History Main / BadGirlComic

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'' is considered the UrExample. Created in 1969 by [[PromotedFan sci-fi and horror fan]] Forrest J. Ackerman and designed by feminist underground comix creator Trina Robbins, she later enjoyed a revival during the Bad Girl Comic craze of TheNineties, and remains relatively popular ever since.

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'' is considered the UrExample. Created in 1969 by [[AscendedFan sci-fi and horror fan]] Forrest J. Ackerman and designed by feminist underground comix creator Trina Robbins, she later enjoyed a revival during the Bad Girl Comic craze of TheNineties, and remains relatively popular ever since.

* ''ComicBook/{{Darkchylde}}'' by Creator/Maximum Press: Not to be confused with the demonic AlterEgo of Creator/MarvelComics' ComicBook/{{Magik}}. A girl who is cursed to transform into monstrous creatures of her nightmares.

* ''Aphrodite IX'': [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal About an amnesiac android assassin.]]

During TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, comics revelled in exploring all previously "forbidden" themes: violence, gore, crime, cynical grittiness, occult or demonic imagery, sex and sex appeal -- usually cranked UpToEleven. On one hand, we got the NinetiesAntiHero, with emphasis on the "violence, gore, crime and cynical grittiness" part. On the other hand, we got this trope.

* ''Pandora'': She's ''the'' Pandora from GreekMythology, fighting against the evil that she once released.

* ''Madame Mirage'' is a mid-00s homage to Bad Girl Comics as well as to the pulp vigilante genre (e.g. ''TheShadow''), created by Paul Dini. It features a FemmeFatale vigilante with mysterious superpowers on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against an equally mysterious evil corporation. Madame Mirage wears a quite flattering outfit, and her appearance is said to be based on the creator's wife.

** ''ComicBook/{{Ghost}}'' also was part of this series, but in the first arc and seen as an ActionGirl for ComicBook/{{X}}, but later she receives her own solo series. Like her first appearance, all about her was written and drawn by her creator, noneless than Adam Hughes.

* ''Jade'': A Chinese vampire-sorceress who controlled a powerful crime family for centuries, and then decided to spread her rule to the other Triad families, and then all of China.

* ''[[ComicBook/IllyanaRasputin Magik]]'' from the Franchise/XMen started as Colossus' little sister. After some convoluted events, she manifested a dark AlterEgo called Darkchilde[=/=]Darkchylde, who had a monstrous demonic form at the time. Later, she got killed off, and was resurrected in the mid-00s, as Darkchilde. Her new design and persona were heavily influenced by Bad Girl Comics. She later became Magik again, but retained parts of her Darkchilde personality.

** ''Barb Wire'', who also was TheProtagonist of her own arc, which has {{Cyberpunk}} influence. Nowadays, she's mostly remembered for its SoBadItsHorrible [[Film/BarbWire movie adaptation]] starring Creator/PamelaAnderson.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' can be considered a textbook example of this trope: a kick-ass female antihero protagonist with occult powers wears a sexy risque outfit and dispatches enemies without mercy.

* ''Avengelyne'': Co-created by Liefeld and model Cathy Christian, this character was a fallen angel who fought demons.

* ''Purgatori'': A demon-like vampire goddess who started as Lady Death's enemy, and then got her own spin-off series.

* ''ComicBook/HackSlash'', by Tim Seeley and published initially by Devil's Due and later Image, is basically a cross between ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and the Bad Girl tradition. Cassie Hack is a scantily-clad, very cynical anti-hero who is often drawn for extreme fanservice, but in contrary to the usual tropes of the genre she is a BadassNormal fighting supernatural monsters, and she has much more angst, guilt, and self-doubt than is usual for a Bad Girl protagonist, most of whom tend to be cheerfully sociopathic.

* Franchise/CarmenSandiego is the UrExample for {{Edutainment Game}}s, having enough success to having a lot of videogames (recently one for iPhone), her own animation, comic books and much merchandising.

* ''Barb Wire'' by Creator/DarkHorseComics. Nowadays, it's mostly remembered for its SoBadItsHorrible [[Film/BarbWire movie adaptation]] starring Creator/PamelaAnderson.

* ''ComicBook/HackSlash'', by Tim Seeley and published initially by Devil's Due and later Image, is basically a cross between ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and the Bad Girl tradition. Cassie is a scantily-clad, very cynical anti-hero who is often drawn for extreme fanservice, but in contrary to the usual tropes of the genre she is a BadassNormal fighting supernatural monsters, and she has much more angst, guilt, and self-doubt than is usual for a Bad Girl protagonist, most of whom tend to be cheerfully sociopathic.

* ''ComicBook/{{Elektra}}'', created by Creator/FrankMiller in TheEighties, is usually considered to be another early example of this genre, despite having no occult connections.

