Recently, I read an article on CNN.com about how there were graphic novels coming out about the lives of important female leaders in the United States. Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Caronline Kennedy are the first to come to life in this art form presented by Bluewater Productions on March 11, 2009. This new form of comic book superheroine got me thinking of the way these spectacular females were accepted and looked upon in pop culture.

Sure, it would be easy for me to wax on about how every single superheroine in the Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and many other universes are generally beautiful, dressed scantily, and cannot seem to get along without a male figure in her life for much longer than I can get along without chocolate or a clean pair of panties. Or I could rage over the fact that my spell check function has called superheroine a misspelled word a current four times in this article already while superhero is left blissfully alone. But there is more to the gender issue of a superheroine. What makes them special? Why the need for such female role models? And what is up with that skirt Supergirl wears?

Obviously, the point of the first superheroines, Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Batgirl, etc., was to grab that female demographic that were spending their hard earned dimes on comics about the Archie gang and Barbie dolls. There was a lot of potential there, and a lot of slim silver cash to be brought in if comic book publishers could just get a handle on what girls wanted. Suddenly, Lois Lane had her own series of adventures. Girls were going Trick Or Treating dressed as Wonder Woman, and the world was introduced to Linda Carter in a fantastic tiara and swimsuit.

These days, you can open a comic and find an assortment of female superheroes. From the tough-as-nails user of the Witchblade, to the adorable, nearly sickeningly sweet magical girls of manga. While they are two very different styles of writing, these two parallel each other, giving the world a more important thing than just a strong female lead. They give girls choice. You can be Princess Diana, or you can be Wonder Woman. You can be breaking knees with the rest of the Birds of Prey, or you can give the world a Pink Sugar Heart Attack with Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi. You can even be a snazzy reporter by day that is ready to drop it all and set up house-keeping for a big blue lug in tights at the drop of his cape. But the importance of these role models is that they give girls the choice, and pop culture is helping broaden those choices every day.

Certainly, there is overt sexuality that comes with the female hero. Tight spandex, whip-wielding fatales, high heeled boots and the mystery of the mask all come into play. But does that really have to be the central force? Must how beautiful a female super hero is to be immediately correlated to how effective she is? It should be what she does with that whip and those heels that defines how super she actually is. Male characters are not judged on how handsome they are, but what villains they stop and how many times they selflessly save the world. In a perfect world, this would be true for their female counterparts.

In the end, as the world becomes more equal to men and women in the workplace, on the sporting fields, in the theaters and in academia, then too shall the world of graphic novels become more balanced. Bluewater Productions have taken the first step by not highlighting those who are most perfect, but those superheroines in the real world that have made the most difference.

Plus, I doubt anyone knows what is up with that skirt Supergirl wears.