This message is for any woman blessed with extraordinary abilities. The world gets scarier every day. Are you fighting to make it a better place? Or are you leaving it to the guys? How’s that working out? This isn’t about showing men I can do it better. I’m just a smart, capable person with superpowers and I want to do my part. I’m willing to bet there are others like me. I want to meet you. It’s time for us heroines to get in the game!

Comic creator Ted Naifeh is a name where you can expect quality entertainment when you see it. Heroines is his latest series and it kicks off with an oversized debut issue that’s a hell of a lot of fun and launches what hopefully will be an ever expanding comic superhero universe.

Published by Space Goat Publishing, Heroines stars Marcy Madison a recent college graduate who decides she wants to become a superhero (her powers are light based) and is spoken down to and harrassed a bit by this world’s equivalent of the Justice League. Deciding she doesn’t want to deal with the sexism and stupidity, she ventures off to start her own superhero group led by women.

This double sized first issue introduces us to it all and what feels like all of the key players in a way that not only did it feel like this was a superhero world I’d been reading for years, but also had me excited to see what’s next. This is a series that wears its feminism proudly and has no problem showing women can kick-ass and also look different.

Naifeh gives us a solid mix of characters, races, and backgrounds though at times some feel a bit like it relies a bit too much on stereotypes and tropes. It’s not bad, but it’s a bit familiar at times and my one wish was some of these characters broke their stereotypes. The black superhero shouldn’t have to be the “street” character fighting drug dealers for example.

Naifeh also delivers humor throughout, especially when it comes to some of the quirkier sides of the superheroes. There’s very little held back and what’s little said often lets your imagination run wild with the crazy possibilities.

The art too is fantastic with Naifeh’s style feeling familiar but also fresh in its own way. This feels like an “indie” comic and that’s not a bad thing. The characters all look unique and there’s a roughness about it all that enhances the series in its own way. The action is great too and just the flow and look to it all makes it feel like a well thought out series in the characters and design.

Heroines #1 is a comic I expected to be good because of Naifeh and quickly has me excited to see what comes next in it. Hopefully the series is big enough that it can be expanded with some spin-offs because in one issue it has me interested in everything presented and wanting to see more.

Story: Ted Naifeh Art: Ted Naifeh
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy