Strong Female Character: Bella Donna

I know this is a little off topic from what the class usually wants to discuss but I feel like blogging about this. It's been a while since I've read a comic that I whole heartily enjoyed. To me, this is one of the few comics I've seen where they have a strong female role represented as well as having her as a actually character. That she's not strong because she's female but she's strong because that's just the way she is. The comic is a european comic that was written by ANGE and illustrated by Pierre Alary.  It tales a young woman named Marie who goes by the name "Bella Donna". She works for the Musketeers that serve the king in Paris during the 1680's. She's a skilled fighter and one of the best around. What makes her strong isn't just her skills with the sword. She has amazing agility, can endure pain that others would deem impossible, and she uses her seduction to manipulate opponents to her advantage. As the story goes on more of her backstory is explained and you start to learn more about her and how she developed her abilities. The characters around her are either humorous, full of energy or exciting as each person has their own personality and nothing feels tacked on like a wasted page or space.

Another aspect of what I like about this series is that it's not afraid of adult themes and takes them as a normal part of the world. The simple boob shot or murder and torture are just there and are not the most important thing about the story. What makes this book different from others is that Marie is just a strong individual and the men aren't downplayed to make her look better in comparison. In fact, I don't want to spoil but I would say almost every woman in the book are stronger characters that of their male counterparts. However the men still have significant roles in the story and their actions are more about their experience and not a bland stereotype that I often see.

The illustrations are simple but realistic enough where you can imagine an actual person in this setting. The danger feels real, even for Marie, since anyone could die in the story and it would still have an impact on the plot. The story's conclusion has a open end where they could end the tale but continue where they left off anytime they wanted to. I feel that this comic is one of the few to get the strong female protagonist right while not shying way attention to the male gender just to make a point. I would high recommend anyone who hasn't read this yet to try to find a copy and own it. The only few downsides are that from the second to third novel the tale feels a bit rushed and it's only made up to 3 books. But it's still a fun read if you have free time and wanna has some fun with comics again.