The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen Review

The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen
Written by: Hope Nicholson
Published by: Quirk Books

Review by Stephanie Cooke

In an era where the female characters known worldwide to geeks and non-geeks alike can be counted on one hand (ie. Wonder Woman, Batgirl), The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen couldn’t come at a better time. Highlighting countless comic book heroines, Hope Nicholson’s well-researched and enlightening book takes us through the eras that these characters came out of.

Nicholson is no stranger to research and has been doing work as a comics historian for quite some time now. Her reprints and restorations of the Canadian heroes Nelvana of the Northern Lights and Brok Windsor got noticed by many and helped launch her career forward as a smart, and meticulous researcher, always on the lookout for interesting projects that the market is in need of.

It makes a lot of sense that Nicholson was brought on for this project and I honestly can’t think of a better person to have put this together with precision, accuracy and genuine affection for the characters and the content.

While there are other books such as Jon Morris’ The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains and The League of Regrettable Superheroes which poke fun at some of the sillier characters in a delightful way, The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen does a fantastic job of taking characters, silly and all, relatively seriously and giving them a proper history that you may or may not have known about prior to picking the book up.

The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen gives you enough information and teaches you about amazing female characters throughout the years and makes you (or maybe just me!) want to read more about them and find their comics or campaign to have some of these characters in new and modern comics.

Quirk Books has been putting out a TON of great geek-related content lately. The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen along with Wonder Woman, and Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs and other such books are much sought after and needed. They’re appeasing a demographic within the geek industry that has long been neglected (and is STILL largely neglected) and finding a market with a crowd that is desperate for quality non-fiction (and fiction) that caters to things that that they care about.

Verdict:
The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen is an absolute MUST BUY. It’s something that I truly believe should not just be on the shelves of every girl but every person, period. It’s a great reminder that strong women and great characters have been around for ages and there are more names that we should know besides Wonder Woman and Batgirl.

This book is a great book for a collection or as a coffee table book – as a present for a friend or a present for yourself. It’s just great and I really and truly believe that you need to pick up a copy ASAP.

NOTE: I’ve worked with Hope before on The Secret Loves of Geek Girls so my review isn’t completely impartial. That being said upfront, if I felt I couldn’t provide you all with a honest review of this book, I would have passed it on to someone else so please trust that this review comes with integrity.