Why the World Needs More Female Superheroes – Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a Superhero – Yeah I Said It!

The Superhero market is full of male superheroes. We need more diversity in this genre we need different stories not more of the same. In recent years we have finally seen diversity really starting to increase across the board in every genre. I’m so glad to start seeing people take notice to the issue and try and fix it. For those that think we don’t need diversity in fiction I ask why do you think that? Do you really enjoy reading the same exact boilerplate character over and over again? This bores me and I’m not afraid to say it out loud. I love extremely flawed characters that feel human. I want to be surprised when a character is revealed not instantly feel like I know this character because they are flat and two dimensional. I’m tired of token characters, I want true characters. A lot of publishers say female characters are harder to market than male characters, they argue readers won’t enjoy the point of view of the female character the story is being told from. If we right true human characters this is not the case, and not every main character needs to be instantly likable. The flaws and their human contradictions are what will make people care and like a character not them having no flaws or acting real.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best superheroes she is a true three dimensional character. Some other characters on her level are Jessica Jones, Veronica Mars, Ms. Marvel, Rogue, Jubilee and Storm. There are so many strong female superheroes that aren’t given the focus that they deserve. We are finally seeing diversity come into comics and books; don’t let it stop here. I would love to see  more diversity in the games, TV shows, and movies being produced in this genre not just the characters but the people helping create them too. Diversity is what makes stories worth telling and worth consuming.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds

“Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.” Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He’s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he’s Spider Man. But lately, Miles’s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren’t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad’s advice and focus on saving himself. As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can’t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher’s lectures on the historical “benefits” of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk. It’s time for Miles to suit up.

Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she’s been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father’s too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he’s not a hero in any way, or else he’s stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first.

To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad’s “flying lessons” that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city–despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights–thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she’s his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

When the Bat’s away, the Cat will play. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has. Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Gotham City looks ripe for the taking.

Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove that as Batwing he has what it takes to help people. He targets a new thief on the prowl who has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Together, they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman is clever–she may be Batwing’s undoing.

In this third DC Icons book, Selina is playing a desperate game of cat and mouse, forming unexpected friendships and entangling herself with Batwing by night and her devilishly handsome neighbor Luke Fox by day. But with a dangerous threat from the past on her tail, will she be able to pull off the heist that’s closest to her heart?

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy. The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list. Bruce is turning eighteen and inheriting his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Industries and all the tech gadgetry that he could ever desire. But on the way home from his birthday party, he makes an impulsive choice that leads to community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison. There, he meets Madeleine Wallace, a brilliant killer with ties to the Nightwalkers. A girl who will only speak to Bruce. She is the mystery he must unravel, but is he convincing her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce Wayne is proof that you don’t need superpowers to be a super hero, but can he survive Madeleine’s game of tense intrigue and deception?

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning… Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.  Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Superman: Dawnbreaker  by Matt de la Peña

When the dawn breaks, a hero rises. His power is beyond imagining. Clark Kent has always been faster, stronger–better–than everyone around him. But he wasn’t raised to show off, and drawing attention to himself could be dangerous. Plus, it’s not like he’s earned his powers… yet. But power comes with a price.

Lately it’s difficult to hold back and keep his heroics in the shadows. When Clark follows the sound of a girl crying, he comes across Gloria Alvarez and discovers a dark secret lurking in Smallville. Turns out, Clark’s not the only one hiding something. Teaming up with his best friend, Lana Lang, he throws himself into the pursuit of the truth. What evil lies below the surface of his small town? And what will it cost Clark to learn about his past as he steps into the light to become the future Man of Steel? Because before he can save the world, he must save Smallville.

Battlecry Series by Emerald Dodge

For one superhero, the good guys can be deadlier than the bad guys. Jillian Johnson, known as the mighty Battlecry, was born into a superhero cult. She craves a life of freedom, far away from her violent and abusive team leader, Patrick. With no education, no money, and no future to speak of, she’s stuck in the dangerous life…until she meets the mysterious and compelling Benjamin, a civilian with superpowers. When Patrick confronts her, she fights back–and then runs for her life. One by one, her ex-teammates join her until a new team has formed.

