Frontiers of Imagination

Secret at Shadow Ranch

Carolyn Keene, Secret at Shadow Ranch (New York: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1931), from the Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness. Schimmel Fiction 376

Nancy Drew, fictional super sleuth, appeared in 1930 and so began America’s (and the world’s) love affair with this cultural icon.  This 5th Nancy Drew book was ghost-written by Mildred Wirt Benson in 1931 and was revised in 1965—the original books (before revision) had an unruly heroine and a fair amount of violence; but the revised editions were significantly toned down for the readers of the 1960s and 1970s. Although Nancy has changed over the years, she is still very much a presence in the 21st century. 

Wonder Woman, introduction by Gloria Steinem

William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman, introduction by Gloria Steinem (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972), from the Steven Rothman Collection of Comics, Cartoons, and Graphic Novels. PN6728.W6 M3 1972

Why did Gloria Steinem love comic books?  Because they were not quite respectable and were cheap enough to be purchased by “customers whose head didn’t quite reach the counter … [with] money of her own!” Why did she love Wonder Woman?  Because she was “a heroic person who might conquer with force, but only a force that was tempered by love and justice. … she was beautiful, brave, and explicitly out to change ‘a world torn by the hatreds and wars of men,’” (introduction).  Steinem’s introduction is why we picked this particular volume—she speaks to the strength of women that is demonstrated by Wonder Woman and her family of Amazons.

Miss Fury

Tarpé Mills, Miss Fury (Cambridge, Mass.: Archival Press, 1979), from the Steven Rothman Collection of Comics, Cartoons, and Graphic Novels. PN6728.M526 M5 1979

Miss Fury first appeared in newspaper comic strips in 1941.  The introduction of this 1979 volume states, “from her first dramatic entrance, Miss Fury had it all. High adventure, wild action, exotic women, a one-armed villain, a girl terrorist, dashing detectives, handsome leading men, and even a pet Persian cat affectionately called “Peri Purr,” highlighted the cast. Ruling the entire scenario with clawed gloves was Miss Fury, known to the world of candlelight society and gracious living as Marla Drake, a tender but spirited beauty of independent means.” Tarpé Mills is the first woman to conceive, write, and draw an adventure strip--and on top of that, the adventure strip featured a woman heroine!

The Female Man

Joanna Russ, The Female Man (New York: Bantam Books,1975), from the Adams Science Fiction Collection. SciFi Russ, J.

Joanna Russ (1937-2011) was a feminist and an author of science fiction best known for her novel The Female Man. The novel follows the lives of four women living in parallel worlds that differ in time and place. When they cross over to each other's worlds, their different views on gender roles startle each other's preexisting notions of womanhood. In the end, their encounters influence them to evaluate their lives and shape their ideas of what it means to be a woman.

The Mists of Avalon

Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon (New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982), from the  Adams Science Fiction Collection. SciFi Bradley, M.Z.

Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999) was an author best known for The Mists of Avalon, a brilliant reworking of the powerful Arthurian epic. The tumult and adventures of Camelot's court are seen through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall.

Dawn Xenogenesis

Octavia E. Butler, Dawn (New York: Warner Books, 1987). PS3552.U827 D38 1987

Octavia E. Butler, Xenogenesis (New York: Guild America Books, 1989), from the Adams Science Fiction Collection. SciFi Butler, Octavia

Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) was an African American science fiction author who won Hugo and Nebuala awards as well as the MacArthur Fellowship, in 1995. One of her best known works is the Xenogenesis trilogy, of which Dawn is the first. What we find fascinating about these two volumes is that the protagonist, Lilith Iyapo who is a black human female, is portrayed as white on the cover of Dawn, but just two years later is portrayed accurately in the trilogy.

Komarr

Lois McMaster Bujold, Komarr (Riverdale, NY: Baen Pub., [1998]), from the Adams Science Fiction Collection. SciFi Bujold, L. M.

Bujold (born 1949) is an American science fiction novelist who has won many awards for her writing, including the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Mythopoeic Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Skylark Award, and the Forry Award.  This novel takes place on a planet undergoing active terraforming, and ends with the heroine, Ekaterin Vorsoisson, rescuing herself from a bad marriage and the planet from a terrorist plot!

Wonder Woman: Contagion

Gail Simone, Wonder Woman: Contagion (New York: DC Comics, c2010), from the Steven Rothman Collection of Comics, Cartoons, and Graphic Novels.  PN6728.W6 S5 2010

The Wonder Woman tale may be old (appearing first in 1941), but this 2010 issue, written by Gail Simone with Nicola Scott as the lead penciller, feels new.  There is absolutely no question that this Wonder Woman is a powerful, buff, and determined warrior.  In her blog, “Women in Refrigerators,” Gail Simone discusses her discovery that “in mainstream comics, being a girl superhero meant inevitably being killed, maimed or depowered.” This issue gives comic book readers hope that future super-females will have a chance!