Marvel Superheroine with Overbite Delights Comic Readers

This superheroine has an overbite, a bushy tail and acorn earrings dangling from her ears. “The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” is a special kind of heroine in the Marvel Universe, which ranges from Spider Man to the Hulk to Captain America. Since she has had her own comic series in the USA, she has been blossoming out to become one of the scene’s anti-stars. She is quick-witted, has keen intelligence and holds a humorous view of the superhero world, of which she is simultaneously a confident part. There has now been an Eisner Award for it – one of the most important honors for comics – as best new series.

The third large anthology is coming to the U.S. market now – with up to on average 20,000 sold copies per individual story – a success that the author Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson would not have dreamed of a year and a half ago. “The book has definitely done better than any of us expected,” Will Moss,* the Marvel publisher responsible, said to the Washington Post.

“We’re here to kick butts and eat nuts!” is Squirrel Girl’s snappy motto. She follows it, together with her squirrel pal Tippy Toe. Even so, she does not just clobber the bad guys, but rather enjoys talking with them first – she just cannot entirely escape her human skin as eager-to-learn computer science student Doreen Green.

Her superpowers: She is quick as lightening and agile, climbs house facades and in case of emergency has a legion of squirrels on her side, whose language she understands.

Squirrel Girl was “born” in 1990 but had only small appearances in the Marvel universe and was practically remade again in 2015. While other artists had previously given her Barbie curves, Henderson gave her a snub nose and a short hairstyle. Squirrel Girl’s plump curves now come notably from her immense squirrel tail that she – as Doreen Green – must constantly hide inside her clothes. That gives her a “conspicuously large and conspicuously awesome butt,” as Doreen satisfactorily states in front of the mirror.

This winking self-confidence and the absolute commitment to squirrels lets Squirrel Girl also get points with readers outside of the typical comic book community. Whole families read the tough Squirrel Girl’s stories. “My daughter and I love them,” a mother states on a fan site. And Stephen Burt, a Harvard professor, praises Squirrel Girl on the platform Slate.com: “She is the [superheroine] that we needed.”

*Editor’s note: The original source spelled the name this way, though the name of the publisher in question is officially spelled “Wil.”