''From what age are we allowed to change the world?' Six girls, five empowering adventures. From climate activism to fighting for education and gun control, each story delves deep into the personal struggles and triumphs of remarkable individuals.
'The Girl Rebels graphic novel shares the extraordinary journeys of six young women who refused to be silenced in the face of adversity and have since become symbols of change. Through rich storytelling and stunning visuals, readers will be inspired by the unwavering spirit of Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Yusra Mardini, Emma ‘X’ Gonzalez and the Parkland Kids, and Melati and Isabel Wijsen. Each turn of the page will draw readers into the lives of these young girls, who never intended to become spokespeople or flag-bearers, but have now become inspiring icons and role models for thousands of young people all over the world.
'Carefully crafted by a talented team of international authors, the anthology presents a compelling exploration of youth activism and social change. The noblest battles of the modern world are brought to life by diverse and renowned illustrators, such as Bret Parson and Gijé. Girl Rebels is for fans of thrilling real-life stories and youth activism around the globe. Join these brave young women on their journey to change the world and discover the power of resilience, determination, and solidarity.'
I think that it's human nature to want to leave some mark on the world, to feel like your life meant something, even if only something small. It's the reason why people make art, why the seek fame, and for some, it's why they enter the world of politics. And whilst all of these paths are indeed ways to make a legacy for yourself, to be remembered for doing something, the people who make the biggest impact tend to be those who don't seek fame and fortune. It's the people who try to make the world a better place simply because it's a good thing to do who become the most inspiring. Girl Rebels takes a look at several young woman and girls who have done just that, who have stood up for decent ideals, who have put themselves in danger, to try to make the world around them a better place.
As the title of the book says, this collection of short biographical comics focuses on girl, most still just children when their real story begins, who have done what most of us would see as the impossible. They've stood up to tyrants, have gone against political systems, have challenged people in power, and for that they've earned the title of rebels. There will be names here you know of, and others you don't, but each of them will end up being some of the most inspiring people you'll hear about; people we should all try and emulate a little bit more.
The first story centres on Malala Yousafzi, a young woman who was born in Pakistan, a country where girls and women are treated as second class citizens, where they're not given an education, where their role is simply to serve the men in their lives. Thanks to Malala's father, Ziauddin, being a teacher who believed in progressive morals and the freedom of women, taught his daughter to read and write in a system that said it was wrong. He opened a school for girls, and life was good for a while for Malala and her family. Until the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), an Islamist extremist group, began to enforce Sharia Law in Malala's homeland of Swat. Faced with open violence and threats for daring to be educated, Malala refused to back down, and even began to speak out against the TNSM in the media. And for this, Malala was shot in the head.
This would be where most stories would end, but Malala survived this attack, recovered in Britain, and went on to continue her fight for the rights of women and girls in Pakistan, and the world. Malala would meet with world leaders, speak on the international stage, and would become the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize (amongst other accolades) for her work in fighting for education equality.
Malala is perhaps one of the most famous names in this collection, and her story of being gunned down by terrorists because of her beliefs and refusal to be broken, as well as her survival against all odds, made her an international name. Whilst I was aware of the key points of her story there were still a lot of details about her that I didn't know, and this book helped to fill in those gaps in my knowledge; but most importantly, it spent time showing the girl behind the story. The early parts of her chapter spend time showing her family life, of the happiness she had before the TNSM came into her life, and it helped to remind me that she's not just this amazing, inspiring figure, she's a real person.
The art on this section is provided by Vittoria 'Vic' Macioci, an Italian illustrator, who makes a heavy use of both red and blue throughout. The colours aren't just used randomly, however, as Macioci seems to be using them very carefully. For the most part most of the panels will be coloured in various shades of blue, with even the people being in these cold, muted tones. Except for Malala. She's always in red, and stands out on every panel. But she's not the only one. Every now and then there's more red. Her father is coloured red when he's teaching Malala to read, her mother is red on the occasions she's doing something like encouraging her daughter, or revealing she's also learning to read. The rest of the time the two of them are blue, blending in with everyone else. It seems that Macioci is using red as a sign of rebellion, of going against the norm. Malala is the embodiment of this, is always doing this, and her fire and passion shows through in her colouring, and the times others join her, their colours change too. It's a trick that people might not even pick up on, and I didn't at first, but the art seems to be reinforcing that Malala is different to the people around her, that she's something special, and that she can inspire others to be as well.
