Category Archives: Q&A

Q&A # 203: Flashback: Who is your favorite animal in comic books?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Flashback: Who is your favorite animal in comic books?

ALI

Power Girl’s cat. This sums up why…

JESSICA

Does Animal Man count? He fights for animal rights and vegetarianism, and eventually breaks the fourth wall and talks to his own writer. I haven’t actually read that many of his comics, but I love the concept and am forever interested in the comic’s story arcs. Also, Krypto the Super Dog.

MARIE

My favorite animal would have to be Shadowcat’s dragon, Lockheed. Because who wouldn’t want a cat-sized, fire-breathing, highly intelligent extraterrestrial for a companion?

So what about you? Who is your favorite animal in comic books?

Q&A # 202: Flashback: What comic-based television series would you like to see?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Flashback: What comic-based television series would you like to see?

ANIKA

I thought so when I first saw it and I still think so:

DREDD would make a great television series. It didn’t work as a film for me, but as the pilot for a television series that wasn’t picked up so they said ‘screw it, let’s add a bunch of nonsensical 3D and call it a movie’. . . it worked too well. I just really wish my hypothetical network that passed on “Dredd the Series” actually existed so I could bang on their door and shout WHY!

Seriously, hypothetical television network, make this!

GABBY

Well, one of my answers is already coming to life on the small screen.

As for the others, for a long while I wished Fables would become a TV show, but Once Upon a Time kind of ruined that. Not to say that OUaT isn’t good… it’s just not what I think Fables could have been. I’m also holding out hope for an Alias series, and it seems like the rumor mill agrees with me.

The TV show I would *most* like to see, though, is a Sandman series.

A series centered on the Endless siblings, it could also have an episodic quality. We could see, for example, Death interacting with various humans about to die, or Dream venture into people’s nightmares. I think there is a huge potential to exploit the sibling dynamics between the 7 Ds, and would love to see it unfold on my screen.

Superheroes are great and everything, but The Endless? They kind of rule.

MARIE

My choice has technically already been a television show, but was unfortunately canceled during its prime. Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles was an animated series that debuted in the 90s and was one my favorite shows of all time growing up. The show aged pretty well too. Looking back through the DVDs, you could see that it had plots that were well-rendered, characters with deep inner-conflict, and great dialogue that could be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Unfortunately, Weisman left the show during the third season due to internal conflicts. By then, the show had taken a completely different direction and most fans agreed that it was non-canonical. The comic series, however, picked up where the second season left off, and answered a lot of those burgeoning questions that the third season so clearly failed at handling.

Still, while I found the comics immensely satisfying I still wish that they had actually been animated. If not Gargoyles, then at least some of the spin-off comics that Weisman had also planned like Gargoyles: Pendragon and Gargoyles: Timedancer .

My runner-up choice? Runaways. Oh my Grod, Runaways.

run

SAM

Last summer I took a screenwriting workshop, and for my main project I wrote a loose adaptation of Kate Spencer/Manhunter as a sort of pilot episiode teleplay. I think a Manhunter series would be a perfect mix of procedural and ass kicking martial arts bad assery.

There are reasons I think Kate Spencer would make for good TV. Besides her day job as a criminal attorney (I think prosecutor works better than defense attorney, for drama), she’s a single parent with a precocious kid, has an ex-husband who’s still involved in her life, is an on-again-off-again smoker, and has some anger issues. Basically she’s complex and, in the hands of the right actress, that would be pretty great to watch.

Of course, I know it’ll never happen. It would have way too similar a feel to the already-popular, male-driven show Arrow (which I gave up on halfway through the season). And Manhunter is even less well known in the mainstream than Green Arrow and his rogues galleries. Plus we all know how well the Wonder Woman thing went… But in a perfect world, Kate Spencer would be kicking some ass on my TV every week.

So what about you? What comic-based television series would you like to see?

