There has been much discussion amongst both comics and lit bloggers lately on the subject of female readers and comic books. This latest round in a very old discussion was brought on by DC's announcement of a YA graphic novel lined aimed at girls and due out in 2007. I wrote about the Minx line already, and certainly wish it the best (with Cecil Castellucci up front and center I know at least one book will succeed!), but I have to take issue with the many many bloggers who feel compelled to insist that DC is out of touch by launching this line, that there are plenty of gn lines already for girls and that anyway, plenty of girls and women read comics already.

No, they don't.

I write that as a woman who has been reading comics for over thirty years and actively buying them for fifteen. (Before that I was reading my brother's comics.) I don't care how many women you know who love Sandman or teenage girls you see reading manga, at the end of the day DC is right - there are way too few girls buying comics. And while this certainly is not the kind of news that will change the world, it is sad for the industry and sad for the reading public as well.

Because there are a ton of great comics out there, and the girls are really missing something.

So here's my list of graphic novels and series titles that should particularly appeal to girls. And if you disagree with me, if you think the girls are just fine and don't need to be singled out, then that's fine - you've got your opinion and I have mine. These are still some very good recommendations and you should seek them out anyway.

Lost at Sea - Combine a road trip, coming-of-age story and a girl at a bit of her wit's end and you end up with three friends and Raleigh - the fourth wheel, the girl they don't really know the one who showed up for the ride but clearly doesn't fit in. She thinks she has lost her soul and wonders how or why it happened. You think of things like that when you are 18 and you think you are crazy because of having those thoughts. Then you read a book like this and it all makes perfect sense.

Love as a Foreign Language is out in six volumes now and follows the story of Joel who hates Korea but is there anyway, teaching English and going crazy. He has friends at work, a passion for comics and a paranoid fear of the local food. He also has an enormous crush on Hana, the school's new secretary. Because he is such a funny geek you have no faith that he is ever going to get his act together enough to actually ask her out - but reading about the whole thing is hysterical and has kept me hooked for over a year.

Love Fights - Two volumes about two people trying to carve out a relationship in a world where superheroes are common. He is a reporter for a superhero magazine and she thinks they are stupid. Do they have a chance? Of course there is a ton of superhero drama here - great drama and the romance has a ton of its own drama so the whole thing is both classic 30s romance (think Hepburn and Tracy) and 21st century fights in tights (think The Incredibles). Andi Watson is one of the best in the business - a great introduction to comics.

Hopeless Savages - Sid and Nancy cleaned up, got married, had kids and lived happily ever after. It's punk rock in the suburbs and utterly irresistible. You don't have to be a music fan to apply, but you do have to love a sly British sense of humor.

Whiteout - From Greg Rucka, this is a fantastic crime comic set in Antarctica and starring US Marshall Carrie Stetko. She is so tough - so fucking tough - and the way she relentlessly unravels the mystery around her (all the while fighting some serious elements) makes this story as good as any mystery out there. And Carrie is awesome - complicated, confused but determined. She would have made a great (and successful) polar explorer.

For the series comics, well I can not possible scream about the wonderfulness of Dorothy any more than I already have. I reviewed it at length this year and also included it in my current feature at Bookslut. I look forward to every issue and have been impressed every time. Fables has a ton of fans and rightly so. It's a grown-up version of everyone's favorite fairy tales and the female characters include spies, assassins and women who are decidedly smart and in charge. I read it religiously, along with the new spinoff, Jack of Fables.

Also go for Astonishing X-Men, written by Joss Whedon and starring the wonderful Kitty Pryde who is both tough and full of heart. And ignore everyone bitching about her bust size and just read Wonder Woman because she's Wonder Woman for God's sake! And what she did in the middle of the whole OMAC saga - well she lived up to her Amazon heritage and she proved to be tougher than all of them - because someone had to be.

I think she rocks and I don't care what that means to all my feminist friends.

Finally, for the little girls, get them Amelia Rules. She's funny and smart and her friends are a kick. Even adults like this comic (I'm a fan) and it is pitch perfect for sure for the under ten crowd.