The second chapter is about Greta Thunberg, the most famous of the girls featured in this collection, and the one whose face graces the cover. Like Malala, Greta is another girl that I was aware of, and its her tireless action, and the way that western media outlets have painted her, that has brought her international fame. I've heard people in my life bring up Greta with derision, calling her 'weird', or 'annoying', people in the generation above me talking about her like she's a loud child who should stay in her lane. These are people whose opinions are mostly shaped by uncritically absorbing one right wing, billionaire own news source who wants to make anyone who threatens them the villain. This isn't that surprising, as there are many people who will take what's in a tabloid as gospel and believe what they're told. But for many, especially younger people, Greta is an iconic, fierce proponent for a better world for all of us.
Greta's section begins long before her fight for the environment began, and shows us a very young girl who struggles to fit into the world around her. Greta has Aspergers syndrome, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder, both of which made her early life difficult. This especially came into affect when Greta, who was just eight at the time, learned about climate change in school and couldn't understand why no one cared that we were destroying our planet, and putting humanity's future at heavy risk. Thanks to the way that Greta saw the world, and her obsessive personality, she became focused on doing something to change this. Greta, at fifteen, staged a school walk-out, sitting outside the Swedish parliament to bring attention to her cause. Even though she began alone, others followed, and soon there were hundreds of others with her, as well as hundreds more in other countries.
Greta became a leader of the movement because of her actions and her passion, and her example inspired many other people to begin fighting for a better world. Over the coming years Greta would speak on the international stage, talking COP24, gave an impassioned speech at the UN, and working with Native American reservations, as well as meeting with multiple world leaders and famous figures. Greta might be young, and her even younger appearance has led to many people discounting her as 'just a child', but she has always risen to the occasion, bringing brutally honest speeches, well researched points, and an undeniable passion to everything she does. The world is on the brink, and to deny climate change and the ill effects that it's had on the planet would be so blatantly wrong that you're either living in complete denial, or have little sense. This is an issue that is affecting us all, that will affect the youngest the most, and is leading to human extinction. It cannot be ignored, and Greta Thunberg is not only making it her life's work, she's inspiring others to do the same; and with so much resting on this issue that doesn't just make her a rebel, it makes her one of the best of us all.
The art for Greta's section is by Jérôme Gillet, also known as Gijé, a 2D animator and artist from Lubumbashi. The colours for the chapter tend to be quite muted in tone, with pages filled with sepia tones, light blues and greys, the occasional splash of yellow or red peaking through to offer some warmth. It's a different kind of look to what most big two publisher comics offer, but for those that read more independent European comics it definitely evokes that kind of feel. The most impressive part of the art, however, is how well Gillet has managed to capture Greta's likeness. Even when it's tiny child Greta, younger than the public knew her, it's so clearly her. A lot of the expressions that we're used to seeing on Greta are here, and the drawings have much of the determination, humour, and quiet reflection that we've come to recognise in her. It's easily my favourite section artistically, and for me it was the most beautiful.
The third chapter tells the story of Yusra Mardini, a young woman that I'd not heard of before reading this book. Born in Syria, Yusra grew up in Damascus, where her father, an ex-swimmer for the Syrian national swimming team, trained Yusra and her sister to swim from a young age. Yusra developed a passion for swimming, and was inspired watching the 2004 Olympics, deciding that she wanted to compete on the international stage when she was older. In 2011, however, Syria descended into civil war, a conflict that put her family at risk; and Yusra was even almost killed when a rocket landed in the same pool she was training in, with her only surviving because it didn't detonate.