Q&A # 201: Flashback: What comic book characters should go on a road trip together?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Flashback: What comic book characters should go on a road trip together?

ALI

First off: let me just say that I have wanted to answer this question since it was first asked back in Q&A #74. It’s the initial reason I kept coming back to this site and part of why I was so excited to be part of Team Fantastic Fangirls. I love this question so, so, so much.

And now I have to answer it. *gulp*

Right now, my gut-reaction answer is Kid Loki and Miss America Chavez.

I love the dynamic the two of them have: you’ve got the no-nonsense, direct straight-man and the all-nonsense trickster. They’d have this whole Brienne and Jamie thing going. It’d be fantastic! That said, I think the actual travel in this road trip would be from America punching Loki across state lines, as opposed, you know, actual driving.

So. My final answer.

Stephanie Brown and Hope Summers

I very nearly went with Steph and Kara here, because the Batgirl-Supergirl team-up to fight movie Dracula issue is probably my most favorite comic in the history of ever. But I think part of the fun here is to mix and match characters across universes.

Hope Summers has spent the majority of her life traveling across time and space. You’re probably thinking she doesn’t need a road trip. I respectfully and heartily disagree. Hope needs to know what it’s like to travel without being chased by a mutant from an alternative future that’s trying to kill her. She needs, more than anyone I think, to be shown what it’s like to have fun.

SAM

My default answer to any sort of wacky-hijinks-team-up is usually Clint and pre-reboot Ollie. The shenanigans. Oh, the shenanigans.

But in the spirit of creativity – or at least non-repetitiveness – I’m choosing some new people! Feel free to imagine the hilarity of Clint and Ollie driving through the countryside in some flash convertible.

I’d like a Volkswagen Bus full of Asgardians to head out from Asgard-on-Earth and travel around, getting to know Midgard via all the wacky Americana there is to experience, like the world’s biggest ball of rubber bands, or something.

Thor, the Warriors Three, Sif, and, because I’m currently in love with Fearless Defenders, Valkyrie, can all squeeze in. For even more comedic gold, throw in Kid Loki. And for the fish out of water who’s the readers’ connection to the heroes… Annabelle Riggs (did I mention I’m currently in love with Fearless Defenders?). Preferably with her helmet.

SARA

I think the better question for me to answer is which comic book characters shouldn’t go on a roadtrip together and the answer of course is no one because, oh my God, the hilarity of any heros going on a trip together is too priceless to ignore.

Fine, fine, I’ll give a real answer.

While I would truly enjoy any team-up ever on this endeavor, at the moment, my most desired roadtrip would be between the Avengers from MCU. There, I said it. Welcome to my life.

I am apparently not the only one, as this amazing artist graced us with their work last summer and you can find it at their tumblr, ICannotBelieve.

After seeing the Avengers movie last year, the one thing I could not wait for was team storylines. Not fighting for good and justice, but rather coming together to be the amazing personalities that they are under one roof.

So what if it was a car roof?

Like, did we all see the same ending to the movie? I think we did.

And, thank Jeebus for fanfiction, because it gave me what I needed at the moment. Jibralis wrote an amazing, heartwrenching fic called The sky and everything beneath it and you should all read it here and leave kudos and tell me what you think about it!

So what about you? What comic book characters should go on a road trip together?

Q&A # 200: What do you remember about the first comics you read?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Happy Birthday, Q&A!! What do you remember about the first comics you read?

ALI

Comic books were not something that were ever really in our house growing up, and not something I sought after when I could just watch Super Friends on TV instead. I mean, I’ve always loved superheroes and adventure stories. He-Man, She-Ra, Danger Mouse, and ThunderCats pretty much consumed my childhood. But never comics.

When I was 11 or 12, my dad came home one night with polybagged copies of Death of Superman for me and my brother. Convinced they would be very valuable someday, he told us under no circumstances should we take the comic book out of its shiney bag. We were to save it until we were adults, when it would be worth lots and lots of money.