* ''Dawn'', created by Creator/Joseph Michael Linsner. Initially she was just a random cheesecake girl appearing on the covers of the horror comic anthology ''Cry for Dawn''. After some time, she was "promoted" to the role of the anthology host, and then started appearing in some stories, getting long overdue CharacterDevelopment. Dawn is an immortal goddess of birth and rebirth, with complicated relations to witches, other gods, and Lucifer. She wields a sword and has a lot of supernatural powers.

Creator/AvatarPress is another indie publisher specializing in Bad Girl Comics.

The Bad Girl Comic is a comic book starring a female lead who is usually {{fanservice}}y to the point of being {{stripperiffic}}, often a vampire, witch or other occult figure, and most certainly an {{antihero}}.

* ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' is basically a cross between ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and the Bad Girl tradition. Cassie is a scantily-clad, very cynical anti-hero who is often drawn for extreme fanservice, but in contrary to the usual tropes of the genre she is a BadassNormal fighting supernatural monsters, and she has much more angst, guilt, and self-doubt than is usual for a Bad Girl protagonist, most of whom tend to be cheerfully sociopathic.

The Bad Girl genre of the nineties was popular enough to survive the Great Comics Crash relatively unscathed. Bad Girl Comics were mostly published by smaller indie publishers, which appeared en masse during the Dark Age. In its heyday Bad Girl Comics gathered a large and surprisingly diverse audience, with female readers comprising a large part of it. That was possibly because the comics featured {{Badass}} ActionGirl protagonists who had cool powers and usually didn't rely on men to achieve their goals. Some female readers also liked the risque costumes, and some even managed to cosplay them despite their improbable designs.

Of course, SturgeonsLaw led to a lot of literally ''bad'' Bad Girl Comics. Bad writers created overly edgy and cliche plots, bad artists turned "sexy" into "horribly mangled anatomy". Even the best examples suffered from a problem common to most comics of the era: they came across as cartoonishly camp and silly to many readers, but instead of being self-aware they often took themselves completely seriously.

During TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, comics revelled in exploring all previously \"forbidden\" themes: violence, gore, crime, cynical grittiness, occult or demonic imagery, sex and sex appeal -- usually cranked UpToEleven. On one hand, we got the NinetiesAntiHero, with emphasis on the \"violence, gore, crime and cynical grittiness\" part. On the other hand, we got this trope.

As the Comics Code waned, comic readers re-discovered pre-Code comic books and comic strips of the late GoldenAge. A lot of them featured depictions of sexy women, featured in various roles: from [[DamselInDistress Damsels In Distress]] to ActionGirl pilot aces to [[FemmeFatale Femmes Fatales]] to outright bloodthirsty villains in some crime books. That style, exemplified in the works of Bill Ward and Wally Wood, was nicknamed \'\'\"good girl art\"\'\' by its new fans. Note that it didn\'t mean \"art depicting good girls\" (since a lot of these \"girls\" were quite \"bad\") but rather \"good art depicting girls\".

Some comic creators decided to combine the sexual allure of \"good girl art\" with other themes that were previously forbidden by the Code: violence, antiheroic attitudes, occult and demonic themes. Thus a new comic genre was born, nicknamed \'\'\"bad girl art\"\'\' or \'\'\"bad girl comics\"\'\' by its fans.

# She\'s got a cynical antiheroic or outright villainous attitude, or is simply beyond good and evil.

# She (and most other female characters) is depicted with an idealized body and skimpy outfits, to maximize sex appeal. It wasn\'t treated as occasional {{Fanservice}} but rather as a staple of the genre.

It should be noted that there are pre-nineties precedents for this genre. In 1940, Fletcher Hanks created Fantomah, a blonde supernatural heroine who was sometimes drawn in a flimsy, entirely sheer garment - but whose face became a skull when she used her powers. \'\'Comicbook/{{Vampirella}}\'\', originally a HorrorHost, was similar in aesthetic to many later Bad Girls, while Italian comics had long combined sexy anti-heroines and supernatural horror.

The Bad Girl genre of the nineties was popular enough to survive the Great Comics Crash relatively unscathed. Bad Girl Comics were mostly published by smaller indie publishers, which appeared en masse during the Dark Age. In its heyday Bad Girl Comics gathered a large and surprisingly diverse audience, with female readers comprising a large part of it. That was possibly because the comics featured {{Badass}} ActionGirl protagonists who had cool powers and usually didn\'t rely on men to achieve their goals. Some female readers also liked the risque costumes, and some even managed to cosplay them despite their improbable designs.

Of course, SturgeonsLaw led to a lot of literally \'\'bad\'\' Bad Girl Comics. Bad writers created overly edgy and cliche plots, bad artists turned \"sexy\" into \"horribly mangled anatomy\". Even the best examples suffered from a problem common to most comics of the era: they came across as cartoonishly camp and silly to many readers, but instead of being self-aware they often took themselves completely seriously.

