Strong female protagonist

Strong Female Protagonist (SFP) is a webcomic which updates twice a week, one page at a time. Collecting a webcomic in a print volume can be a gamble, revealing the hiccups of a creative process that is very different from creating a straight-to-print graphic novel or comic book. Serial webcomic storytelling may seem disjointed, illustrations may not flow in a satisfying way, and/or the transition from web to print may seem self-congratulatory or unnecessary. But in SFP's case, its slow and steady evolutionary process is quite appealing. SFP is the story of a college-aged superhero who has almost, but not quite, hung up her mask to live a normal life. She's preoccupied with questions of justice and duty, discouraged by the special treatment she gets because of her superstrength, and unable to escape her inborn need to save the world. As the story develops, our heroine's internal struggle becomes more fully realized; her relationships with her fellow superhumans gain depth and poignancy, and the illustration style grows more confident, to the point where you're utterly involved by the end of the book. Luckily, the story continues online. Verdict A satisfying webcomic transferred successfully to the printed page, a great and promising story of a superhero, and a strong young woman, in progress.-Emilia Packard, Austin, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 10 Up-Alison Green, aka Mega Girl, lives in a dark world fraught with difficult relationships. She is a biodynamic, who, along with other young people who possess special capabilities, rejects her role as a superhero and attempts to revert to the life of a "normal" college freshman. However, because she retains her extraordinary abilities, she encounters situations that test her resolve to no longer use her powers. Good versus evil, the possibility of world change, and the worth of an individual life are among the deep and complex concepts explored in this volume. Ostertag's emotion-filled images and expressive faces draw readers into the world created with realistic black-and-white line drawings and an occasional full-page color panel. A narrator speaks directly to readers via footnotes at the bottom of each page. While sometimes interesting and necessary to understand Alison's backstory, at times these comments become annoying and disrupt the flow of the story. Due to the ongoing nature of the webcomic in which Mega Girl first appeared (strongfemaleprotagonist.com), some of the book's story line and characters are not fully realized. Aspects of the book, such as the heavy infusion of profanity, make this title more appropriate for older teens. An exploration of similar issues can be found in Faith Erin Hicks's The Adventures of Superhero Girl (Dark Horse, 2013), in which a female protagonist has to negotiate supernatural and mundane worlds. VERDICT This graphic novel for mature young adults might create new fans for the webcomic, but will leave most readers unsatisfied.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.