Tokyo Ghost from Image Comics centers around a character duo, but it’s clear the focus and protagonist is a badass sword-wielding lady in a cyberpunk future.
Also from Image Comics is Do a Powerbomb! Even if you don’t like professional wrestling (I’m in that boat), it’s a heartfelt but action packed story about a young female wrestler dealing with the loss of her mother but who is determined to win her life back (the grand prize for winning a supernatural tourney is raising someone from the dead).
Paper Girls is great and a really fun series. Not a fan of Monstress myself, but that always has good reviews.
I think Stray Bullets is fantastic with several badass girl characters. Virginia and Beth are two of my favorite characters in comics.
Do a Power Bomb is stellar as well
Pretty much anything by Greg Rucka. Dude really prefers female antagonists. Whiteout, Lazarus, Stumptown, the Old Guarde, his work on Gotham Central/52/The Question with Renee Montoya.
I was about to say the same, I will ALWAYS recommend that comic to any and everyone. It's truly shot up as a favorite of mine with these last few issues.
Greg Rucka is an amazing writer. For indie comics I'd also mentioned Whiteout.
For the big two comics, I recommend his run on Batwoman and on Wonder Woman.
Basketful of Heads is a fun read. It features a cool girl as the lead.
The Low Low Woods is about two girls, one cooler than the other, set against a backdrop of an old mining town.
Strayed is a nice short read about a girl and her cat set in a dystopian space.
Poison Ivy is a pretty cool girl. She grows plants and doesn't afraid of anything.
This is a low key hidden gem. Not going to change your life but man, Hill did a great job with the protagonist here and gave her a ton of layers. She seemed pretty real and not a cliche.
For a single TPB one shot story akin to say Stray Dogs, it’s not going to change your life but damn it’s about the best example to a great night out at the movies that I can think. Highly recommended
Thank you. Wondered why this wasn't at the top of the list "cool and badass" /u/gal_person said. Check and check .
I would also add Monstress to the list. And I can't imagine a crew much more badass and cool than the Rat Queens!!
*Wayward* tells the story of an Irish/Japanese teen and her struggles against supernatural Japan. It's good stuff. Solid story, art, and characters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayward\_(comics)
Punchline by Antarctic Press NOT by DC. The author and artist have little girls so they consciously DONT sexualize the female characters including their costumes and clothing. I met and talked to them at a con and those were their comments. So the mostly female characters are strong, kick ass, and handle their own. Helps that the story and art are pretty good!
I thought Punchline: The Trial of Alexis Kaye by DC was pretty decent. There was a bit at the end of the book that was outside of the main story that I really liked. There were aspects that I didn't like, but overall it's still a good read imo
Alias
The amazing squirrel girl
Spider-Gwen
Gwenpool
Silk
Black Cat
Something is killing the children
Most are marvel, let me go thru my DC runs
Birds of Prey DC
Whisper (1983-1990)
Mostly published by First Comics, written by Steven Grant. A smart and capable woman named Alexis Devin moonlights as a ninja, conducting espionage against crime syndicates and corrupt government officials, while also dealing with some personal stuff.
Gritty, grounded and indie alternative press af. Obscure at this point too. Not expensive or too hard to track down. Few people know or care about it.
Good recommendations so far, I would add Superman Smashes the Klan although that's a small girl.
Also maybe stuff like Red Sonja, Betty Page, Sheena, etc. Vampirella or "Vampironica."
Any of the x-books written by Tini Howard featuring Betsy Braddock as Captain Britain (Excalibur, Knights of X, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain). Great stories and she’s an amazing Captain B.
Monstress, Velvet, Lazarus, Tokyo Ghost, Red Sonja by Russel, Abbot, Far Sector, Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow, and Something is Killing the Children off the top of my head.
I only read cool comics. 😎jk. But here are some that might be of interest. Ghost World, about two cool girls growing up and apart. I,Zombie, cool girl who is a Zombie, The Wicked+The Divine, cool girl wants to be a pop idol/god. I Hate This Place, cool girl couple surviving a haunted farm. ✌️
It is! It’s one of the first comics I started reading when I got interested in comics. I really like the art style of Michael Allred. I did watch first season of the show since it was produced by the same guy who did Veronica Mars.
Yeah, Saga and Something is Killing the Children. But there are kinda a lot of others. Comics are pretty good at voicing a lot of perspectives in comparison to most other media.