But Patrick will not let his upstart teammates get away so easily. Humiliated and hellbent on vengeance, he waits for his chance to strike back and kill the new team, and he is happy to murder superheroes and civilians alike. On top of that, Benjamin has joined Jillian and her comrades, angering his own lethal family. Jillian’s enemies begin to close in from all sides.Desperate and in hiding, Jillian must shed everything she thinks she knows about what it means to lead. Can she rise up to the challenge of defeating Patrick? Can she save Benjamin from his family? Or will she die like every other superhero who’s dared to challenge the cult?

Steel City Heroes by CM Raymond and LM Barbant

How far would you go to save the city you love? A mad scientist fighting the laws of man and nature. A demon-monster of mythical proportions. A corporate conspiracy that goes back more than a century. The Steel City is in desperate need of a hero. Willa Weil has a secret—she comes from a long line of magicians trained to unlock the power hidden within poetry. This skill requires discipline, and the Guild demands obedience. Willa has long kept her power to herself, but when a molten metal creature threatens to consume her friends, she can no longer remain on the sidelines.

History professor Elijah Branton moved to Pittsburgh for the job of a lifetime, researching the family history of one of the nation’s wealthiest and most attractive CEOs. But not everything is as it seems in the Steel City. The historian soon unearths a deadly conspiracy that threatens to unravel his world. Can they save their city, or will they lose themselves in the process?

Sidekick Squad by C.B. Lee

Welcome to Andover, where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship–only it turns out to be for the towns most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, whom Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then theres the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

V is for Villain by Peter Moore

Brad Baron is used to looking lame compared to his older brother, Blake. Though Brad’s basically a genius, Blake is a superhero in the elite Justice Force. And Brad doesn’t measure up at his high school, either, where powers like super-strength and flying are the norm. So when Brad makes friends who are more into political action than weight lifting, he’s happy to join a new crew—especially since it means spending more time with Layla, a girl who may or may not have a totally illegal, totally secret super-power. And with her help, Brad begins to hone a dangerous new power of his own. But when they’re pulled into a web of nefarious criminals, high-stakes battles, and startling family secrets, Brad must choose which side he’s on. And once he does, there’s no turning back. Perfect for fans of The Avengers, Ironman, and classic comic books, V is for Villain reveals that it’s good to be bad.

Full Metal Superhero by Jeffery H. Haskell

Sometimes you have to fly before you can walk.  How does a girl in a wheelchair with no superpowers infiltrate her local superhero team?  As the worlds greatest engineer Amelia Lockheart builds a suit of armor to rival any tech on the planet. As Arsenal, she has more firepower than a small army. But will it be enough?  She’s going to need her wits about her if she wants to find out the truth about her past.  Forces beyond her imagination are moving against her and if she isn’t careful, they will destroy her.

The Blood Rite Saga by Dylan Keefer

Blood, Vampires, Conspiracy, Mystery, A Thrilling Story Like You’ve Never Read Before.

Half vampire Prudence frantically awakens inside a coffin in modern-day Maine, her Victorian life nothing but the distant past. Milo and Charlotte Davenport, the only remaining members of a family sworn to protect her grave befriend her as Prudence suffers through hellish flashbacks and faces deadly threats which terrorize her existence. Humans and vampires both race to kill her. But why? Constant threat looms, as does her own will toward self-destruction. There is no safe place left in the world. Will the truth save her from herself and help her save her newfound friends or will it send her spiraling out of control and closer to imminent death?

Sparkly “Twilight” Vampires? I don’t think so; this is not a story for the squeamish or faint of heart. This is a tale of both physical and psychological horror is “The Vampire Diaries: The Originals” meets the gruesome world of “The Underworld Trilogy.”

The Blood Rite Saga
The Blood Empire: One Episode out of Five
The Blood Princess: Five Episodes out of Five
The Blood Prince: Zero Episodes out of Five
The Blood Queen: Zero Episodes out of Five
The Blood King: Zero Episodes out of Five
The Blood Throne: Zero Episodes out of Five