Girls Who Bite Back, Emily Pohl-Weary, Ed.   A bit of a hit-and-miss as a collection, this is split into equal thirds fiction, comic strip/art, and commentary/criticism.  The blend isn't terribly effectual or cohesive.  As the title suggests, all of the content is loosley linked by the idea of the assertive woman in the media, with specific attention paid to "superheroes" and women of color.  The criticism is lackluster - a few bits on the ever-present Buffy the Vampire Slayer (practically a cult in academia), autobiographical reflections on role models for queer girlhood, and an amusing dialogue between the "first" female videogame characters, from Ms. Pacman to Laura Croft.  The art is hit and miss, and some seems to miss the point of the collection entirely.  But the stories are, by and large, quite good.  Nalo Hopkinson's is head and shoulders above the rest.

Read July 2006