The genre\'s popularity started declining in the early [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]], most likely because of the growing popularity of {{Manga}} and {{Anime}} in America. Still, some Bad Girl Comic elements got incorporated into mainstream comics, either by [[AscendedFan ascended fans]] or former \"bad girl\" artists themselves. And despite having become a niche genre, original Bad Girl Comics are still present on the market and maintain a rather stable readership.

* \'\'ComicBook/LadyDeath\'\': One of the pioneers of the genre\'s popularity. She was initially conceived as a mortal brought to Hell against her will, where she managed to defeat the Devil who cursed her to never be able to leave Hell as long as there\'s life on Earth -- which she decided to circumvent the obvious way. There are other (later) versions of the character, published by Creator/CrossGen Comics and Creator/AvatarPress, which reinvent the character in different ways, while keeping to the Bad Girl Comic genre.
* \'\'Purgatori\'\': A demon-like vampire goddess who started as Lady Death\'s enemy, and then got her own spin-off series.
* \'\'Lady Demon\'\': Another spin-off character from Lady Death\'s comics. She was Lady Death\'s powerful evil side, created by Lucifer. She later escaped to Earth, possessed the body of a deceased mortal woman, and went on a murderous rampage.
* \'\'Chastity\'\': A vampire punk/goth girl who worked as an assassin for a council of vampires to kill other vampires.
* \'\'Jade\'\': A Chinese vampire-sorceress who controlled a powerful crime family for centuries, and then decided to spread her rule to the other Triad families, and then all of China.
* \'\'Bad Kitty\'\': An ex-cop who uncovered corruption within the police force, had her boyfriend turned into a zombie, and devoted herself to fighting supernatural threats.

* \'\'Pandora\'\': She\'s \'\'the\'\' Pandora from GreekMythology, fighting against the evil that she once released.
* \'\'Hellina\'\': A woman who got magic powers from Lucifer to fight his enemy, and wields a magic dagger that will either purify you of all evil or kill you.

* \'\'ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}\'\'

** A spin-off out-of-continuity comic called \'\'[[ComicBook/{{Twitch}} Switch]]\'\' by longtime Witchblade artist Stjepan Sejic is stated to be published in 2015. However, as it features a teenage heroine and is intended for an all-ages audience, most Bad Girl Comic elements [[LighterAndSofter will be obviously absent]], so it won\'t be an example of this genre but rather a traditional teen superhero story.
* \'\'Aphrodite IX\'\': [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal About an amnesiac android assassin.]]
* \'\'ComicBook/TheDarkness\'\' could be considered a rare male version: its protagonist is a Mafia hitman who became a wielder of the primordial mystical power of chaos and darkness, seized control over the mob and created his own drug cartel, while wearing a rather skintight magical armor over his toned body. However, his series also features \"bad girls\" like The Angelus and The Magdalena.
* \'\'Madame Mirage\'\' is a mid-00s homage to Bad Girl Comics as well as to the pulp vigilante genre (e.g. \'\'TheShadow\'\'), created by Paul Dini. It features a FemmeFatale vigilante with mysterious superpowers on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against an equally mysterious evil corporation. Madame Mirage wears a quite flattering outfit, and her appearance is said to be based on the creator\'s wife.

* \'\'Avengelyne\'\': Co-created by Liefeld and model Cathy Christian, this character was a fallen angel who fought demons.
* \'\'ComicBook/{{Glory}}\'\': During Liefeld\'s original run she was a blatant {{Expy}} of Franchise/WonderWoman with a couple added Bad Girl Comic elements, e.g. she was a half-demon who tried to overcome her evil side. When Creator/AlanMoore came on board, he toned down most of those and turned her into a mix of a cheerful {{Deconstruction}} of Franchise/WonderWoman comics and a prototype for \'\'ComicBook/{{Promethea}}\'\'.

* \'\'ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}\'\': In her 1993 solo series she was reimagined with elements of this genre. It was written by Mary Jo Duffy who later wrote Creator/RobLiefeld\'s \'\'Glory\'\' series, and drawn by Jim Balent who also drew several other Bad Girl Comics.

