Woman Fantastic in Contemporary American Media Culture

HOW THE INCREDIBLE HEROINE HAS EVOLVED AND SHAPED TELEVISION, FILM, COMIC BOOKS, AND LITERATURE Contributions by Marleen S. Barr, Elyce Rae Helford, Ewan Kirkland, Nicola Mann, Megan McDonough, Alex Naylor, Rhonda Nicol, Joan Ormrod, J. Richard Stevens, Tosha Taylor, Katherine A. Wagner, and Rhonda V. Wilcox Although the last three decades have offered a growing body of scholarship on images of fantastic women in popular culture, these studies either tend to focus on one particular variety of fantastic female (the action or sci-fi heroine), or on her role in a speci c genre (villain, hero, temptress). This edited collection strives to de ne the "Woman Fantastic" more fully. The Woman Fantastic may appear in speculative or realist settings, but her presence is always recognizable. Through futuristic contexts, fantasy worlds, alternate histories, or the display of superpowers, these insuperable women challenge the laws of physics, chemistry, and/or biology. In chapters devoted to certain television programs, adult and young adult literature, and comics, contributors discuss feminist negotiation of today's economic and social realities. Senior scholars and rising academic stars offer compelling analyses of fantastic women from Wonder Woman and She-Hulk to Talia Al Ghul and Martha Washington; from Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series to Cinda Williams Chima's The Seven Realms series; and from Battlestar Gallactica's female Starbuck to Game of Thrones' Sansa and even Elaine Barrish Hammond of USA's Political Animals. This volume furnishes an important contribution to ongoing discussions of gender and feminism in popular culture. ELYCE RAE HELFORD, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is professor of English and faculty in women's and gender studies at Middle Tennessee State University. SHILOH CARROLL, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is instructor in the writing center at Middle Tennessee State University. SARAH GRAY, Nashville, Tennessee, and MICHAEL R. HOWARD II, Edmond, Oklahoma, are graduate students in English at Middle Tennessee State University. Howard is also assistant professor and Writing Center Director at Langston College. Carroll, Gray, and Howard organized the conference "Catwoman to Katniss: Villainesses and Heroines in Science Fiction."