Subscription Box: Comic Bento, February 2015
Subscription Box: Comic Bento, February 2015
FEMININE MYSTIQUE
Comic Bento is a monthly graphic novel subscription box to which my husband subscribes. Each box claims a minimum $60 value, and subscriptions start at just $20.00 per month (plus shipping) so it's a pretty good deal. Each box typically arrives a few days after the end of the month - so the January box came in the first week of February.
This month’s theme, Feminine Mystique (what a name!) is explained by Moss on an enclosed postcard:
This month’s box is a special one for a few reasons. The first of course is that it celebrates and highlights some of the amazing women who are writing, drawing and starring in critically acclaimed comics. These aren’t just any old stories, these are books and characters that are taking the world by storm! Slayers, Superheroes, Adventurers, these ladies have it all and aren’t afraid to fight for it!
I won’t lie. When I was growing up, it was difficult to find female friends who not only read comics, but enjoyed them with the fire and excitement that today’s Female Fans and Valkyries do. It’s a wonderful thing to see that the fastest growing group of new comics readers is girls and women, as well as seeing the numbers of female creators and characters on the rise as well…Even beyond the comics, Wonder Woman, Gamora, Black Canary, Jean Grey and more are tearing up our TV and movie screens, proving once and for all that they can hang with and surpass their male counterparts in any way shape or form imaginable.
-- Moss
He also mentions that one of Marvel Comics’ biggest stories will be in the box, so even before I looked at the comics I was 99.9% sure that Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 would be in there. Everyone’s been talking about that graphic novel! But I am curious what other women will be appearing in these stories. Let’s check it out!
Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (Marvel Comics): Marvel Comics presents the all-new Ms. Marvel, the groundbreaking heroine that has become an international sensation! Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she is suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the all-new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! As Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to handle? Kamala has no idea either. But she's comin' for you, New York! It's history in the making from acclaimed writer G. Willow Wilson (Air, Cairo) and beloved artist Adrian Alphona (Runaways)! $15.99
Called it!
Miss Fury Vol. 1: Anger is an Energy by Rob Williams & Jackson Herbeert (Dynamite): Miss Fury, the original pulp heroine, returns! When the costumed adventurer foils a wartime plot by Nazi agents, a scientific mishap catapults her forward through time... or so it seems. Has she truly been propelled into the Washington, D.C. of the year 2013, where the Third Reich reigns supreme? Or is she merely the victim of a mental breakdown, a delusional witness to decades of bloodshed from World War II through the far-flung future? Whether lost in time or driven crazy, one thing is clear - Miss Fury simmers with rage, and those responsible will face her fearsome power! $19.99
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1: The Dust Waltz by Joss Whedon, Dan Brerton, Rick Ketcham & Laura Allred (Dark Horse): Who are the mysterious sisters who have come to Sunnydale, and what are those nasty beasts that they have brought with them? It's Buffy's job as the slayer to find out, and do it but good! Of course, things can't help but be complicated -- one of the sister's has her sights on Angel! Balancing school books with the undead, Buffy takes the definition of awkward teen years to the extreme. Based on the popular television series! $9.95
Shutter Vol. 1: Wanderlost by Joe Keatinge, Leila del Duca, Owen Gieni & Ed Brisson (Image): INDIANA JONES FOR THE 21st CENTURY! Marvel Knights: Hulk and Glory writer Joe Keatinge teams up with artist extraordinaire Leila del Duca for her Image Comics debut in an all-new ongoing series combining the urban fantasy of Fables and the globe-spanning adventure of Y: The Last Man. Kate Kristopher, once the most famous explorer of an Earth far more fantastic than the one we know, is forced to return to the adventurous life she left behind when a family secret threatens to destroy everything she spent her life protecting $9.99
Oh, Buffy! Remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Everyone was watching it back in junior high…
Anyway, great selection. Miss Fury looks like Catwoman, but I hope the story is fun. Shutter sounds really promising and I can’t wait to read it. I’m a little bummed about Ms. Marvel, but only because I already have it thanks to last month’s Book Riot box. But no worries - if my brother hasn’t read the comic yet I know he’d love a copy of it.
Next month: CLOAK & DAGGER
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2014: Who Owns America's Past? by Robert C. Post
2013: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
2012: Vacation: Weddingpalooza
2011: The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer by Lucy Weston
2010: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
2009: The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran