me of the Greek Myths, where Gods often meddle casually in the lives of humans, treating mankind as if it is completely frivolous. Then, there’s a pretty dark (and very short) Punisher story where he goes after an online sexual predator. It feels out of place with the rest of the content here (although Nightcrawler fights sexism in his story), but I do appreciate the tonal shift–it’s nice th...