February 2, 2010 Quick Reads

Quick Reads

by Kamila HinksonChristopher Olson

Superhero suffragettes

The Supergirls
Mike Madrid
Exterminating Angel Press
334 pp
$16.95

Mike Madrid’s love for the fierce females that have been prominently featured in some of his favourite comic books inspired him to write an intertwining history of feminism and comic literature in The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy and the History of Comic Book Heroines. He traces the birth of these heroines from the 1930s—when Phantom Lady and other women led double lives to fight crime—to modern times, chronicling women like Manhunter: working mother by day, crime fighter by night. Madrid explores the relationship between the prevailing ideologies of the last eight decades and the heroines that were born as a result.

The beauty of The Supergirls is that anyone who is remotely interested in comic books, feminism, or history in general can take something from it. Madrid breaks the chronological rhythm of the book to examine some heroines in depth, which may confuse readers who are unfamiliar with the history of graphic novels. But overall, The Supergirls is an interesting read for anyone who has ever been fascinated by fabulous women who kick ass. And who hasn’t?

4.5/5
—Kamila Hinkson

Historical snuff

Tragic Links
Cathy Beveridge
Ronsdale Press
181 pp
$10.95

As soon as someone commits to using time travel as a literary device, any appreciation for historical accuracy typically goes out the window. Rather than learn what Napoleon Bonaparte was really like, it’s too tempting to use time travel as an excuse to see him rush down a water slide or navigate a modern construction yard like Mr. Magoo.

But there’s something far more perverse about time travelers who fail to intervene in historical tragedies while on fact finding missions, patiently observing as the horror repeats itself.

Tragic Links is the fourth in a series of young adult novels exploring Canadian disasters. This time around, it’s the 1907 Quebec City bridge collapse—following a brief sojourn to the Montreal of the 1920s. The time traveller? Cathy Beveridge, a young girl with the ability to see “time creases,” which is about as good an excuse as any to feed an addiction to historical snuff.

You can bet your better half that Cathy has some familial connection to the 1907 bridge collapse, and that the connection will stir up some serious second-guessing about the wisdom of intervening in history. Would it really be a time travel story if it weren’t a tad predictable?

3/5
—Christopher Olson