Advance Review: Women of Marvel #1 (2022)

I have a few of these books, having reviewed the same book last year. It’s interesting to see what a difference a year makes. Apparently not all that much, truth be told.

As with other books in this series, this is an anthology and as with the other books very few of the women on the front cover actually make it into the book. So if Jubilee, Storm, America Chavez or the Wasp are in your list of faves, you are going to be disappointed.

There is a cavalcade of writers on the extra sized book, starting with a foreword from Gail Simone. From there we have Preeti Chhibber bookending book and adding breaks via a meandering Black Cat tale(s). That leads to Mirka Andolfo, Joride Bellaire, Charlie Jane Anders before Rhianna Pratchett rounds things off. One of the hooks of this book is that it is created mainly by women of Marvel featuring the women of Marvel. The problem is that whilst these writers are quite diverse, as are the characters, each story reads the same. It’s like a bad episode of Sex in the City but instead of the Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda having and doing different things, they all do the same thing; how boring would that be?

This then leads to the plethora of artists which include Ann Maulina, Sumeyye Kesgin, Zoe Thorogood, Claire Roe, Jen Bartel, Emma Kubert, Marguerite Sauvage and Alina Erofeeva all of whom contrive to deliver a cutesy similar look. Now I am not saying that any of the genders or non binary individual don’t like this style of art, hell I like it at times. But seriously, every story? I go back to my Sex and the City analogy; do you want the cat to ear the same clothes and look the same? I think mot.

Maybe I am being harsh, but the women I know like things like Twilight and Peaky Blinders, they like Reacher and anime, they listen to all sorts of music and love Marvel movies as much as a rom-com. Why is then, that Marvel in their homage to women only manage one view point? Why does it feel like pandering? That said, it was cool seeing Silver Sable for once.

Overall – 2.5 Stars

Written by; Preeti Chhibber, Mirka Andolfo, Joride Bellaire,
Charlie Jane Anders, Rhianna Pratchett
Art by; Ann Maulina, Sumeyye Kesgin, Zoe Thorogood, Claire Roe,
Eleonra Carlini, Jen Bartel, Emma Kubert, Marguerite Sauvage and Alina Erofeev
Colors by; Rachelle Rosenberg, Brittany Peer, Jordie Bellaire, Jen Bartel,
Gaida Marchisio, Marguerite Sauvage and Ruth Redmond
Letters by; VC’s Ariana Maher with VC’s Cory Petit
Published by Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network