Cherchez Les Violent Femmes

I’ve got another article up today on Comics Alliance, and this time around, it’s a gallery of comics’ most ass-kicking female characters.

Like, say, la Résistance‘s Mademoiselle Marie:

 

 

An article on “Kickass Women in Comics” is pretty much mandatory for a comics lifestyle site, but when lead blogger Laura Hudson approached me about doing the gallery, I thought it might be fun to try to take things in a different direction than you normally get, avoiding obvious picks like Wonder Woman and Storm in favor throwing the spotlight on some lesser-known–but far more brutal–characters.

Of course, there are a couple of old favorites in there, and it wouldn’t be an article by me if it didn’t have a little Jack Kirby, a little GI Joe and a kick to the face, so click on through and check it out. And then come back for a special bonus, my first, highly unsafe for work choice of an image to represent Tulip O’Hare!

35 thoughts on “Cherchez Les Violent Femmes

  1. Pretty awesome considering I just started rereading Preacher today. I have to agree that she’s a kickass chick in comics. I was sad not to see Yelena Rossini and Channon Yarrow from Transmetropolitan, both also kickass.

  2. I was praying you wouldn’t forget Tulip…and BAM! there she was at the end.

    Excellent.

  3. I love the list. Reminds me of stuff I’ve really got to read.

    I liked seeing Elektra included on the list, as well. I had loads of problems with the portrayal of women in Frank Miller’s original Daredevil run, but he DID make Elektra a genuine badass warrior. Not like the movie, where you could tell from her first blows with Bullseye that she was pretty much dead.

  4. An excellent list. The only one that I thought of that I didn’t see was Jakita Wagner, who once got really, really excited because she got to beat the shit out of some giant, atomic ants.

  5. I’m not the sort of person who usually encourages people to “represent.”

    That being said…

    NEXTWAVE REPRESENT!

  6. The Baroness, huh?

    And I always thought that the Saw Viper who killed like three dozen Joes was the only Cobra minion to ever hit the mark.

    You are the master.

  7. Betraying my lameness: I don’t recognize this Mademoiselle Marie comic (granted, my main exposure to the character has been in her Sgt. Rock and Haunted Tank crossovers in the Showcases). But I want to know more.

  8. Betraying my lameness: for a second, I actually thought this post would be about The Violent Femmes.

    What? I like American music!

  9. Betraying my lameness: I don’t recognize this Mademoiselle Marie comic

    It’s from Checkmate #22, I think.

  10. Great lineup, Mr Sims. I have to say, however, that Afrodisiac is the greatest handle in a long, long time.

  11. Dear Proprietor,

    We support your brave anti-Nazi stance, Sir. It may not be popular in this day and age to do so, but we have never courted popularity.

    Regards,
    Hitler Getting Punched, LLC*

    P.S.: Madmoiselle Marie is awesome

    *HGP is not actually a Limited Liability Corporation**

    **Nor, technically is it a “We.”

  12. It is totally a we. Hitler should get punched all the time. Every hero should have a chance to do so.

  13. Leaving off Anita Blake was wise.

    She would have made all the other characters seem so weak by comparison.

    SEE: Anita gripe about a hot steering wheel!

    THRILL: To Anita making jokes-that-aren’t!

    AMAZE: As Anita “investigates” and “hunts vampires” while not doing either!

    Now that, my dear sirs and madams, is Badass.

  14. Hitler should get punched all the time. Every hero should have a chance to do so.

    That’s boring and repetitive. Put Hitler in a boxing match with someone.

    Kind of like that one comic where Champion was boxing all of Earth’s greatest heroes, except replace him with Hitler. Hilarity ensues!

  15. i have just found my muse on this comments page. once i get some real motivation, I’m going to do painting after painting of superheroes punching Hitler.
    Oils, watercolors, Tempera, whatever. heroes punching Hitler. Coming soon to a MoMA near you!

  16. Then, by all means submit them to HGP.

    My desire for original works of Hitler Punching to put up there is second only to my desire to punch Hitler myself.

  17. Danicus, if you need motivation, just think about the time that Brooklyn and Little Stevie bought the farm at Remagen. That always gets me fired up!

    Stevie… STEVIE!! NOOOOOOO!!!!! HE WAS JUST A KID, YOU RATZI BASTARDS!!!

    See? Works like a charm!

  18. I wish I worked at a place that went by Preacher standards. Although I am in Texas, so maybe I should just assume I do.

  19. cool list, shame there wasn’t room for Miss Misery and the latest Manhunter, Kate Spencer. But i think the likes of 355 and Chace are much more badass than those two, would have been severely disappointed if you had left them off the list.

  20. that first panel could very well be captioned:
    ‘Rosa Klebb — The Early Years’

  21. awwwwwwwww you mean this isn’t a review of a comic about Wisconsin’s official band? damn

  22. It seems that Catwoman does not appreciate Batman’s efforts to be “down” with the “kids.”