The Comic Book Every Child Should Own

When New Yorkers attended the Vulture panel on female fandom at this year's Comic Con, a male audience member asked the women panelists for advice on how to best write a female character into his stories. "Try pretending she's a person," one panelist answered.

Herein lies the problem with many comics. Historically, you don't often find comic-book women kicking ass or leading the charge. Sure, some franchises are becoming more progressive, featuring additional female characters and even (finally) gay marriage. For those who still find the lady-hero roster a bit lacking, though, there's Female Force — Activists.

Created by Bluewater Productions, this 96-page graphic novel features some real-life superwomen of our time: Gloria Steinem, Melinda Gates, Arianna Huffington, and Angelina Jolie. These activists illustrate how women are changing the world — a job that's far too often reserved for the male characters in comic-land.

Publisher Darren Davis said the Female Force series allows Bluewater Productions to showcase women that are inspiring future generations. "Kids and adults alike can look up to these women as great role models. One of the coolest things about the comic books is that we found schools using them for reluctant readers," he said.

Previous issues of the franchise have included Hillary Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, Michelle Obama, and Cher. It's all just really rad. Check out some of the comics ahead. The best part of this particular "novel"? Not one of these women is a fictional character.