Comic Connections: Reflecting on Women in Popular Culture provides a dynamic and complex look at paradoxes often faced by a diverse collection of female characters within comics. Contributing authors offer a range of teaching perspectives, including: K-12 classrooms, local community organizations, and institutes of higher education. All of whom contribute to the enlightenment as well as the empowerment of key social issues by taking a closer look at how these issues have changed over time through various reflective and critical literacy strategies that enable ‘agents of change’ beyond the classroom.

Rachel Kaminski Sanders, Language and Literacy Education, University of Georgia

This much-needed book highlights the important contributions that women have historically made to the comics industry, and to popular culture more generally, not only as authors and artists, but also as heroines of their own stories. By focusing on a diverse range of characters, from Wonder Woman to Peggy Carter to Buffy to Kamala Khan, the authors whose work is featured in this volume challenge readers to consider how women’s roles in comics have evolved to reflect changing gender norms, and how female characters have operated within the contexts of their respective story worlds to explore new ways of performing femininity. In doing so, the book offers educators access to a wealth of practical suggestions and activities they can use to support students as they learn to read popular culture texts critically and to center females in comics as deserving of close study in secondary and college classes.

Sean P. Connors PhD, associate professor, English Education, University of Arkansas