There’s been quite the trend lately in collections of short write-ups of women in history you may not have heard of, so I didn’t have high expectations for Pénélope Bagieu’s Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World. I should have had more faith — I found myself surprised and enlightened by how many of these women I hadn’t heard of, and the amazing things they did.

These 29 profiles run the gamut from astronaut to rock star, actress to queen, rebel fighter to scientist. There’s a lot of material here, and much of it will be new to many readers. You’ve heard, probably, of Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz), but you likely didn’t know of the determination that got her to that part. You may have heard of Josephine Baker, but you likely didn’t know she spied against the Nazis or was friends with Grace Kelly.

You probably haven’t heard of Nzinga, queen of what’s now Angola in the 1600s, or Lozen, an Apache warrior in the 1800s. Then there’s Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer who overcame polio and also redesigned women’s swimwear before becoming a movie star, as well as Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins. Some of these women are still alive, as well, such as peace activist Leymah Gbowee or animal researcher Temple Grandin or long-distance runner Cheryl Bridges.

Each lady gets four to seven pages of her story, told through lots of panels and small but potent drawings (mostly of figures, with no backgrounds, which would be clutter), followed by a gorgeously colored impressionistic two-page spread. So this isn’t highly artistic comic work, but it’s very approachable, and the content is fascinating (and easy to take in with this format). The global approach is also welcome, covering a variety of cultures.

These women do what they want and achieve what’s important to them, whether that’s business success or destroying their enemies.

Brazen is absolutely beautiful, as is all of Bagieu's work. I really loved how much information she managed to include in each story so that they felt full, but not overwhelming. I wound up researching most of these women as I read, finding out even more stories and trying to fit their biographies into my life and onto my bookshelf. This is great and should be read by many people.

I thought this book sounded perfect: biographies of amazing women, presented in comic-strip form, for children. The 29 women (plus a short autobiography of Bagieu herself) are a fairly diverse bunch, many of whom I had not heard of previously or knew very little about. The mix includes an astronaut, a bearded lady, a Liberian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, a warrior and shaman, a journalist, and actresses Hedy Lamarr and Margaret Hamilton. I was a little curious about the inclusion of rock group The Shaggs since in Bagieu's account the story seems to be more about the father than the sisters themselves. Unfortunately, the writer does not give any sources or references for children interested in finding out more and the biographies are brief. The discussion of the women's sexuality and issues some of them faced - rape, domestic violence - means that the book is in my opinion not suitable for young children. While I found the writing style to be at times a touch laboured and the comic-strip illustrations were not always terribly appealing, some of the larger-scale colourful illustrations separating the biographies were gorgeous - eg. pages 186-187.

I received this ebook free in return for an honest review.

This comic book is a fabulous compilation that details (in brief) the lives of extraordinary women in our history. Some of the women featured within the collection are Clémentine Delait (aka the Bearded Lady), Nzinga: Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, Josephine Baker, Temple Grandin, and more. There was an amazing mix of women that I had previously heard of (and maybe didn't know a lot about) and a mix of women I had never heard of which was exciting, fun, and empowering. It may be weird to use the word empowering in the context of discovering new incredible women but it was-- I loved reading about the things that they fought for and accomplished and almost every single story made me want to strive for greater things in my life.

Basically each of the segments went through each woman's life, chronicling it like a mini-bio but then hyper focusing on the stuff that made a lasting impact on the world. Some of the stories had a lot more detail to them which I suspect was because there was just a lot more information on those women, while others were a little more vague in what they outlined. Nonetheless, they were chosen to be featured in the book because of the unique challenges they faced and how they overcame them to be the people they were.

E-M-P-O-W-E-R-I-N-G!

Pénélope Bagieu's art style reminds me a little bit of Kate Beaton’s work that’s featured in her books, Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside Pops but definitely had it's own distinct look to it. It's almost a mix of Beaton's storytelling with someone like Lisa Hanawalt's cartoonist colouring style. I loved it. It worked so well for each tale and Bagieu's imagined internal monologue for some of the women within the stories was delightful and fun to read. As women, we put up with so much BS in our lives and I can't even imagine trying to get by in a time when women had virtually no rights at all. What women accomplished before our modern times is baffling to me.

Anyways, as mentioned, there were so many women that I didn’t know anything about. Of course, as mentioned, the stories were relatively short and summed up their lives in a few pages (in most cases) so it was hard to really get a grasp on the person but it gives you enough to intrigue you into looking them up further on your own.

I made a list in my phone of women I wanted to look up later on and research thoroughly. A few of my favourites included Nzinga, Annette Kellerman, Agnodice, Wu Zetian, Sonita Alizadeh, Hedy LaMarr, and Frances Glessner-Lee. I don't really want to give away their stories and why they were amazing to me, but aside from Hedy LaMarr, I had never heard of the others before and I loved reading about them. It took me quite a while to get through all of Brazen because I kept stopping to look up more information on each of the women along the way - it's that kind of book... one that encourages further education and research.

There were also stunning illustrations after each story wrapped up that I honestly stared at for ages before moving on. They were so lovely and I wanted to take in all of the details of them! They were each a great way to end the story and sum up something that made that particular woman unique and special.