Breaking the rules was never something that came easily to me. But I HAD to know what happened. I mean, how could Superman just DIE? He was the strongest guy in the universe! He could fly so fast that he made the world go backwards. I knew ’cause I saw him do it on the WPIX Sunday Afternoon Movie like five times. Guys like that don’t just get beaten by bad guys. And they certainly don’t die.

So one busy Saturday afternoon, when my parents were off doing house and yard work, I crept downstairs and got the good scissors out of the junk drawer. I went back into my bedroom and locked the door. Ever so carefully, I cut the top of the polybag off. I can still remember the crinkle of the mylar and the smell of the glossy paper. I remember the weight of the comic being heavier than I thought it would be. Convinced what I was doing something was very wrong, I hide behind my bed and, knees to my chin, gripping the book with both hands, and read my very first comic book.

SAM

I remember wondering why Betty and Veronica bothered fighting over Archie when they were clearly meant for each other.

I actually distinctly remember this panel. For the urk.

No, but seriously. My first comics were Archie comics, the kind you could buy in the supermarket checkout lane. I had stacks of Archie, Betty & Veronica, and Jughead double digests hanging around my dad’s house. I was just a kid, so I was more concerned with Jughead’s awesome pranks than the relationships of the characters, but I definitely had my favorite. Oddly, none of them were Archie.

My favorite Double Digest was a summer special, that involved a lot of beach-related stories, like the one with the scene from above. I still don’t know what drew me to those books, but I devoured them like nobody’s business.

Even twenty years later, I remember a lot of the little shorts from the various books. I wish I’d held onto at least some of the stacks of comics, because I’d love to reread them and relive the stories. And as a modern, adult comic fan, I feel oddly proud that Archie Comics is often at the forefront of the industry when it comes to diversity and social issues. Now if Betty and Veronica could just figure themselves out, drop that Archie jerk, and admit their love for each other… everything would be perfect.

SARA

It is so ridiculously appropriate that I am answering this question because, at this very moment, I am re-reading the first comics I ever read!

Batgirl, featuring Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, is the best introduction a 12-year-old gril could possibly have to the comic book world. Yes, I am biased. No, I don’t care. Cassie Cain is awesome.

I learned about the Batfamily through shows like Batman The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, but Silent Running was the first ever comic book I could remember picking up and devouring. For those of you that never read the book, it was basically Cassie’s origin story and backstory rolled into one. Cassie was mute, having not been exposed to spoken language by her mob boss father, who deliberately did so to train his daughter to be the ultimate weapon. A killing machine that didn’t slow herself down by translating human movement into language in her head? And the Father of the Year Award goes to…

But why is Silent Running still such a pinnacle book for me? Probably because Cassie exhibited true heroism and bravery and it made me really excited for her character. After Cassie’s illiterate/mute status was explained, she comes across a telepath who scrambles her body-language reading brain into one that understands and communicates in spoken words. This rewiring leads Cassie to slow down in combat against four gunmen. Does that stop her?

Nope. Did the shots hurt?

Probably.

So what about you? What do you remember about the first comics you read?

Q&A # 199: What are your media consumption habits? Netflix? Hardcover books? Digital comics? Tell us how you access the stories we all love.

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What are your media consumption habits? Netflix? Hardcover books? Digital comics? Tell us how you access the stories we all love.

GABBY

If trade paperbacks were the only type of books one could buy, that would make me the happiest girl in the world. I love TPBs; how the art on the covers is usually prettier, how it folds every which way, how they fit on a shelf.

You can’t tell me that’s not pretty.

I limit the comics I purchase to the Whedonverse, and the other shows that I wish to follow in comic book format. The Silver Snail(https://www.facebook.com/SilverSnailComicsOttawa) in Ottawa is my preferred location for all things comics; they are quite friendly and there are many female employees that are super welcoming.

Recently, I bought a Nexus 7. I’ve been cutting back on paper-book purchases, and my student-on-a-budget wallet thanks me for it. It’s a great tablet; I mostly use the Kobo app to read e-books, and I love getting the achievements! They’re like virtual stickers and you can collect them depending on how many pages or what kinds of books you read. It really appeals to the overachiever in me.

JESSICA

My favorite way to consume media has always been (and will forever be) through reading – hardcovers and paperbacks, fantasy epics and cheesy time-travel historical romances, I love it all. Most of the fandoms I’m really passionate about originated with books (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Ender’s Game), and reading traditional books satisfies my craving for narrative in a way that no other media outlet does. I love the way that when you are reading a book, especially one that may not be commercially popular, the world inside becomes your own. You are granted a privileged access into the hearts and minds of the characters, and it’s yours to take advantage of whenever you have the time to delve into its pages. Books have the power to suck me into them emotionally. I’ve noticed that if terrible things are happening to the main character in a book I’m really invested in, I will be seriously depressed and sad. Sometimes I don’t even realize why until I notice that there is nothing terrible happening in my life–it’s all in the book! As much as I love television, movies, and comics, none of them have the power to stick with me in the way that books do. I rarely buy them new, although I do make exceptions for special occasions, like a new release by a favorite author. Just let me loose in a used bookstore (my favorite is McKay’s, back home in Knoxville) with $10 and I’ll be happy for at least a week.

SAM

Well, I play video games mostly on my XBox, with a few exceptions (Journey, the Uncharted series, and some older games I play on my PC, mobile gaming on my iPhone), which has also become something of a media center for me. I watch most of my TV via either Hulu or Netflix, and occasionally will watch stuff on the web if they don’t offer it anywhere else and I don’t want to wait for Netflix, like Pretty Little Liars, Lost Girl, and Elementary. I watch most movies via Netflix, unless I’m so excited for something that I absolutely have to see it in the theater. For newer releases, if I happened to miss it in the theater but really want to see it, I’ll probably rent it via Amazon Instant or Zune or something.

As far as reading goes, I read books mostly on my Kindle these days. I’m in love with my Kindle. I read so much more now that I have it. I used to be a huge reader; I’d read a book a week from age 10 through law school, but I haven’t read so much in recent years. Now I read all the time. I’ll read the occasional paper book, usually if someone’s lent it to me, but I’d much rather carry my Kindle around with me than a book. Comics I read almost exclusively on my phone. I love the guided view of Comixology, and actually think it adds a lot to the reading experience on some titles, like Hawkeye. I’m glad I went totally digital, because I’ve still got about ten boxes of comics from five or six years ago that I have no idea what to do with. I aspire to one day have an iPad or Kindle Fire, but I’m pretty happy with the tech I have right now.

SARA

So, what I really want someone to do for their college thesis one year (hopefully soon) is to look at the attention span / GPA changes of college students pre and post the invention of Netflix. Because hotdamn. If there was one thing (besides Glee) that tanked my GPA in college, it was Netflix.

What a wondrous thing. High quality, quick streaming, and thousands upon thousands of movies and TV shows ranging from Oscar Nominated Classics of the 1950s to C-grade Zombie Movies that You Have to be Drunk And Or High to Enjoy.

You can imagine why college might be the best place for Netflix subcription drones to set up shop.

Netflix is awesome. Netflix is the best. Netflix now has all of Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman Beyond on its Instant Streaming. Oh my God, am I glad that I no longer have a GPA to tank.

So what about you? What are your media consumption habits? NetFlix? Hardcover books? Digital comics? Tell us how you access the stories we all love.

Q&A # 198: What cancelled comic book do you miss the most?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What cancelled comic book do you miss the most?

ALI

There were a bunch of comics that came to mind when I started thinking about this question: Bryan Q Miller’s Batgirl, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner’s Power Girl, Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13, and Kieron Gillen’s S.W.O.R.D. But as much as I love those stories and wish there was more of them, they all got an ending. Maybe it wasn’t the ending that was planned and usually it was a bit rushed, but there was closure. So while I do miss them, I feel like I can always revisit them as complete stories.

The comic I can’t do that with is Thor: The Mighty Avenger (a.k.a. My Boyfriend Thor) by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee. Definitely one of my Top 5 Desert Island comics, My Boyfriend Thor was cancelled after 8 issues with no resolution to the story that was being told–regardless of the “Issue 8 of 8” Marvel put on the cover of the last issue.

CAROLINE

They say that you will always be nostalgic for the comics that were coming out when you first got excited about comics. I have found this is true and it is true even if the year was 2006 and the comics that opened your eyes to the beauties of the Marvel universe included one where a dude with a Messiah complex and a metal arm lived on a shiny island with his best friend the insane mercenary.

Cable & Deadpool we barely knew thee. But seriously, your first 35 issues were amazing.

GABBY

I wish Alias, by Brian Michael Bendis, had continued. Don’t get me wrong; I do think the evolution of Jessica Jones as a character followed its due course by switching titles. I liked The Pulse (because who doesn’t love Spider-Man cameos?). She’s now in The New Avengers, along with her family, and that feels right for where she’s at in her life. But I feel like Alias brought more focus on her, as a person. She deserves to be the main character of her own title, because she struggled to get where she is now, and will do anything for the people she loves. I just want more of her.

And I mean, Alias brought us gems like this. So I would like it back, please and thank you.

SAM

Young Justice. Oh, Young Justice, how I could wax poetic about you forever. I would also accept the Teen Titans lineup pre-reboot, but it’s really Young Justice that does it for me.

Uh, the one from the 90s, not the current/also cancelled TV series Young Justice. I’m talking about the team of Superboy, Impulse, Arrowette, Robin, Secret, and Wonder Girl (and later a few others). Sure, it had its issues (like, er, that whole overly-endowed character thing) and was clearly aimed at teenage boys, but whatever. To this day, it’s the only comic for which I own the entire run, from first issue to last (and specials, and annual, and some tie-ins). I’m not much of a collector, so that’s actually a pretty big deal.

Here’s why I miss it: DC’s current teen titles are just falling totally flat for me. I tried! I did. But none of the rebooted characters feel like the characters I fell in love with. There was a magic about that group, something I connected with immediately and strongly, and I haven’t found that with any of the current Teen Titans, whether in their team book or individually. It’s funny, because I will defend almost every editorial choice made so far with the reboot (or at least be willing to give it a chance), but I just can’t get behind the current teen characters.

So I miss Young Justice. I miss all the characters who have been rebooted into shadows of their former, awesome selves.

At least I’ll always have my box full of comics. I’m probably due for a reread…

So what about you? What cancelled comic book do you miss the most?

Q&A # 197: What’s your favorite manga story or series?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What’s your favorite manga story or series?

CAROLINE

This will not surprise anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time, and certainly won’t surprise anybody who follows me on tumblr, but my favorite manga series is Fullmetal Alchemist, written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa.

There probably isn’t anything new I can say about this series at this point. It has pretty boys:

. . . and sassy girls:

. . . and bionic dogs. Also, moral dilemmas and human transmuation and war. Plus trains. Lots and lots of trains.

MARIE

There are literally hundreds of titles that I could name, so I think I’ll just list my current favorites. At the moment, I’ve been diving into a lot of high school dramas- of which I can never have enough. These are: Boys Over Flowers (which launched many successful television adaptations in Asia), Imadoki! (Yuu Watase is one of my favorite mangakas who also wrote Fushigi Yuugi ), and last but not least the extremely, extremely controversial Hot Gimmick (which was also released in a novel format with an alternate ending.)

So what about you? What’s your favorite manga story or series?

Q&A # 196: Describe a book that really should exist in a favorite comic book universe.