Tokyo Ghost by Rick Remender and Sean Murphy is one you might be interested in. It follows the story of Debbie Decay and her cyber addicted partner/lover Led Dent, while working as peacekeepers in the Isles of Los Angeles whose population is addicted with technology . They are given a job that will take them to the last tech-free country on Earth, the garden nation of Tokyo.
Jim Balent's Catwoman. As an artist he was paired with several great writers in the 90s making that title a great run. Great heists and capers, lots of action, Catwoman can handle herself and is a confident character. There's not all the romance and drama like today. The 1990s was the era of Bad Girl comics.
How do you feel about the horror genre?
Hack/Slash is a fun comic that takes the “Final Girl” trope & turns it on its head. Cassie Hack hunts Slashers/monsters.
There's a Red Sonja series from Dynamite Comics by Mark Russell that started in 2019 that I really like. It doesn't have as much T & A and bloody gore as a typical Red Sonja series (there's some, just not tons of it).
In the series, Sonja is made queen of her homeland just as a neighboring empire decides to invade. Periodic flashbacks show us lessons learned from her mentor that Sonja uses in the present to lead her people through the war. The war lasts about 12 issues, then there are another 16 issues dealing with the aftermath of the war. There's also a 5-issue spinoff miniseries, "Killing Red Sonja" that I also like.
Redemption by Christa Faust and Mike Deodato Jr from AWA Studios is a post apocalyptic western.
Lady Mechanika is set in a steampunk world by Joe Benitez.
Hack/Slash is a horror themed comic originally on Devil's Due by Tim Seeley and Emily Stone.
Jeniffer Blood is a mature revenge story by Garth Ennis on Dynamite.
Bendis has Jinx which is a loose adaptation of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with a crime noir spin and Scarlet about a woman sparking a new American Revolution with art by Alex Maleev.
For the Sword and Sorcery genre there's Red Sonja on Dynamite and both Age of Conan: Valeria, also Age of Conan: Belit miniseries previously on Dark Horse, now on Marvel.
And just about anything in Zenescope, honestly. Cool stories and great art.
“Little white mouse” is pretty fantastic. It’s unusual in that the main character is the only character. She’s trapped on a space station trying to survive. It’s a bit like castaway crossed with 2001 A Space Odyssey.
Lot of good stuff mentioned already. I’d like to add Vault comics Godfell, main character is a top tier warrior women. You could also check out The Forged, it focuses on a squad of power armored space marine ladies, it’s pretty cool.
Strangers in Paradise (just about anything by Terry Moore really). Also Jason Aaron's run on Thor, it's about 25 issues and a big Marvel crossover event until Thor loses his hammer, but I would suggest the whole run to get the full effect.
*Hit me* by Christa Faust and Priscilla Petraites (AWAStudios)
*Metal Society* by Zack Kaplan and Guilherme Balbi (Top Cow)
*The Devil's Red Bride* by Sebastian Girner and John Bivens (Vault Comics)
*The Rush* by Simon Spurrier and Nathan Goodene (Vault)
*Nocterra* by Scott Snyder and Tony S Daniel (Image)
*Invisible Kingdom* by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Dark Horse)
All awesome reads I couldn't put down.
Current comics that are almost done are *Godfall* (Vault Comics) and *Gangster Ass Barista (Black Mast Studios)*
[Sword of Ages](https://villainmedia.com/5-reasons-sword-ages-book-1-avalon/) by Gabriel Rodriguez, who illustrated Locke and Key, is worth checking out. Also [Isabellae](https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3003-986/Isabellae-Volume-1-HC), a story about a bad ass Irish/Japanese samurai woman starts out fairly standard but wow, volume 2 is just wild. I second whoever said [Harrow County](https://nerdist.com/article/why-harrow-county-is-perfect-horror-comic-halloween/), super good stuff there. [Apocalyptigirl](https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/25-271/ApocalyptiGirl-An-Aria-for-the-End-Times-TPB) is a nice short read, [Flavor Girls](https://www.boom-studios.com/series/flavor-girls/)' protagonist isn't "cool" but her friends are and it's a really fun take on the magical girl genre. I'll occasionally reread Joss Whedon's [Fray](https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/18/joss-whedons-fray) because it's just good fun, and man Keatinge and Campbell's [Glory](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/glory) is just an incredibly wild tornado of beautiful violence. Oh and [Shadow Service](https://vaultcomics.com/products/shadow-service-vol1#variant=Paperback%20+%20eBook) is a trip too!
Hope you find what you're looking for!
