Buying for a 13 year old girl?

[jon2d2]

I have a 13 year old niece who is forever glued to technology and developing seemingly more and more pessimism as each day passes.

For her Christmas present I would like to purchase her a One-shot, TPB, or otherwise collection or single story.

The hope is to galvanise in her an interest in comic books... In other words you could say I'm attempting to court her into the comics industry.

The trouble I'm having is that I can't think a book that will really to the job; it's like if she was a he this would be an easy task. I'm looking at my shelf and just from the books in front of me there's a number that a teenage boy would think is awesome...

So what I want to know is: What would you think of buying if you was doing this?

Some guidelines: Can't be Too gory (a little is okay if it's appropriate in context, just not gore for the sake of gore). Preferably has a strong female lead. Can't be Too sexualised (same situation as gore). Has to be classic and awesome.

Thanks.

[Shellhead]

Why I Hate Saturn, by Kyle Baker. No gore, no sex, strong female lead, and funny.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Nausiaä of the Valley of the Wind
Koma
Bubbles & Gondola
The Adventures of Venus
Dotter of Her Father's Eyes
Anya's Ghost
Friends with Boys
Hildafolk
Moving Pictures


Also, misread this thread as buying a 13 year old girl, oh lord.

[finfangfool]

I push a few comics on all my non-comic reading fans: Bone, Walking Dead (no good for your purposes with the gore and whatnot), Y the Last Man, Boneyard, Saga is being added to the list (a bit of gore, but a bit cartoony and almost all non-human), Preacher (also not appropriate), and Ultimate Spider-Man (laugh Bendis haters, but its the best dang Spider-Man story of my lifetime). Mary Jane starts off strong in that series, and if she likes it I'd also recommend Spider-Man loves Mary Jane. There are some classics everyone seems to push (Watchmen, Kingdom Come, Sandman), but I think you have to be more invested in the hobby to overlook the costumey aspect of the Super Hero books (USM is mainly a tale of Peter Parker and his family/friends, with bits of Spider-Man here and there), and Sandman starts a bit slow if you're trying to get someone hooked.

[shaxper]

Laika
I Kill Giants
Sandman

[Xarcon]

If she's open to digital (as you might not be able to find the print trades), then Byran Q. Miller's Batgirl series would probably work. It's a light, fun series with a strong female lead. It's one of my favorite series.

I'll also second Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man volume 1. Peter's the main character, but between Aunt May, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and Kitty Pryde, I think it'll work fine. It's a lighter series, so you don't have to worry about gore and sex and whatnot. It also happens to be one of my favorite series.

Oh, and another of my favorite series would be New X-Men volume 2, which stars teen mutants, including a number of female characters. That would work nicely.

[dupont2005]

Bone seems like a very good choice. Or Usagi Yojimbo.

[Joe Bullseye]

My Daughter is now 14. She has always loved Anime. Which is fine to watch and has video game spin offs. She is into many manga titles now. She started of on Pokemon when she was younger then to Yugioh and as she got older Inu Yasha and others. So I would recommend the Inu Yasha manga books. They are perfect for a girl her age. And like I said there are video game tie ins. Hope this helps.

[Anodyne]

When my grand-niece was that age, she liked the Betty & Veronica comics from Archie. Are they still around?

[Sabrina_Fried]

If the ultimate goal is to court her into reading comics, I guess I have to ask what kind of things does she like to read now? (if anything) Failing that, does she have any favorite TV shows or movies that can give a hint about what her interests are?

I will second the recommendation of Nausicaa. Viz actually released a perfectly gifty box set of the entire series in November. But it is also one of those series that I would caution a parent to read first to decide if it is appropriate for their child. The anime (available on DVD or Blu Ray...hint hint) is a perfectly PG adaptation of the first few volumes of the manga. Squeaky clean enough that the North American licensor is Disney. The latter half of the manga gets into some very amazing sf to create the world that Nausicaa lives in, but it might be a bit much for a 13 year old.

I was going to say Rurouni Kenshin as well, but this being a story about a Meiji-era swordsman, there is a bit of blood in it. Unless she is already a mature reader, it might be best for when she is a bit older. Then again, you said blood in context is ok, and Kenshin DID vow not to kill people...so yeah, Rurouni Kenshin. Available in 9 Vizbig omnibus volumes or 28 smaller tankoubon.

Usagi Yojimbo would be excellent as well. The titular character is male, but over the years a number of excellent female characters have appeared in the book. It has been one of my personal favorites pretty much since I was your daughter's age. You can buy it in print, or you can get issues (or bundles of issues) on Dark Horse's digital comics app. At least for the Dark Horse issues. The earlier stories were by another publisher and you'll have to get those in print.

You may also want to look into Sailor Moon and its companion series Codename Sailor V. I was watching the anime when I was a kid, but I only had a chance to read the manga with the new translation that Kodansha is currently publishing. The publisher's age rating is Teen (13+) and I'd say that's pretty accurate. But things do get a bit more...er...mature in later volumes around the time Sailors Uranus and Neptune show up. "Coincidentally" Kodansha just put out a gift set of the first 6 volumes (volume 6 contains the debut of Neptune and Uranus) a few weeks ago.

Edited to add: Bone! How could I forget about Bone! Available in a single-volume doorstopper or a collection of smaller volumes. An excellent read for all ages!

[Gabe De Los Muertos]

Persepolis, part one of course. Part two might be too extreme for her.

[Lee Kaye]

Luna Brothers Ultra Seven Days? Many female leads, can't remember whether there is any sex content, but I enjoyed it.

[mugiwara]

[the4thpip]

[Romero]

My picks have been taken- anything "Courtney Crumrin", "Leave it to Chance" or "Runaways."

What does she already like to read? At the risk of cliche, does she like "Twilight"? There are at least two volumes of adaptations that my "Twilight" fan daughter enjoyed. Maybe get her into comics by doorway of something she already likes and can see what the medium can do for stories.