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Describe a book that really should exist in a favorite comic book universe.

ANIKA

I want to read the Unauthorized Biography of every superhero I care about and even Hawkeye. Actually, maybe Hawkeye the MOST. It involves the circus.

This is Clint Barton performing in the circus.

And at least one illegitimate child, right?

This is Trowa Barton performing in the circus. His parents are unknown but he is a spy who grew up in a circus. Just saying.

SARA

My answer to this question is completely inspired by a story I am editing for my friend, Mikayla. Thank you Mikayla!

(Also, disclaimer: I read this week’s Q&A as a question posing what literary text should exist inside a comic book universe canon, ie, Wally West reading Harry Potter in the JL Watchtower, you dig?)

One of Mikayla’s favorite books is Fight Club by Chuck Palahinuk and in her absolutely stunning story (available online as soon as we both get our act together and finish editing it /shameless-plug), one of the main characters justifies his love of Fight Club by offering this explanation: “It’s a bible for the fatherless lost boys.”

And that, ladies and gents and ponies, is exactly why I think Fight Club should exist in the Batman universe if only to give Dick Grayson something to hold onto as he’s becoming Robin in his adolescence and as he loses sight of (and regains) Bruce as a father figure in his adult life.

I remember this passage very well from my first time reading this book:

The mechanic says, “If you’re male and you’re Christian and living in America, your father is your model for God. And if you never know your father, if your father bails out or dies or is never at home, what do you believe about God?”

In some cases, this is exactly how Dick came to be the person and superhero he is today. Batman and Bruce Wayne were the two figures in his life that he could live up to and, no matter what sort of bullcrap Bruce (or Dick) spits out, it was always implied that Dick, his first Robin, was the son he never had (until Damian!)

So what about you? Describe a book that really should exist in a favorite comic book universe.

Q&A # 195: What’s your favorite horror film?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What’s your favorite horror film?

ANIKA

Jennifer’s Body is by far my favorite film that fits squarely in the horror genre. It was marketed (horribly) as a slasher flick featuring a sexy girl as the monster AND the prey and most people decided they could download pictures of Megan Fox for free and get the same experience. It was actually the marriage of Heathers and The Craft I never knew I needed in my life.

But I did.

MARIE

I tend to go for horror movies that are either a satire or a deconstruction of the genre- it also helps if it’s clever and funny as well. That’s why Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods , and Warm Bodies come to mind.

SAM

Hellraiser! Well, Hellraiser 3, but that’s mainly for Terry Farrell and her relationship with a young Paula Marshall. Hellrasier 3 is actually the first movie I saw from that series, probably late one night on HBO when I was supposed to be sleeping. But I went back and watched the first two, and read The Hellbound Heart (the novela the movies were based in). I came to really like the entire Hellraiser mythos, and I regularly rewatch the first four movies (four has a young Adam Scott in basically his first movie role, not even kidding).

And, I’ll admit with a bit of chagrin, there’s a pretty robust Hellraiser comic book catalogue as well. I found out when I started reading Hellraiser: The Dark Watch a couple of months ago, and realized that I had no idea what was going on, because so much had happened that I hadn’t read. New project!

I’m not sure what it is about the Hellraiser series that I like so much. It has basically the coolest horror villain from that era, the golden age of very comic-booky horror movie villains lile Jason and Freddy Krueger. I mean. Pinhead, guys. Pinhead is awesome. And Hellraiser 3 also made him multifaceted, which is probably another reason I like it. Also the cenobites are freaking terrifying and cool, and the entire mythology of Hell and the puzzle boxes is so richly detailed that it’s hard not to engage with it.

The movies can be hit or miss, especially the later ones, but there is definitely no pure horror (re: non-crossover) movie that I enjoy more than any of the first four Hellraisers.

So what about you? What’s your favorite horror film?

Q&A # 194: Who is your favorite Disney Princess?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Who is your favorite Disney Princess?