Deciding that they weren't safe in Syria anymore, the Mardini family made a dangerous trek to Lebanon, then Turkey, where they arranged to be transported via boat to Greece. However, the dinghy, which was dangerously over capacity, was abandoned by their smuggler, and the twenty people on board were left in dangerous waters. With the motor broken, and the boat taking on water, Yusra and her sister jumped into the water and pulled the dinghy towards their destination for hours. Eventually reaching Lesbos, Yusra and her sister continued on through Greece, to Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, and Austria, until they reached their final destination, Germany. The two of them were eventually reunited with their parents and younger sister in Germany, and it was here that Yusra continued her swimming career.
With the help of a social worker, she met an Olympic swimming trainer, who saw her skill and potential. Yusra began to swim again, and after a short while she was asked to join the newly created Refugee Team in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Unsure about entering the games as a refugee, she eventually decided to do so after receiving a message from a young refugee boy from Syria who was inspired by her story. Thanks to this Yusra entered the games, and was one of the first Refugee athletes. Despite not taking the winners podium, Yusra and her story inspired people across the world, and she would use her new fame to speak on the behalf of refugees in some of the most important places, and would meet with world and religious leaders. She became the youngest ever UN Goodwill Ambassador, and would form the Yusra Mardini Foundation to support sports and education for refugee communities. Yusra helped to show the world that refugees are not only deserving of respect and support, but that if given the chance they can do amazing things.
Jocelyn Joret brings Yusra's story to life, using fairly simple and bold artwork to do so. Joret's style is distinctly different to the other sections in the book, and has a more cartoonish look at times. The characters are often drawn with simple dots for eyes, with big, exaggerated expressions that are used the heighten the emotions people are expressing. Joret also uses blues and oranges that are used to make some stark contrasts.
There are a lot of things that can inspire people to try and do great things, but it's a heart breaking fact that it's often tragedy that leads to this. This is highlighted in shocking detail in the fourth chapter of Girl Rebels, Emma and the Parkland Kids. The story begins at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida on the morning of February 14th 2018. The first couple of pages shows the students arriving at school, being excited for the day, exchanging valentines, and enjoying the happiness of youth. And then the gunman arrives. We spend a few pages seeing the events of the now infamous shooting, and whilst the book doesn't show graphic images of people being killed it still manages to hammer home the brutality and horror of the event, and it makes for a hard read.
But what makes this different from the 2,933 other school shootings since the US began recording them? It's because this time the kids didn't just let politicians and new pundits offer 'thoughts and prayers' and do nothing to change things. David Hogg, one of the students, was one of the first to speak out about the incident, and spoke various reporters that night, challenging people to actually do something to stop this from happening again. Other students joined Hogg, and whilst they were passionate about making a difference they needed organisation, and this came in the form of Emma (X) González. The teens created the Never Again Movement, and organised a rally that gained national attention and put Emma in the spotlight.
Through Emma's impassioned speeches, the students use of social media, and the much needed change that was wanted by most every student in the US, the movement gained traction, and David Hogg was even able to stump Florida's senator during a live debate that showed the corruption within politics and their refusal to denounce money from gun lobbies. However, it was the action on the 24th March that made history. Eight hundred protests took place across America, and 800,000 people marched on Washington, more than double those who attended Trump's inauguration. Emma delivered a brutal, heartfelt speech that day that moved millions who watched it, and helped to begin a series of changes that would see 137 new gun laws passed in the US. Whilst it feels like little has changed, with 1,493 school shootings taking place in the last six years since Parkland (not including the others in 2018) the actions of the Never Again Movement and the children who led it have helped to show the world that America and its gun laws are broken, and that its children are paying for that with their lives.