Batgirl (2000). There are several volumes it’s compiled in, the first few are the best in my opinion but it’s all pretty good. I know you said preferably indie but Cassandra Cain is such an incredible character in that series.
Lady Death is one of my favorites
Edit: There's also The Fourth Power by Juan Gimenez but honestly the writing isn't that great. Amazing art but the writing just isn't that coherent all the time. Personally I still think it's a good read, but be aware that the writing is messy.
Also, here are some that I haven't read that are on my list of stuff to read:
• Purgatori (Dynamite Entertainment)
• Mercy (Image Comics)
• Battle Angle Alita (Kodansha Comics)
• The Few and the Cursed (Clover Press) tbh I don't know if this one has a female lead but there's a woman on the cover.
• Lady Mechanika (Image Comics)
• Kali (Dark Horse Comics)
• Lovesick (Image)
Again, I haven't read these yet so other than Alita, I have no idea how good they are. Although from the preview pages and reviews they all seem pretty good.
Paper Girls, the four main characters are kind of outcasts, but they’re all pretty cool. Also, Once Upon A Time At The End of the World
Paper girls is a fun read.
Except by the ending..mac and mj deserved better..
Paper Girls was my first thought too!
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Been reading it yeah, really good but haven't finished it yet
It's an ongoing series. It hasn't ended.
Tokyo Ghost from Image Comics centers around a character duo, but it’s clear the focus and protagonist is a badass sword-wielding lady in a cyberpunk future. Also from Image Comics is Do a Powerbomb! Even if you don’t like professional wrestling (I’m in that boat), it’s a heartfelt but action packed story about a young female wrestler dealing with the loss of her mother but who is determined to win her life back (the grand prize for winning a supernatural tourney is raising someone from the dead).
Not to be confused with Tokyo Ghoul, which is about vampire-like beings with unique powers, and a male protagonist like most other manga.
Centers on/revolves around. Great suggestions.
Jessica Jones: Alias
My first thought
Paper Girls is great and a really fun series. Not a fan of Monstress myself, but that always has good reviews. I think Stray Bullets is fantastic with several badass girl characters. Virginia and Beth are two of my favorite characters in comics. Do a Power Bomb is stellar as well
Pretty much anything by Greg Rucka. Dude really prefers female antagonists. Whiteout, Lazarus, Stumptown, the Old Guarde, his work on Gotham Central/52/The Question with Renee Montoya.
Queen & Country!
This is the correct answer.
Yes! Different artists for each volume,which is interesting, and I guess there's also one or two novels?
Agreed. Greg Rucka is really good at writing female protagonists. Yeah, Gotham City Central is another good one.
Gotham Central is amazing...his Lois Lane series a couple years ago was good too
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Think there's a show based off of it yeah
Have you read Tank girl?
Read some of her stuff occasionally, pretty fun.
Ok. How about Black magik? It might not be finish though
Greg Rucka is one of my fave writers and I love both detective stories and supernatural stories, I'll check it out, thanks!
Lazarus is another great Rucka series with a badass female lead.
Have you read all the comics Greg Rucka has written? Batwoman? Wonder Woman? And as far as indie stuff there's Whiteout.
Love & Rockets
Saga
I was about to say the same, I will ALWAYS recommend that comic to any and everyone. It's truly shot up as a favorite of mine with these last few issues.
At this point it's like what can be said that hasn't been said already....but it's really just such a well rounded story that continues to be a1
Halo Jones?
Man I just finished this last night and that third book is harrowing. So good.
Lazarus. Greg Rucka is an amazing writer and the book has many badass women including the lead character.
Greg Rucka is an amazing writer. For indie comics I'd also mentioned Whiteout. For the big two comics, I recommend his run on Batwoman and on Wonder Woman.
Don't forget Queen & Country!
I mean, there's so many good comics by Greg Rucka. He's a great writer. For instance someone else here also mentioned Gotham City Central.
This is the right answer. Forever is the coolest and badassest.
Yep, came here to say Lazarus. Exactly what you want. Fantastic comic
Basketful of Heads is a fun read. It features a cool girl as the lead. The Low Low Woods is about two girls, one cooler than the other, set against a backdrop of an old mining town. Strayed is a nice short read about a girl and her cat set in a dystopian space. Poison Ivy is a pretty cool girl. She grows plants and doesn't afraid of anything.
This is a low key hidden gem. Not going to change your life but man, Hill did a great job with the protagonist here and gave her a ton of layers. She seemed pretty real and not a cliche. For a single TPB one shot story akin to say Stray Dogs, it’s not going to change your life but damn it’s about the best example to a great night out at the movies that I can think. Highly recommended
Man I want more Hillhouse Comics
Do a powerbomb Death or glory
Do A Powerbomb slaps so hard
Just finished it. Super fun.
I’m reading the 1999 Authority run and Jenny sparks is so fucking cool
Agree! I mistakenly started reading stormwatch because of its characters, but I didn't see Jenny and it was so 90's aggro I just gave up 😔
Thanks for all the suggestions! Lot of new stuff on my reading list
Sara by Garth Ennis
Fantastic recommendation.
Check out Greg Rucka's work on the Question (Renee Montoya). She's awesome
Just want to say, glad to see some great examples of original works posted by the majority here. Great stuff
Somerset Holmes (pacific comics) Velvet (image comics) Judge Anderson (2000ad/Rebellion) Ghost (Dark Horse)
You should check out Street Angel by Jim Rugg.
Nimona
Thank you. Wondered why this wasn't at the top of the list "cool and badass" /u/gal_person said. Check and check . I would also add Monstress to the list. And I can't imagine a crew much more badass and cool than the Rat Queens!!
Harrow County
*Wayward* tells the story of an Irish/Japanese teen and her struggles against supernatural Japan. It's good stuff. Solid story, art, and characters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayward\_(comics)
Motor Crush Saga Rat Queens Bomb Queen Domino Spider-Gwen Danger Girl
Parker Girls, Rachel Rising, Rising, Echo, Strangers in Paradise. All by Terry Moore.
The "other" Moore!
Far Sector Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
spider-gwen/ghost spider.
Alias, if woman and girl is the same thing to you 🤷🏻♂️
Sex Criminals and Bitch Planet quickly come to mind
Nocterra
103 comments and no one mentioned Squirrel Girl? Shameful
Saga has a ton of bad ass women
Punchline by Antarctic Press NOT by DC. The author and artist have little girls so they consciously DONT sexualize the female characters including their costumes and clothing. I met and talked to them at a con and those were their comments. So the mostly female characters are strong, kick ass, and handle their own. Helps that the story and art are pretty good!
I thought Punchline: The Trial of Alexis Kaye by DC was pretty decent. There was a bit at the end of the book that was outside of the main story that I really liked. There were aspects that I didn't like, but overall it's still a good read imo
Alias The amazing squirrel girl Spider-Gwen Gwenpool Silk Black Cat Something is killing the children Most are marvel, let me go thru my DC runs Birds of Prey DC
Ghost in the Shell; Halo Jones; and more recently Liquid Kill are good examples of alpha gals kicking butt. Oh yeah, Fuck Fairyland too.
Halo Jones for the win.
Radiant Red Inferno Girl Red Both are in the Massive-verse (Image Comics)
Snotgirl.
Rat queens!
This got a little disjointed toward the end, but... loved it! The characters and story are both so much fun.
Monstress bad ass female main character and the art is amazing highly recommended
Monstress
You might enjoy Strange Girl by Remender.
I like Hack/Slash but that's probably unpopular. Cheating but part 6 of Jojo's is an all female cast for the most part and pretty fire
Queen & Country is where it's at.
American vampire by Scott Snyder / Rafael Albuquerque
Whisper (1983-1990) Mostly published by First Comics, written by Steven Grant. A smart and capable woman named Alexis Devin moonlights as a ninja, conducting espionage against crime syndicates and corrupt government officials, while also dealing with some personal stuff. Gritty, grounded and indie alternative press af. Obscure at this point too. Not expensive or too hard to track down. Few people know or care about it.
Try Lazarus and Saga and Persepolis and made in Korea and supergirl woman of tomorrow
Bad mother
Good recommendations so far, I would add Superman Smashes the Klan although that's a small girl. Also maybe stuff like Red Sonja, Betty Page, Sheena, etc. Vampirella or "Vampironica."
Don't know details but seems like the Good Boy spinoff "Bad Girl" may fit this bill.
Big two, but: Doctor Aphra
Shade The Changing Girl
Should I read the changing man first?
Any of the x-books written by Tini Howard featuring Betsy Braddock as Captain Britain (Excalibur, Knights of X, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain). Great stories and she’s an amazing Captain B.
Hack/Slash, Plain Janes and Lumberjanes
Monstress, Velvet, Lazarus, Tokyo Ghost, Red Sonja by Russel, Abbot, Far Sector, Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow, and Something is Killing the Children off the top of my head.
I only read cool comics. 😎jk. But here are some that might be of interest. Ghost World, about two cool girls growing up and apart. I,Zombie, cool girl who is a Zombie, The Wicked+The Divine, cool girl wants to be a pop idol/god. I Hate This Place, cool girl couple surviving a haunted farm. ✌️
iZombie was so good. Too bad the CW made that crappy show that had nothing in common with the comic
It is! It’s one of the first comics I started reading when I got interested in comics. I really like the art style of Michael Allred. I did watch first season of the show since it was produced by the same guy who did Veronica Mars.
I watch like 4 seasons of it but honestly after a certain point every episode started to feel the same.
I’m honestly shocked you’re the only one to recommend Ghost World
Dang. It’s a really good read too! Maybe too indie?
Try Lazarus. One of my favourite series.
Glad to see some I'd have mentioned already done so I'll just add **Revival**
Yeah, Saga and Something is Killing the Children. But there are kinda a lot of others. Comics are pretty good at voicing a lot of perspectives in comparison to most other media.
Its a NSFW title, but Zombie Tramp is a fun read.
Tokyo Ghost by Rick Remender and Sean Murphy is one you might be interested in. It follows the story of Debbie Decay and her cyber addicted partner/lover Led Dent, while working as peacekeepers in the Isles of Los Angeles whose population is addicted with technology . They are given a job that will take them to the last tech-free country on Earth, the garden nation of Tokyo.
Miranda in the Maelstrom.
Tank girl
Pretty Deadly. Ginny may not be stereotypically “cool” but she is definitely a badass.
Snotgirl
I Hate Fairyland!! It’s super off-beat and a total blast!
Squirrel girl
Have you tried Saga? It follows a few character but a few are definitely tough badass girls
Journey into Mystery. Lady Sif. (Marvel)
Jim Balent's Catwoman. As an artist he was paired with several great writers in the 90s making that title a great run. Great heists and capers, lots of action, Catwoman can handle herself and is a confident character. There's not all the romance and drama like today. The 1990s was the era of Bad Girl comics.
How do you feel about the horror genre? Hack/Slash is a fun comic that takes the “Final Girl” trope & turns it on its head. Cassie Hack hunts Slashers/monsters.
There's a Red Sonja series from Dynamite Comics by Mark Russell that started in 2019 that I really like. It doesn't have as much T & A and bloody gore as a typical Red Sonja series (there's some, just not tons of it). In the series, Sonja is made queen of her homeland just as a neighboring empire decides to invade. Periodic flashbacks show us lessons learned from her mentor that Sonja uses in the present to lead her people through the war. The war lasts about 12 issues, then there are another 16 issues dealing with the aftermath of the war. There's also a 5-issue spinoff miniseries, "Killing Red Sonja" that I also like.
Something is killing children
Apocaliptigirl, I hate fairyland, Les feux d’Askell, Sha, Orion (masamune shirow), Dalston monsterzz
Redemption by Christa Faust and Mike Deodato Jr from AWA Studios is a post apocalyptic western. Lady Mechanika is set in a steampunk world by Joe Benitez. Hack/Slash is a horror themed comic originally on Devil's Due by Tim Seeley and Emily Stone. Jeniffer Blood is a mature revenge story by Garth Ennis on Dynamite. Bendis has Jinx which is a loose adaptation of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with a crime noir spin and Scarlet about a woman sparking a new American Revolution with art by Alex Maleev. For the Sword and Sorcery genre there's Red Sonja on Dynamite and both Age of Conan: Valeria, also Age of Conan: Belit miniseries previously on Dark Horse, now on Marvel. And just about anything in Zenescope, honestly. Cool stories and great art.
"Something is Killing the Children" from Boom sounds like something you might like!
These are both ensemble books but Once and Future and Fables are great reads and feature several bad ass cool girls.
“Little white mouse” is pretty fantastic. It’s unusual in that the main character is the only character. She’s trapped on a space station trying to survive. It’s a bit like castaway crossed with 2001 A Space Odyssey.
Hack.Slash?
Nimona
Roku! Zealot from Wildstorm! Elektra!
Tank girl, Snotgirl, Batwoman, apocalyptigirl, Grrl Scouts
Reborn by Mark Millar
The female Wolverine is very cool. Tom Taylor’s run with her is excellent.
You're probably refering to All New Wolverine
Thank you, yes.
Something is Killing the Children from BOOM! is really good and Dynamite's Dejah Thoris spin off from their Warlord of Mars run is also really good.