ALI

“I’m a damsel, I’m in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day.”

Meg from the highly under-rated Hercules is by far and away my favorite Disney Princess. She’s smart, independent and witty, but she’s also dark and twisty and literally soulless (no really! she sold her soul to Hades to save her boyfriend who then dumped her for a younger, hotter model.) Basically I love her because she’s one of those damaged and flawed characters that I love so much, which is not at all the typical Disney Princess. In fact, Meg is not included in the officially branded Disney Princesses. I think it’s partly because she’s dark and twisty and partly because I think Disney likes to kind of sweep Hercules under the rug.

So, if we’re talking the branded Disney Princesses, I have to pick Ariel.

Yes, she’s kind of a spoiled brat. But she proactively makes the changes she wants to see in her life, even though she makes some really poor choices in execution. And once when I was in fifth grade, someone told me I looked like Ariel and it was probably the best moment of my epically awkward tween life.

JESSICA

For me, it’s a tie between Belle and Pocahontas. Belle was made for me to fall in love with – her favorite pastime is reading, she’s a brunette (okay, so this probably mattered more to me when I was a kid than it does now, but even today she’s the only Disney princess with hair that even remotely resembles my own), and she’s totally brave. When she volunteers to take her father’s place? Damn girl. Plus that library, with the sliding ladders? That’s pretty much the only thing I want from my life.

But I’ve always had an affinity for Pocahontas too. She’s just…awesome. And so different from every other princess Disney has to offer. The songs she sings are beautiful, I love how her “palace,” so to speak, is the world around her, and, again, she’s just super brave and awesome. I’m not normally into it when historical-based narratives make big changes to, you know, history, but I’m completely on board with the way Disney chose to end Pocahontas. It’s completely atypical for them. She has the choice to leave with John Smith, and she doesn’t. She decides that there is something more important than following her boyfriend across the ocean to an unfamiliar land. As a character, she’s super strong. And breathtaking, also. Those lips? Those cheekbones? She’s completely gorgeous even though she looks nothing like any of the princesses who came before her.

MARIE

Although she isn’t technically a princess, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Mulan. She’s a heroine that you can root for: she’s clever, funny, and she tries no matter how staggering the odds are. At the beginning of her journey, she starts out as a girl who isn’t quite sure who she is or knows where she belongs. It’s a pretty relatable and universal problem–especially among the young girls that belonged to the movie’s target demographic. I found her whole arc touching and fascinating because she goes through all the emotional ups and downs of coming to terms with not only she is, but who she wants to be.

I also like her because she can kick serious ass and knows how to use a sword.

SARA

This is, without a doubt, the most difficult question I’ve had to answer in a long time. Choose a favorite Disney princess? I’d no sooner be able to choose a favorite star from the heavens.

(Bonus points to those who picked up that quote!)

It comes down to two, really, and those two represent two facets of my being: who I am most like and who I most want to be.

As to the former, I am the most like Belle. Love of reading? Check. Stubborness? Check. Daddy’s girl? Check. Need to have more than a provincial life? Double check.

Belle is someone I never really considered as a favorite growing up. I looked more to Jasmine then, for both the Arab/Middle Eastern background and the insanely hot prince ;) Belle is someone I grew to appreciate as I grew older and my personality was much more defined by my interests. Plus, she has the most beautiful dress!

To the latter of my posed dichotomy is Tiana, a woman that I desperately want to be more like. She is strong, hard-working, dedicated. Honestly, to a procrastinator like myself, I cannot fathom a better role-model than Tiana.

Plus? She also has the most beautiful dress!

But, in all seriousness, Disney provided me with my first (and, in some cases, most influential) role-models. Disney women do not sit idly by. They take life by the reins and steer themselves to happiness. Tiana’s story is the most blatantly characteristic of that ideal and I love her for it.

So what about you? Who is your favorite Disney Princess?