Yes indeed. I saw that Mrs. Peel, Cathy Gale, Tara King and even Purdey from The New Avengers were all rightfully included in the Wikipedia list JakeGittes linked to in his first post.
The indy Space Western comic Evangeline (Charles Dixon & Judith Hunt) ran aground of the usual vagaries which bedeviled creators back in the days before you could just put your own comics online yourself, run your own fundraiser, etc. [sigh] But those very early issues… (Before it became the usual cheesecake splatterfest)… Aw, yeah!!
Now that there’s just about every imaginable variety of comic by and about women and girls just a few clicks away, it’s hard to explain just how much this kind of thing meant to a female fan 40 years ago. [sigh]
Also, does anyone else who read Marvel’s Star Wars comic remember that before there was Mara Jade, there was Shira Brie?
I seem to recall a lady cop who sometimes appeared on that big hit Earl Holliman show back in the 70’s.
Ah, Emma Peel. When Steed needed a wrecking ball to take out his enemies, he knew who to call. Meanwhile, in America, Batgirl had to ballet kick towards the baddies and hope for the best.
Looking through that list, how can there be no mention of Warrior Nun? Incredible fight scenes in that show (and I assume the comic book, so it’s missing from 2 categories).
Indeed, she is.
I don’t know how much action she got into (she did save a pilot from a burning airplane and had to deal with a rabid dog in one mystery) but how come Nancy Drew is included in that wiki, but not my girl, Trixie Belden?
They were my sister’s books, but I’d read anything I could find, and I wound up loving that series, and preferred it over Nancy or the Hardy Boys - I liked the characters more in Trixie.
Though I’m sad to hear that they’ve updated the slang and such in the books for modern readers. For example, Trixie no longer calls her mother “moms”, and they removed all the racist words (no, wait, that was James Bond they did that to - But how can she not say moms, it’s like the Knights not saying “Ni”?
Wish Brubaker and Epting would return with another Velvet story, she’s one of my favorite spies. Older woman, been out of the action for a few years, gets caught in a frame-up. I loved the art, it was cinematic, felt like reading a movie. (I had a look see, and not included in the list… if I get the energy, I should add all of these women to that page, Pat Savage, Street Angel, etc)
Synopsis: When the world’s greatest secret agent is killed, all evidence points to Velvet Templeton, the personal secretary to the Director of the Agency. But Velvet’s got a dark secret buried in her past… because she’s also the most dangerous woman alive!
Hey! Someone else who remembers Trixie!
I had a lovely older neighbor give me her daughter’s book when I was a kid. Literally, read the covers off of them. And I agree Trixie was much more fun than Nancy Drew. Didn’t read much Nancy, much preferred the Hardy Boys.
I wonder if I still have any of those books …
That’s clearly Dewshine from Elfquest.
(There were some great ladies in that, too though. So it’s fine.)
Always dug Selene from Underworld
Remember the monster hunter thread?
Among the ladies I had Alice from Resident Evil, like Kate, Milla is so cool when she’s kicking a—
I also had Elsa Bloodstone, but I also liked Boom Boom from Nextwave
In my hon mention’s was Bloody Mallory, and Warrior Nun
Based on Chuck and especially 24: Live Another Day, I gotta tell ya, Yvonne Strahovski rocks it.
Honestly, the folks behind 24 are dumb dumb dummies for not brainstorming a way to make a CIA agent Kate Morgan spinoff series. Million dollar idea there.
I’ve never seen Chuck or 24, but she was great in the miniseries “Stateless” (not an action role, but still, good actor)
And Leeloo! Yup, more Milla is all right by me.
If you count gunfights as “action” the Netflix series Godless had several female characters that were badasses. Michelle Dockery being one of them. It’s hard to watch at times with Jeff Daniels playing a purely evil character.