* \'\'Satana\'\', the Devil\'s Daughter, was one of the earliest example of this genre. She was created in TheSeventies, but wasn\'t used much for decades. She later appeared in all her \"bad girl\" glory in the mid-00s \'\'Witches\'\' miniseries where she played the token evil teammate, and as a BoxedCrook in \'\'ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}\'\'[=/=]\'\'ComicBook/DarkAvengers\'\'.
* \'\'ComicBook/{{Elektra}}\'\', created by Creator/FrankMiller in TheEighties, is usually considered to be another early example of this genre, despite having no occult connections.
* \'\'[[ComicBook/IllyanaRasputin Magik]]\'\' from the Franchise/XMen started as Colossus\' little sister. After some convoluted events, she manifested a dark AlterEgo called Darkchilde[=/=]Darkchylde, who had a monstrous demonic form at the time. Later, she got killed off, and was resurrected in the mid-00s, as Darkchilde. Her new design and persona were heavily influenced by Bad Girl Comics. She later became Magik again, but retained parts of her Darkchilde personality.

* \'\'ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}\'\' is considered the UrExample. Created in 1969 by [[AscendedFan sci-fi and horror fan]] Forrest J. Ackerman and designed by feminist underground comix creator Trina Robbins, she later enjoyed a revival during the Bad Girl Comic craze of TheNineties, and remains relatively popular ever since.
* \'\'Dawn\'\', created by Creator/Joseph Michael Linsner. Initially she was just a random cheesecake girl appearing on the covers of the horror comic anthology \'\'Cry for Dawn\'\'. After some time, she was \"promoted\" to the role of the anthology host, and then started appearing in some stories, getting long overdue CharacterDevelopment. Dawn is an immortal goddess of birth and rebirth, with complicated relations to witches, other gods, and Lucifer. She wields a sword and has a lot of supernatural powers.
* \'\'Razor\'\' by London Night Studios. A violent vigilante on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, she wields blades that extend from her arms causing her pain.
* \'\'ComicBook/{{Shi}}\'\' by Crusade Comics. A brutal half-Japanese warrior on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* \'\'ComicBook/{{Darkchylde}}\'\' by Creator/Maximum Press: Not to be confused with the demonic AlterEgo of Creator/MarvelComics\' ComicBook/{{Magik}}. A girl who is cursed to transform into monstrous creatures of her nightmares.
* \'\'ComicBook/{{Widow}}\'\' by Creator/Ground Zero Comics. A woman with mutant genes of a black widow spider, who constantly struggles against her dark animal (insect?) urges of mating with men and killing them, and fights various enemies.
* \'\'Barb Wire\'\' by Creator/DarkHorseComics. Nowadays, it\'s mostly remembered for its SoBadItsHorrible [[Film/BarbWire movie adaptation]] starring Creator/PamelaAnderson.
* \'\'ComicBook/LadyRawhide\'\': Originally appearing in a 90s Franchise/{{Zorro}} comic series as Zorro\'s sometimes enemy, sometimes ally, this masked vigilante quickly got her own spin-off series.
* \'\'ComicBook/PainkillerJane\'\' by Event Comics. A vigilante who got regenerative powers through mysterious means, she was created by Creator/JoeQuesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.
* \'\'ComicBook/WarriorNunAreala\'\' by Creator/AntarcticPress is often considered one. However, her creator Ben Dunn argued against classifying his comic as this trope, noting that the protagonist has good and altruistic motives, and never resorted to violence.
* \'\'ComicBook/TarotWitchOfTheBlackRose\'\' by Blacksword Comics, created by Jim Balent and his wife Holly Golightly.
* \'\'ComicBook/GrimmFairyTales\'\' by Creator/Zenescope Entertainment, and its various spin-offs. A mid-00s series paying homage to Bad Girl Comics, with settings based on {{Fractured Fairy Tale|s}}. Among the general comic fandom they\'re mostly known for two things: their erotic cover art, and their sizeable female readerbase.
* \'\'ComicBook/BombQueen\'\' by Creator/ImageComics proper. A rather infamous mid-00s homage to the genre, about a sociopathic supervillainess who has taken over her hometown.
* \'\'Fearless Dawn\'\' by Asylum Press is a mid-00s tongue-in-cheek homage to both \"bad girl art\" of TheNineties and \"good girl art\" of TheForties (with a bit of \'\'ComicBook/TankGirl\'\' sprinkled on top). It\'s a cartoonish comic about a heroine in a skimpy costume who fights Nazis and demons.
* Creator/DynamiteComics, who currently owns the rights to a lot of various IP (including most Creator/ChaosComics characters) created a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover event called \'\'Swords of Sorrow\'\' in 2015, bringing together female characters from different genres, including Bad Girl Comics (e.g. ComicBook/{{Vampirella}} and Purgatori). It\'s also something of a \"crossover\" on a meta level, being written by a supergroup of the industry\'s most popular female writers. The publisher did not bag the rights to Lady Death, however, and so introduced its very own Bad Girl as a stand-in: Lady Hel.

* \'\'VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}\'\' can be considered a textbook example of this trope: a kick-ass female antihero protagonist with occult powers wears a sexy risque outfit and dispatches enemies without mercy.
* The Dark Queen in \'\'VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}\'\' was designed closely around this aesthetic.