Verdict:
Buy it! I absolutely adored Brazen and I really believe it's a book that should be on the shelf of every woman. Heck, it should be on everyone's shelf because men need to understand that women have always been here overcoming adversity and making names for themselves and when we're let loose on the world, we're capable of extraordinary things.

Brazen is out on March 6, 2018. You can pre-order your copy here.

An interesting premise but unfortunately I was not able to connect with the material.

I loved this book! Unconventional women of diverse cultures, ethnicities, and sexual/gender orientations being totally awesome and unapologetic in the form of a graphic novel (also awesome). The only thing that confuses me about this book is the age range it is going for. The style and language it is written in more of a juvenile, middle grade reading level, but the content (trigger warning: domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape) seems a little much for the younger readers. I guess this would be good for the young adult readers looking to expand their general knowledge of badass ladies, but from there, the details of a thorough information source are lacking. Overall, a fun read!

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World profiles of 29 outstanding women from across time, across the world. We know many of their names, but did you know their accomplishments? Did you know that Margaret Hamilton, who defined Wicked Witch with her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, embraced her terrifying alter ego - and used her as a bargaining chip for higher pay in Hollywood? How about Temple Grandin, whose research on farm animals led to major changes in the factory farming industry and a push toward animal well-being? Not bad, for someone whose father wanted her institutionalized when she was diagnosed with autism as a child.

I could gush on and on about Brazen. It's a must-add to your collections; display and booktalk right next to Sam Maggs' Wonder Women, Jason Porath's Rejected Princesses, and National Geographic's Book of Heroines. Bagieu creates perfect, bite-sized biographies of these phenomenal women, making readers want to know more. A list of 30 more rebel ladies who rocked the world whets appetites at the end of the book, and we even get a little bio on our author/artist, Pénélope Bagieu. I've enjoyed her previous graphic novels, Exquisite Corpse (for grown-ups) and California Dreamin', the story of musician Mama Cass. Don't pass up putting Brazen in your teen space.

The lives of 29 women from a variety of time periods and cultures are profiled in this collection. Formatted as a graphic novel, the details are sometimes too sexually explicit for elementary students. This book would be more appropriate for inclusion in middle school or high school library collections, rather than elementary school collections.

This book presents biografies of lesser known women in a graphic novel style. I really like the drawings, and the chosen women are amazing. Some are really odd, most are fearless and all have been remarkable. Great title!

From time to time you come across a book that is just so cheeky, so brilliant, so en-pointe you want to force everyone to read it. That is this book. Think goodnight stories for rebel girls but then for older girls. In graphic novel format. With all the racy and saucy bits. Buy it.

I loved 'Brazen' so much. It was fun to read, inspiring and important. Too many books of this sort, that highlight important women (or men), skew to emphasize North Americans. 'Brazen', however, is truly multicultural in its scope and that is one of the things I really appreciate about it. So many young women might seem themselves in this book, whether they aspire to be artists, astronauts, activists, or anything else. I will definitely be purchasing this for our library when it is published. Highly recommended.

There have been many recently released anthologies of women in history who broke down barriers and lived lives outside the norm. That's a great thing, but it means that anyone putting out a book along those lines needs to find a way to make theirs stand out from the pack. Penelope Bagieu successfully does this by focusing mostly on women who would still be considered odd, or "brazen" even by today's standards. That means that Brazen is forward thinking beyond many of its counterparts.

Fantastic! The comics were absolutely brilliant and the way the women's stories were told was great. I've learnt so much and have found new idols! I would happily read this with my little sister to teach her young about how fierce and powerful women can be.

This graphic novel is perfect! I love the stories of all these amazing women! I like the playful, casual way the stories are written. The illustrations are so interesting and I love the style. I especially love the gorgeous two page spreads on the woman after her story. I really loved this graphic novel and I would love to see this book everywhere!

Penelope Bagieu is my favorite new graphic artist in years. I adore her work in this book.

This is a fantastic portrayal of many women--many who I had never heard of. I can't wait to add this book to the Library's collection.

Badass
Rebellious
Assertive
Zealous
Empowering
Naturally a feminist!

This book breaks all molds and is deserving of a unique review! The bar for graphic novels has just been raised and I am so grateful to have been introduced to these Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World!

There isn't much I love more than reading about strong, interesting females and the fact that this book did that in graphic novel format was super interesting. I loved the diversity of the women written about, many of which I had never known much about and I loved that it was written for a slightly older audience than many of the similar books currently around.
While I found some of the writing a little awkward in the way that the stories were told, overall the book was a super interesting look into the lives of women who should be known and celebrated like all women in the world.

A fascinating set of mini-biographies in comic form. The women profiled are a diverse group and many were previously unknown to me. While there are certainly many similar books coming out now -- Women in Science and Women in Sports by Rachel Ignotofsky come to mind, as does Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen and Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath -- Brazen mostly covers new ground, and there's room in the market for plenty more bios of women who fought oppression throughout history. The art is very idiosyncratic but it doesn't detract from the message of the book.

An enjoyable, informative, varied look at the lives of women who "rocked the world." One story after another, they kept my attention and desire to know more. Why? The blend of familiar and unfamiliar stories, the informative and sometimes humorous illustrations, and the friendly language which invites readers in. Good for browsing or doing what I did--read straight through. Also a great model for young writers and illustrators who could be challenged to add a story of their own to this collection.