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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Absolute art. A necessary perspective on a genre that has relied on the same tired tropes for far far too long.
This book captures everything that I love, and more importantly, everything I HATE about how women’s stories get told in superhero comics. It’s equal parts hilarious, heartfelt and validating of my deep-seated rage. If you love the genre, and/or have ever said “Gwen Stacey deserved better” this one’s for you.
I was just the prototype, the Act One conflict who had to go so the story could grow a little more gravitas.
So, first of all, I have to commend Valente for getting so pissed at a Spider-Man movie that she created an entire universe and wrote an entire book just to make a point. *applause*
I talk a lot about the correct combination of my interests, and for the absolute nonsense that the phrase is, this book is the correct combination of my interests. This is Valente writing about the all too common trope of the female character in a superhero story getting killed, driven mad, stripped of their powers, etc. for the male superhero's development or the progression of the plot.
The Refrigerator Monologues was my first Valente, and now I know why people rave about her writing. She has a very distinct voice for each of the characters, and her stories are rich with details and the characters are loud and distinct and pop off the page. From the original girl in a refrigerator, Alexandra Dewitt, to the snapped neck of Gwen Stacey, Valente writes the stories of the women who were pushed to the side. I was only familiar with half of the women before looking into their stories, but I enjoyed each story. Each woman has a very different voice and tells her story differently. I loved this so much, and if you're tired of female characters in superhero stories getting written out of the story, I'd definitely recommend this.
“I belong in the refrigerator. Because the truth is, I'm just food for a superhero. He'll eat up my death and get the energy he needs to become a legend.”
God this was so good and important and Harley Quinn's story broke me into pieces.
God this was so good and important and Harley Quinn's story broke me into pieces.
I really loved this book! I listened to it as an audiobook so I didn't get the illustrations, but the reader was so good I didn't feel like I was missing out. Even though the women depicted were all "victims", sacrificed in one way or another to serve the "hero's" narrative, their strength and sass and intelligence oozes off the pages. They deserved better, and if they have to be dead to get it, then fine. You don't have to be a comics expert to enjoy this book, but it was a lot of fun seeing how Valente was inspired by actual comics characters and storylines. Nerd bonus, but not at all necessary to the enjoyment of the book.
A 4.5 starrer
Comic book-dom has never been the same ever since the incomparable Gail Simone held a mirror to the way it treats women, through the coinage of the term "Women in Refrigerators". The term meant to showcase the comic book trope of female characters being killed, injured or depowered as a plot device, often seeming to spur the lead male characters to greater heights. Several comic book creators indicated that the list of "Women in Refrigerators" often caused them to pause and think about the stories that they were creating
Catherynne M. Valente uses this and mashes it with structuring of the Vagina Monologues to create this book that picks up 6 women comic book characters who find themselves in the after-life (err spoiler alert) each talking about their experience in a drinking club if you will. While names are changed, the powers of the heroes are changed, its very easy to figure out the character that they are talking about. Be it a Gwen Stacy or a Harley Quinn or a Jean Grey, each character has a story to tell on their situations and things beyond their control
It is indeed a fascinating examination while also a veiled jab at us as readers on this journey that have encouraged some of these moves. The book is kind of bleakish and laced with black gallows humor but at the same time, it doesnt really offer a resolution. That was never the purpose of the book. It shines a light on things that have happened. For us as readers, its more around how these things do keep on happening (while it definitely has gone down). I found the inclusion of Mera a bit odd - not that she hasnt gone through the wringer but there are a couple of stronger cases - Barbara Gordon & Sue Dibny
Comic book-dom has never been the same ever since the incomparable Gail Simone held a mirror to the way it treats women, through the coinage of the term "Women in Refrigerators". The term meant to showcase the comic book trope of female characters being killed, injured or depowered as a plot device, often seeming to spur the lead male characters to greater heights. Several comic book creators indicated that the list of "Women in Refrigerators" often caused them to pause and think about the stories that they were creating
Catherynne M. Valente uses this and mashes it with structuring of the Vagina Monologues to create this book that picks up 6 women comic book characters who find themselves in the after-life (err spoiler alert) each talking about their experience in a drinking club if you will. While names are changed, the powers of the heroes are changed, its very easy to figure out the character that they are talking about. Be it a Gwen Stacy or a Harley Quinn or a Jean Grey, each character has a story to tell on their situations and things beyond their control
It is indeed a fascinating examination while also a veiled jab at us as readers on this journey that have encouraged some of these moves. The book is kind of bleakish and laced with black gallows humor but at the same time, it doesnt really offer a resolution. That was never the purpose of the book. It shines a light on things that have happened. For us as readers, its more around how these things do keep on happening (while it definitely has gone down). I found the inclusion of Mera a bit odd - not that she hasnt gone through the wringer but there are a couple of stronger cases - Barbara Gordon & Sue Dibny
I want to hold off on reviewing this for the time being, because I'm only familiar with the source text for one of the short stories and actually had a few problems with Valente's subsequent analysis in it. I'm not sure if my present opinions of the other short stories would be as objective as I want them to be without having familiarized myself with their source material first.
That being said, I would still highly suggest this novella and think it presents a very interesting dissection of the "fridged" comic girls phenomenon! Valente is incredible at world-building, and there's an enrapturing wit to her writing style even if it comes off a bit pretentious at times. Each of the main characters is unique and distinct, and the audio book narrator excels at distinguishing them of each other, to the point that the narration was likely the highlight of my reading experience.
That being said, I would still highly suggest this novella and think it presents a very interesting dissection of the "fridged" comic girls phenomenon! Valente is incredible at world-building, and there's an enrapturing wit to her writing style even if it comes off a bit pretentious at times. Each of the main characters is unique and distinct, and the audio book narrator excels at distinguishing them of each other, to the point that the narration was likely the highlight of my reading experience.
You may not recognize their names, but you will recognize their stories - even if they, all of them, were just supporting characters to men destined to be heroes. Bittersweet 4 stars.
i'm like. tepid on this! the bayou story ruined me, but i think that I've spent too much time in the comics trenches to be excited by the takes in this book? also it's valente and while i love her it's her leaning really hard into her wink wink nudge nudge impulses and not having them curtailed