The Refrigerator Monologues is a 2017 superhero fiction novel by Catherynne Valente, with art by Annie Wu, exploring the lives - and deaths - of superheroines, and of the girlfriends of superheroes; the title refers to "Women in Refrigerators", [1] and to The Vagina Monologues . [2] It was published by Saga Press.
In a corner of the afterlife, six women meet on a regular basis to commiserate and share their stories. They have all been involved in the world of superheroes and suffered because of it, facing various forms of sexism from heroes and villains alike. Their afterlife, Deadtown, is a mix between a pleasant bohemian neighborhood and a forbidding necropolis. It is populated by a race of friendly, cultured gargoyles who do their best to take care of the ghosts. People frequently leave Deadtown (either willingly or unwillingly) due to the unreliable nature of comic book deaths. They enjoy extinct food and forgotten culture, sharing their stories in order to pass the time. Everyone in Deadtown is forced to wear the clothes they were buried in, even if those clothes say nothing about their real natures.
Each woman is a parody of a famous character from the mainstream Marvel or DC universe, retelling their famous storylines from a new, feminist perspective. Their group is known as the Hell Hath Club, with Paige Embry (an alternate version of Gwen Stacy) serving as the primary keeper of their stories and the group's unofficial leader. She also provides connecting narration for each of the stories. The novella examines the double standards of superheroics, along with the "Women in Refrigerators" practice of killing or torturing female characters in order to assist male character development. The characters consider themselves "released" from the dark and painful world of superhero storylines, ending the book with a punk rock celebration. [3]
Publishers Weekly called it "dazzling", "brilliantly furious", and "a rage-filled pleasure", and noted that "no comic book expertise is required" [2] — although the Portland Press-Herald felt that it "depends a great deal on an insider's knowledge of comic book lore for maximum enjoyment". [4]
Den of Geek described it as "cathartically angry", and commended the "vivid, specific voice" of each character. [5] Vox stated that it was "bitingly sarcastic and wistfully regretful, and always ferociously angry". [6] Kirkus Reviews judged it to be "entertaining but not a romp", and "ruthless but absorbing and provocative", [7] while the Washington Post considered it to be "entertaining but heavy-handed". [8]
Valente was inspired to write the book as a result of her anger at the death of Gwen Stacy in the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 . She said of the character's death, [9]
[I]t blindsided me in a way that Gwen Stacy taking her dive should never blindside anyone born after 1970, and it was a sucker punch, because more or less the last thing Emma Stone [as Gwen Stacy] does before she quite literally flounces off to meet her doom is snit, "Nobody makes my decisions for me, nobody! This is my choice. Mine." ... [S]omeone chose to give her those words. ... To make those powerful words the punchline to a sad joke about female agency by punishing her for them, by making sure that no matter how modern and independent the new Gwen might seem, everything is just as it has always been. That old, familiar message slides into our brains with the warm familiarity of a father’s hug: when women make their own choices, disaster results.
In December 2018, Amazon Studios announced that Shauna Cross was developing a pilot episode for an adaptation of The Refrigerator Monologues, to be titled "Deadtown". [10]
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero; typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books, as well as in Japanese media.
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, Sabrina Spellman, Josie and the Pussycats and Katy Keene. The company is also known for its long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which it published from 1992 until 2016.
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age.
Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George and Helen Stacy, she is the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she is murdered by the Green Goblin. Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart. Gwen is posthumously subjected to numerous cloning experiments by her former professor Miles Warren, Peter's clone Ben Reilly, and an A.I. of Harry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation of the Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people had unique souls of their own. In the alternate realities of Ultimate Marvel and Spider-Gwen, a still-living Gwen respectively becomes their universe's versions of Carnage and Spider-Woman.
"The Night Gwen Stacy Died", alternatively known as "The Green Goblin's Last Stand", is a story arc of the Marvel Comics comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122. The two-issue story was written by Gerry Conway, with pencil art by Gil Kane and inking by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro.
James Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota. Known within the scientific community for his work with amorphous semiconductors, granular materials, and 1/f noise, he is known to the general public as the author of the book The Physics of Superheroes, which considers comic book superheroes from the standpoint of fundamental physics.
Catherynne M. Valente is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Andre Norton, and Mythopoeic Fantasy awards. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with numerous "Year's Best" volumes. Her critical work has appeared in the International Journal of the Humanities as well as in numerous essay collections.
The portrayal of women inAmerican comic books has often been the subject of controversy since the medium's beginning. Critics have noted the roles of women as both supporting characters and lead characters are substantially more subjected to gender stereotypes, with femininity and/or sexual characteristics having a larger presence in their overall character.
Superhero fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains. The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books, though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.
Fairyland is a series of fantasy novels by Catherynne M. Valente. The novels follow a 12-year-old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.
Women in refrigerators is a literary trope coined by Gail Simone in 1999 describing a trend in fiction which involves female characters facing disproportionate harm, such as death, maiming, or assault, to serve as plot devices to motivate male characters, an event colloquially known as "fridging". Simone's original list of over 100 affected female characters, published on the "Women in Refrigerators" website, sparked discussions on sexism in pop culture and the comic-book industry. The trope's influence extends beyond comics, with critiques of its presence in film and television franchises. Notably, author Catherynne M. Valente, inspired by Gwen Stacy's portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, wrote The Refrigerator Monologues, addressing the trope's impact on female characters in superhero narratives.
Spider-Gwen is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that began February 2015. The series revolves around Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy that debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 as part of the 2014–2015 Spider-Man storyline "Spider-Verse". Spider-Gwen explores a universe where Gwen Stacy was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, leading her to a career as the Spider-Woman of her world.
America Chavez is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Joe Casey and artist Nick Dragotta, the character first appeared in Vengeance #1. America Chavez is a lesbian superhero of Latin-American origin. She has assumed the mantle of Miss America from the superheroine Madeline Joyce. She has also been a member of the A-Force, the Ultimates, and the Young Avengers at various points in her history.
Spider-Woman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She was created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. The character debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse issue #2 as part of the 2014–15 "Spider-Verse" comic book storyline, leading to the ongoing series Spider-Gwen in 2015.
Gwenpool is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe, her physical design originated as an amalgam of Gwen Stacy and Wade Wilson created by Chris Bachalo for a variant cover of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, which was one of twenty such variant covers published due to the popularity of Spider-Gwen from June 2015.
Marvel Rising is an American media franchise and shared universe produced by Marvel Animation. The animated media are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The franchise includes a made-for-television film, television specials, short films, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the Secret Warriors, a diverse team of teenage superheroes, as they join forces together.
The Unstoppable Wasp is an ongoing American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Nadia van Dyne. The solo series initially debuted in January 2017 and ran for 8 issues as a part of Marvel NOW! 2.0, before relaunching in October 2018 for another run of 10 issues. The series were written by Jeremy Whitley. Art was by Elsa Charretier from the start of the publication until the second run, which Gurihiru took over as artist for. In May 2020, Disney Books published a young adult novel continuing the series written by Sam Maggs, titled The Unstoppable Wasp: Built On Hope. Critics have praised the series for its comedy as well as its portrayal of relationships and bipolar disorder.
Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy is a fictional character in Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. She was portrayed by Emma Stone in the films The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. As opposed to taking a supporting role in the previous film trilogy, Gwen is given a prominent role in Webb's films as one of Peter Parker's classmates, serving as his primary love interest and a foil to his character. Webb based Gwen's character off of her traditional comic-book portrayal. For her performance in the films, Stone has received critical praise and wider recognition, despite the divided response to the film series as a whole.
The Kingpin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. The character debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse issue #2 as part of the 2014–15 "Spider-Verse" comic book storyline as the archenemy of Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman, continuing into the ongoing series Spider-Gwen that began in 2015. The "Kingpin" name is a reference to the crime lord title in Mafia slang nomenclature.