Wondrous women: Comic book heroines girls will love

In the future, law enforcement is carried out by teens, who retireand take on real careers when they reach maturity. Dayoung Johansson, one ofthese teen cops, discovers that megacorporation Quintum Mechanics hascommitted multiple crimes against time and that her own timeline shouldn't evenexist.

The only solution is to screw her courage in place andtake her trusty standard-issue rocket pack back in time to 1986, where it allstarted, and try to set things right.

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Why are hipster yetis so odd?

Because they can't even!

I stole that joke from "Lumberjanes." Which is one ofjust many reasons to love it. (Another reason is co-writer Noelle Stevenson, creator of webcomic Nimona and former "Adventure Time" comics writer.) It follows the tale of five girls, Jo, April,Mal, Molly and Ripley, as they settle into summer camp at Miss QuinzellaThiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. Our rowdycrew of Lumberjane Scouts is not in for a tranquil time: three-eyed foxes,giant eagles, yetis and creepy boy scouts hint at something untoward happeningin the woods...

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Princess Lono spends her days in her father's court, readingnovels and dreaming of a bigger, more adventurous world. Her life is turnedupside down when her friend, Princess Pira of a neighbouring kingdom, bringsword of war between the two realms.

The two princesses make an escapetogether, accompanied by a magical fire-dog. Although at first, Lono requiresthe protection of the more fiery Pira, the complementary strengths of each helpthem survive a world riddled with peril.

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Amethyst is a little old-school, dating back to the early 1980s,but it still holds up. And it really does have it all.

A young Earth girl finds out she's secretly a grown-up princess in another land -- with magical powers and a flying unicorn. Amethyst must save her kingdom fromher evil, usurping uncle using her wits, her powers and the help of her loyalfriends.

Amethyst recently had areboot in "Sword of Sorcery," but the classic really is impossible tobeat.

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From a very young age, little girls are taught that princesses arepretty and dainty and feminine. "Princess Ugg" teaches us that they can be other things -- such as muscled berserker warriors.When Princess Ülga of Grimmeria's dying mother lays a quest upon her to find abetter way into the future for their warlike people, Ülga takes herself off tothe city's finest school for princesses to face the hardest battle of her life:learning the fine art of diplomacy.

It's only fair to warn youthat you will encounter some blood and guts, but it's a comic book about berserker princesses, after all.

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In medieval times, life was rough for almost everyone -- includingthe tiny mousefolk. Set in the 12th century, Eisner-winning "MouseGuard" follows the adventures of the brave bucks and does of the eponymousMouse Guard, a group sworn to protect their civilian brothers and sisters.

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Masked, caped, with a rapier wit and a rapier in hand, Paul Tobinand Coleen Coover's Bandette is the sneaking scourge of Paris -- both thecriminal underground and the long arm of the law alike.

She was inspired by Fantômette, French literature's first female superhero. The tales of hercat-burgling antics, egged on and supported by the citizens of the City ofLight, are a playful, never-a-dull-moment delight.

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Think Pippi Longstocking, and Alice in Wonderland, all mixed upwith Treasure Island, and you might be approaching "Cursed PirateGirl." Our heroine swashes and buckles across the mythical Omerta seas,searching for her long-lost father, finding lands ofwonder and fighting unimaginable perils.

And if the finely detailed ink-drawnart doesn't make your little heart go pitter-pat, well, there's just no hope foryou in this world.

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Hyperactive hypercolour 1980s cartoon "Jem and theHolograms" -- about an all-girl rock band that uses holographic technologyfor their stage shows -- is about to see a film reboot and an all-new comic to go along with it.

Issue 2 of the new series is starting the story of Jem and her pals from the beginning: how theydiscover the holographic technology and get their band off the ground. Bonus: their amazing, amazing hair.

Outrageous.

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It can be hard to find jumping-on points for superhero comics,but this mini-series starring the gals of Batman's Gotham City is a good place for a younglady to get acquainted with the Bat-verse.

Based on the cartoon series of thesame name (and featuring the same cartoony art style), "Gotham Girls"pits Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy against each other, fighting over avial of chemical formula -- and all three against the law: Batgirl and detective Renee Montoya.

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Korgi, beautifully drawn by former Disney animator ChristianSlade, is something of a rarity: a completely "silent" comic (thatis, a comic with no words at all), whichmakes it suitable for younger readers too. It follows the adventures of Ivy andher corgi puppy Sprout in the magical Korgi Hollow, where corgis andpeople live and work together in harmony.

Ivy and Sprout are a little moreadventurous than most… and those adventures and subsequent troubles lead them tolearn a few things about themselves along the way.

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Some superhero names are titles rather than specific identities.One of these is Ms Marvel, originally introduced in 1968 as a femalecounterpart to Captain Marvel. Last year, the fourth heroine to take the MsMarvel mantle arrived: Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen, and the firstMuslim superhero to headline her own book. Gifted with shapeshiftingpowers, Kamala's complicated life -- high school, crushes, struggling with herfaith and her traditional parents -- is eminently relatable.

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