The Parkland section is illustrated by Brett 'BlitzCadet' Parson, a US artist who has worked for big comic publishers in the past. His work felt somewhat familiar to me, and it wasn't until I read his credit that I realised why. Parson had worked on Tank Girl in the past, and when seeing his depiction of Emma González you can see a lot of that fierce, almost punk aesthetic in her that Tank Girl oozes. In some ways the story being told here feels like it should be one of the larger than life parody stories found in a book like that, of children having to campaign for the right to exist, to not have to fear being shot at any moment, in a country where guns have more rights than children. But it's not parody, it's somehow real life. The art fits that tone well, where it feels like it's larger than life and ridiculous, yet is very grounded in how it presents itself. The opening few pages, that show the shooting, are perhaps the most impactful in the book, pages that don't need dialogue to tell us what's happening, to describe the tragedy involved, because the art puts you in that moment with brutal honesty.
The final chapter tells the story of sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen, climate activists living in Indonesia. Born in Bali, the sisters grew up loving the beauty of their home, a beauty that was destroyed one day when they stumbled across a beach covered in rubbish and plastic waste from the ocean. The two of them attended a revolutionary school, one that was geared towards nature and living well with the natural environment. It was here that the two of them learned more about pollution and how waste has affected the natural world, particularly their home. It was these lessons about the environment, as well as the schools lessons on inspiring figures, that sparked a passion in the young sisters. Melati and Isabel decided that something needed to be done about the plastic waste ruining Bali.
Tackling all plastic waste wouldn't be an easy task for two children, so the focused on plastic bags, and formed Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a movement to ban plastic bags from Bali. The two of them organised beach clean-ups, the first ever flash mob in a Bali spiritual location, and spoke at the Global Issues Network to raise awareness. They targeted people at the airport to collect signatures for a petition to ban plastic bags, and created a scheme for local businesses that agreed to do so, labelling them as environmental businesses (as well as highlighting those that wouldn't do it). Despite their hard work they couldn't get an audience with the governor, not until the two of them went on a hunger strike to raise more attention to the cause.
This meeting resulted in the governor agreeing to ban plastic bags in Bali, a decision that would push the sisters on to fight for even more change. The two of them would speak at COP24, the Economic Forum of Davos, and the UN. Over the years since Bye Bye Plastic Bags has gone on to form more than 50 teams around the world, they've mobilised more than 57,000 young people to take action, and removed more than 155 tons of plastic waste in Bali alone. Melati and Isabel have been named as two of the most inspirational young women in the world, and have gone on to inspire others, showing people across the globe that even a tiny change can spark something bigger, and that no positive action is too small to make a difference.
Swiss illustrator Rebecca 'Ninig' Traynuig brings the Wijsen sisters story to life with beautiful art that feels reminiscent of watercolour art. Relying heavily on blue tones, Traynuig makes the young sisters stand out on the page thanks to them being the only figures with warmth to them, with browns and flesh tones used to make them and other people pop on the page. Traynuig's line work is fantastic, and captures a lot of emotion on her characters, and is able to portray the beauty of the environments well, and the final page of the story is a gorgeous double page splash that inspires hope, and shows two sisters love for each other and the world they've decided to fight for.
Girl Rebels is one of those reads where you come away feeling changed by it. It's easy to be inspired by fiction, characters can be larger than life, the odds can be made fantastical, and it's easy to have good win out in the end; but when it comes to real life that's not always the case. The world is often a terrible, cruel, and uncaring place, filled with people who will turn on each other given half a chance and care for little outside themselves. But that's not everyone.
There are good people out there, most people are. And there are those who don't just want to be good, but to do good, who are so filled with the drive to do more, to make things better for others that they have to stand up and do the extraordinary. It's inspiring to hear these kind of stories, but when it's children it becomes even more inspiring. And in a world where children are often infantilised and ignored, and girls especially, those who refuse to be put down or overlooked by the adults around them become beacons. These aren't just rebels, they're not just young leaders, impassioned speakers, or dedicated activists, the young people in this book are some of the best that humanity has to offer.
Support Amy on Patreon
Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog
