The latest “Avengers” comic to come out, spawning from the Marvel Comics “Secret Wars” event, has the unique designation of being the first all-female Avengers team.
Written by G. Willow Wilson and Marguerite Bennett and drawn by Jorge Molina, “A-Force” draws its characters from some of the prominent females in Marvel history, old and new — including She-Hulk, the Inhuman Medusa and Captain Marvel — along with a new face, Singularity.
“Singularity stands out because she is essentially brand new,” says Bennett, who lives in Queens. “Singularity, physically, is an entire universe that has become incarnated into a girl. And she is learning through her experiences … what it means to be human, what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a heroine.”
Bennett savors the chance to write a fresh character — a “blank slate,” she calls her.
“To see and experience complete civilization with utterly new eyes is just a real treat,” she says.
“A-Force,” in stores Wednesday, had some buzz surrounding it recently after a New Yorker article by Jill Lepore, ” Looking at female superheroes with ten-year-old boys,” said that the members of A-Force look “like porn stars.”
In an open letter on her website, Wilson replied, “‘A-Force’ comes out of a very specific conversation about gender in comics that has been evolving rapidly in the past few years, driven as much by fandom as it is by creators and editors.”
Bennett had many accolades for her co-writer’s “thoughtful” and “measured” response.
“[Wilson] is the soul of grace and compassion,” she says, “and I am the soul of saying swear words, loudly and often.”
In addition to “A-Force,” DC Comics announced last week that Bennett will also be writing “Bombshells,” a new comic available digitally in July and in print in August about retro versions of some of the famous female characters of the DC Universe — including Batwoman, Supergirl and Wonder Woman — set during World War II.
“We’re just going all out,” Bennett says about the series, which is being drawn by Marguerite Sauvage. “I just cannot wait. The scope is like nothing I’ve ever done.”
If you go: Marguerite Bennett will be signing copies of A-Force No. 1 Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Midtown Comics Downtown, 64 Fulton St., 212-302-8192, must purchase the comic.
You can get a digital copy of the book at https://comicstore.marvel.com/A-Force-2015-1/digital-comic/38466
Learn more about the lead women of A-Force at the Marvel Discover section at https://marvel.com/comics/discover/291/avenging-women
