The Refrigerator Monologues is a gritty collection of stories from the perspectives of dead(ish) girlfriends and wives of superheroes. Catherynne M. Valente has crafted superheroes (and villains) that feel like they’re straight from the back catalog of DC and Marvel, with obvious riffs on the stories of Aquaman, Spiderman, Jean Grey, and the Joker. I had to look up the other source materials (which were Daredevil and Green Lantern) but they had the very same feel. Even as someone who doesn’t identify as a comic book aficionado, (and I also haven’t seen all the superhero movies - notable gaps include Avengers: End Game and Wonder Woman), I picked up on much of the commentary about the state of women in the genre - especially the character arcs for those women unfortunate enough to love or be loved by a superhero.
In 1999, Gail Simone, a comic book writer, created a website called “Women in Refrigerators” after a scene in the Green Lantern comic where the main character comes home to see his girlfriend dead in a refrigerator. Simone then created a list of women that were “killed, maimed, or depowered” as plot devices to move male character arcs forward, rather than as full characters themselves.
This book gives voices to 5 of those characters who are now dead, and realizing they were only used as backstory for the superheroes. They’re bitter, funny, delusional, and sad. It would usually have been a quick read for me, as it only clocks in at 147 pages, but each story was emotionally potent and required time to digest. The writing was also fantastic - another reviewer said the writing was too good, essentially, for such a topic. I think that’s bull. Just because there are pictures doesn’t mean it is less than literature. If you disagree, check out Maus by Art Spiegelman.
While doing some research, I learned Amazon optioned this novella for a pilot entitled “Deadtown” in December 2018. I couldn’t find anything else on it from 2019 or 2020, but it was originally put forth as an expansion of these characters to form a new superhero universe based on female empowerment. We’ll see if it carries through on that promise - or if Amazon is willing to take a risk on a female group in a male-dominated genre. Only time will tell!
5 stars - beautifully written, emotional, hungry, and angry stories that expand on a niche topic I didn’t even know I wanted to read more about.
Happy reading,
Holly
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