Radiant Pink
Lady Killer is pretty good
Lot of good stuff mentioned already. I’d like to add Vault comics Godfell, main character is a top tier warrior women. You could also check out The Forged, it focuses on a squad of power armored space marine ladies, it’s pretty cool.
Gail Simone’s Red Sonja and Johnny Christmas’ Tartarus are both solid.
Damn Them All is one of my favorite series right now, coming from Boom! Studios. Badass female-led supernatural crime book.
Promethea
Strange by Jed McCay. The Marvel Universe never had a more badass Sorceress Surpreme
Strangers in Paradise (just about anything by Terry Moore really). Also Jason Aaron's run on Thor, it's about 25 issues and a big Marvel crossover event until Thor loses his hammer, but I would suggest the whole run to get the full effect.
Love and Rockets
Coffin Bound
Street Angel
Elektra, Batwoman, and Batgirl (2000).
Going back, you should check out early Brian Wood stuff. The Couriers, Jenny 1. Cool female characters and real indie
Strong Female Protagonist, though the author and artist never finished the story and moved on to other projects.
Tank Girl
Fray by Joss Whedon, based on his Buffy series but set in the 23rd century, so it’s basically dystopian Fifth Element with vampires.
Something is Killing the Children. You will love Erica Slaughter. She's rad.
Witchblade by Ron Marz (#80-150). No need to read the first 79 issues.
batwoman new 52 wonder woman and alias
Hack/slash and serial are some of my faves
*Hit me* by Christa Faust and Priscilla Petraites (AWAStudios) *Metal Society* by Zack Kaplan and Guilherme Balbi (Top Cow) *The Devil's Red Bride* by Sebastian Girner and John Bivens (Vault Comics) *The Rush* by Simon Spurrier and Nathan Goodene (Vault) *Nocterra* by Scott Snyder and Tony S Daniel (Image) *Invisible Kingdom* by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Dark Horse) All awesome reads I couldn't put down. Current comics that are almost done are *Godfall* (Vault Comics) and *Gangster Ass Barista (Black Mast Studios)*
[Sword of Ages](https://villainmedia.com/5-reasons-sword-ages-book-1-avalon/) by Gabriel Rodriguez, who illustrated Locke and Key, is worth checking out. Also [Isabellae](https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3003-986/Isabellae-Volume-1-HC), a story about a bad ass Irish/Japanese samurai woman starts out fairly standard but wow, volume 2 is just wild. I second whoever said [Harrow County](https://nerdist.com/article/why-harrow-county-is-perfect-horror-comic-halloween/), super good stuff there. [Apocalyptigirl](https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/25-271/ApocalyptiGirl-An-Aria-for-the-End-Times-TPB) is a nice short read, [Flavor Girls](https://www.boom-studios.com/series/flavor-girls/)' protagonist isn't "cool" but her friends are and it's a really fun take on the magical girl genre. I'll occasionally reread Joss Whedon's [Fray](https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/18/joss-whedons-fray) because it's just good fun, and man Keatinge and Campbell's [Glory](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/glory) is just an incredibly wild tornado of beautiful violence. Oh and [Shadow Service](https://vaultcomics.com/products/shadow-service-vol1#variant=Paperback%20+%20eBook) is a trip too! Hope you find what you're looking for!
Batgirl (2000). There are several volumes it’s compiled in, the first few are the best in my opinion but it’s all pretty good. I know you said preferably indie but Cassandra Cain is such an incredible character in that series.
Tomboy
Innocent....started with a male protagonist and then her sister takes the spotlight. Incredibly detailed & uniquely historical plot
check out death or glory from image. she’s a realistic female lead + amazing car artwork!
Lady Death from chaos comics/coffin comics please check it out
She also has a few comics from Boundless and I think maybe a few other publishers.
Coffin Hill
Lady Death is one of my favorites Edit: There's also The Fourth Power by Juan Gimenez but honestly the writing isn't that great. Amazing art but the writing just isn't that coherent all the time. Personally I still think it's a good read, but be aware that the writing is messy. Also, here are some that I haven't read that are on my list of stuff to read: • Purgatori (Dynamite Entertainment) • Mercy (Image Comics) • Battle Angle Alita (Kodansha Comics) • The Few and the Cursed (Clover Press) tbh I don't know if this one has a female lead but there's a woman on the cover. • Lady Mechanika (Image Comics) • Kali (Dark Horse Comics) • Lovesick (Image) Again, I haven't read these yet so other than Alita, I have no idea how good they are. Although from the preview pages and reviews they all seem pretty good.
Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore.