Awesome New Female Character: Abigail Brand

[kingrockwell]

Ornery, unyielding, quick-tempered, terribly busy, and the best damn person to lead the planet's first line of defense, Abigail Brand is my candidate for Awesome New Female Characters Week!



Making her debut early in Joss Whedon and John Cassady's Astonishing X-Men, Brand is the commander of S.W.O.R.D., Earth's major defensive organization against extraterrestrial threats. She was, throughout, portrayed as someone who would go to any means to save the planet, always keeping the big picture in mind.





It's not a bad start (which is about the highest praise you'll hear me give that run, which i wasn't generally a fan of), but I feel it lacks something...


Shouting! Yes, yes, manic shouting is exactly what she was missing. <3

Given her own spin-off book last November, S.W.O.R.D. by Kieron Gillen and Steven Sanders, it lasted only five issues before cancellation, but has quickly become one of my favorite reads!
Here's a few more to give you an idea of the greatness that is Brand!

(about three and a third in total from #1)

It's a save-the-world-before-breakfast day. She has a lot of those. Hers is a busy job.


She's a good sister to a bad brother!


She's never heard of the A-Team! She was too busy.
...Saving the world.


She has, if I may say so, excellent taste in men. Especially when he's written more in character than when they first got together.*


Really, she probably hasn't eaten breakfast in years.

(from #1's back-up story, art by Jamie McKelvie)

She's an impressive negotiator (do not cross her ever, ever).

(approximately three pages from #2)

She takes pleasure in the small things!


She's got her priorities straight!


She does her own sound effects!


But at least she's isn't the black sheep. Believe it!

(one and a half from #3)

She has no patience for coups. (the "contact pyrokinesis", btw, has only ever been shown once*)


But she really does care (don't tell anyone!)

(about one and a third from #4)

She's an experienced diplomat!


You won't see her let herself get tired often, but she's still human (on her mother's side).


If she is anything, she is thorough.

(not quite four pages from #5)

She has a master's in Gloating to match Gyrich's doctorate in Deserving It.


It doesn't happen often, but when it's her responsibility, she'll own up to it!


Did I mention she's really good at negotiating?


She has the best job in the universe, and there isn't anyone better at it.

Abigail Brand is amazing, no question about it. If you like what you see here, check out S.W.O.R.D.! It's manic fun, action-packed, and the most delightful read of the year, in my humble opinion. It's collected as X-Men: S.W.O.R.D. - No Time To Breathe, so pick it up if you can! You'll thank me later.

She also had a relatively minor role in Heralds, and has been featured to some unknown degree in Warren Ellis' run on Astonishing X-Men, but I haven't read that so I couldn't speak to it.

* linked pages are from Giant-Sized Astonishing X-Men #1, by Whedon and Cassady

And if you're thinking of complaining about how Beast looks, really, we've heard it all before.

Comments

[aelflar]

Oh man, how could one forget Brand? I love her funny badassitude.The Whedon/Cassaday run is one of my all time favourite X-Books.

I`m not going to complain about Beast, I`ve just been out of touch with the X-Men lately, so I`m just gonna ask - why did he start looking like a worgen? O_o

The final panel is pure win! It`s moment like these that make me fall for the anything X-Men - cute little unspoiled moments of sheer togetherness. I am starting to love these two more and more as a couple :D

[kingrockwell]

It's really just how Steven Sanders draws him. Hank's been handled differently by every artist that's drawn him since he became a kitty, I don't know what makes Sanders' version anything more notable.

If anything, the snoutiness is closer to how Quitely started him out, and has been stated to be at least a little bit based on the Red Dragon from Bone.

[aelflar]

To be honest, I kinda like him like this rather than the kitty. That never sat down with me, dunno..But he`s funnier like this, in a laid back non-flashy manner that suits his character better.

[kingrockwell]

The writing certainly helps, but yes, Hank is my favorite Marvel character whatsoever and everything about his handling in S.W.O.R.D. makes me incredibly happy!

[lieut_kettch]

I second that. Mainly since I'm a dog person. Scotty-dog Hank makes me want to scratch him under the chin and behind the ears. And find the spot on his tummy that triggers the reflex that makes his leg kick uncontrollably. (Something Kurt shares with him aside from the blue fur.)

[aelflar]

Oh god, me too!! (also a dog person, so yeah)
He does remind me of my dog, actually! (giant schnauzer)

[sandoz_iscariot]

d'awww, "I'm your little blueberry muffin." :3

[kingrockwell]

Aren't they just the best? <3

[leikomgwtfbbq]

This chick's awesome. Why haven't I heard of her before? XD

[kingrockwell]

For as good a book as it is, S.W.O.R.D. criminally undersold and was cancelled at the end of its first arc. It's really a shame.
Hopefully this post'll get her a little more exposure amongst the fans!

[stolisomancer]

One of the things I've always wondered about Brand is what her tattoos mean. In one of her first appearances, we see her doing push-ups in a prison cell, and she has ANNA tattooed on one arm and GRACE on the other.

Somebody ought to ask Whedon about that.

[kingrockwell]

Maybe she named her fists?

[darrylayo]

I sort of assumed he intended to imply something about her sexuality and later changed his mind during the "UNSTOPPABLE" arc.

[stolisomancer]

I assumed they were her children initially.

[selke]

She's so beautifully snarky!

[kingrockwell]

And terminally cross!

[ravenous_raven]

Aw man, Abigail Brand is someone I really want to channel sometimes. Always right seldom wrong and kick-ass too.


Do we ever learn more about her parents besides what's mentioned here?

[kingrockwell]

She told Hank her dad was a big furry monster back in Astonishing, but that's about all I can remember.

[aelflar]

Yeah, she`s a half-alien :D Which imho is awesome!

She's wonderful

[roguefankc]

I prefer "squeezing your unexplored hairy planetoids in a vise"[/quote]

The fact that she said this to Gyrich alone makes me admire and respect her. XD

I'm hoping that because she and Beast go along so well that some idiot writer at Marvel decides to up the angst/drama factor by breaking them up.

Note that I'm not trying to jinx it. =)

[airawyn]

I love Brand. Is she currently in any titles or just drifting in non-narrative space?

I wasn't surprised that the comic got cancelled

[jazzypom]

I can see why it never found its footing in the comic book market and I wish Marvel would come to a consensus about how Hank is drawn, truly.

It was a solid comic, but not great.

[blackruzsa]

When exactly did she get together with Beast? XD I don't see her being romantic or anything.

[aelflar]

She always had a thing for him, but she acknowledged that in the "Unstoppable" arc of Whedon/Cassaday`s Astonishing X-Men (which I wholeheartedly recommend!)

[fai_dust]

*grins* So, is this a backwards way of saying you're not really a fan of Agent Brand? This was very amusing, I loved the sarcasim they way you wrote it, and I happen to like her, even if everything you said happens so be true, so I had to ask. ^_^

[kingrockwell]

Hardly! That wouldn't really be in the spirit of the theme. I'm very fond of Abby, warts and all!

[starwolf_oakley]

It's not like the X-Men are unfamiliar with alien races. The fact they are "tight" with the Shi'ar is why they have all their supercool technology (not counting whatever Forge built). And it stands to reason all the various acronym groups in charge of protecting America/the Earth/Humanity would want a specific group to focus on alien threats.

But have we established (a) Abigail's parentage and (b) her real last name? I'm just curious if maybe one (or both) of her parents are Marvel characters from way back when. (The monster books.)

[kingrockwell]

They've not established either, actually.

[starwolf_oakley]

Hmmm. Sometimes they drop hints, sometimes they don't. I was wondering if maybe Joss Whedon had a special file that said, "Here's Abigail Brand's real name and parentage" that a writer at Marvel can use when they see fit.

[fifthie]

What is up with Beast's face

[fifthie]

really, we've heard it all before.

Hank-haters apparently gonna hate Hank so much that they draw him looking like that.

[comicoz]

I loved the heck out of this entire series; even dog-Hank was not enough to wreck the pure snark employed.

And the loop with the muffin from issue 1 to issue 6 was fantastic.

[ormardu.blogspot.com]

Thank you so much for posting these!

A. Brand is such a basdass character with such a soft centre. She makes such a good match for Hank and is very much part of the reason I think Hank got the hell out of Utopia.

We defiantly need more of her!