Lis and Vera take their first dip into Valiant Comics with the solo outing of Faith Herbert, aka Zephyr, a nerdy, optimistic superhero just broken off from a team and trying to make it on her own.
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Impressive podcast. Most impressive. Hi Lis and Vera. Ah so in Vera mode now cool. So Vera is the other name now a dead name? Or did you just use this name for this time. I know you’ve used both so asking. Not mention the other name. Just wondering. If so since Your name is normally Vera Wylde in that form. And you’ll are married and have a kid… does that make ya’ll the Wyld Bunch? Faith is cool. She was treated well enough in her group. Though it was Shooter trying to do an image book… or a 90s image book. She looked the same way and was drawn in a wannabe version of Jim Lee’s style. Nothing was mentioned about her weight. She looked the same. But, she was treated as any character in that grrr 90s style. Ware their trying to be edgy. Which is weird for such a talent of Shooter. But, he was trying a trend. This sounds better. Yeah Men like hot chicks’ wither their healthy build or not. Thinking her exes new girl friend would call her self an improvement even if they had the same build. Just her being a wentch.
But, any way Archer is a better fit for Faith. Heck They put them together latter. And the company made adds about their romance. Cause it was kind of cute. realistic outfits? Have ya seen what men ware in comics? None of that MAKES SINCE IN realty. Waaay to tight in a certen area. And capes. Bat Man’s Cape and the ears would be in his way all the time. I can do m. art moves all the time in a corset under bust and short dress, but never want to try in that mask cape and ears. And the mask… oy. vsson issues. Or Green Arrows hoodie. Yeah try runing around new york in Black and grey Spandex. Spider Man’s must be the worst. Parkouring around Queens to New York City. In Red and blue spandex. With a full face mask. Hands and feet covered. This isn’t breathing at all. Wonder Woman is probly all relaxed in a swim suit while Bats and Clark are dying in head to toe spandex. Now hears Faith in head to toe spandex hoping to fight n the AC.
Positive body image and cute puppies? Sold!
Actually, I kept coming across this character on Comixology, and was intrigued by the aforesaid positive body image, but never picked it up. (I chalk that up to my complete ignorance of the Valiant universe). Then, the stars aligned. After listening to this episode, I hopped on Comixology and found that this book (along with some other Valiant titles) was on sale*. So, I grabbed it for my daughter and myself. I haven’t made time to read it, yet, but I’m looking forward to giving it a read. I have to ask my daughter if she’s had a chance to look at it.
Thanks for another remarkable episode.
* It looks like the sale runs through 8/9.
Hey, I actually have something to say about this book. How strange!
I was buying a couple of Valiant titles back when it launched, but not the series with Faith/Zephyr. The occasional crossover did include her, and my impression was positive but still not enough to pull the trigger. Your extremely positive review of this GN was good enough for me to take the plunge. Bonus: on sale at Comixology!
This book was a delight! I really love Faith! Her character, powers, costume, just a winner all around. Obviously, I find her relatable as a comic book nerd, but I adore the balance in the story between Faith using superhero stories as a playbook for her life, but smartly says “no, that’s silly, this is real life” when needed. Such as taking off her disguise in front of her boss, blowing her secret identity, because saving lives is more important of course!
I’ve already bought 2 more volumes for future reading. Thank you so much for introducing me to this comic.
Great episode as always, my punchers. (Reading soon: Snapdragon. Combination of dragging my feet and super busy. But I’ve got it digitally so I will get there, honest.)
Hey, Lis and Vera! I have a little bit more listening time graciously gifted by a breakthrough COVID case. (Get vaccinated, people. Even the light version of this delta variant mess stinks on ice.).
So, I’m expanding my listening palette, and I was excited to see you had just covered a comic I enjoyed. My daughter picked up Faith: Hollywood and Vine a while ago and shared it with me when she was done. We both really enjoyed it for all the reasons you did — positive body image, refreshingly realistic treatment of the secret identity trope, etc. in fact, the whole thing came across as a realistic portrayal of what being a psychologically healthy, single, twenty-something woman would be like. That description highlights so many reasons it was refreshing. Anyway, thanks for helping me recuperate, and I hope to listen again soon!
P.S. We’re also big fans of the Black Widow movie in this household, with the exception of my wife, who was miffed that ScarJo got upstaged a little. I tried to explain that the strong, silent hero always ends up playing the straight man (see nearly any Batman movie or even the Brave & the Bold cartoon.) She acknowledged this but still holds a grudge. We did both love the portrayals of Russian fatalism and how it affects their sense of humor, though.
I meant “psychologically healthy, single, twenty-something woman” who is a superhero. I don’t want to shortchange any good examples outside the spandex set.
Yikes! Take care of yourself and hope you recover quickly, Captain E!
Thanks and wilco, Tim! I think I’m past the worst of it.
Hey, one more thing: Anybody else think it’s odd that the name of her book is her first name, not her superhero code name? I mean, we had Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, but we never had books called Clark or Bruce or even Kara, ya know?
Odd? Not really. Cool? Yes! Her name “Faith” is very compelling and conveys so much about her character and her struggles. Plus, while not her code name, her given name is public knowledge, so she has to hide it with a secret identity, yet ANOTHER way this comic subverts the superhero tropes.
Don’t get me wrong, Zephyr is a cool name too, but IMHO they made the right choice using Faith as the book title. A great question.
And great analysis!