View source for Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons

{{Short description|2015 graphic novel trilogy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Suffrajitsu - Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons cover.jpg|thumb|right|The cover of ''Suffrajitsu'', Issue #1.]]

'''''Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons''''' is a [[graphic novel]] trilogy published by Jet City Comics, portraying the adventures of an all-women secret society of [[bodyguards]] who protect the leaders of the radical [[suffragette]] movement during early 1914.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://amazon.com/amazonbookreview/index.html|title=Amazon Book Review|website=Amazon.com}}</ref>

==Publication history==

''Suffrajitsu'' was written by Tony Wolf, with art by João Vieira, colors by Josan Gonzales and lettering by Ed Dukeshire.  Artwork, colors and lettering were supervised by Jasmine Amiri and Dafna Pleban of [[BOOM! Studios]].  Issue #1 was published on January 28, 2015, with Issues #2 and #3 being released on February 25 and March 25.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://suffrajitsu.com/|title=Suffrajitsu}}</ref>

Initial publication was as a series of [[e-books]] via the [[Amazon Kindle]] app, with individual issues also becoming available to both US and international readers via [[comiXology|comiXology.com]]. As of May 2015, collected editions became available via both the Kindle Fire and comiXology.

The ''Suffrajitsu'' trilogy is part of the [[Foreworld Saga]], a shared-world secret history transmedia franchise initiated by [[speculative fiction]] authors [[Neal Stephenson]] and [[Mark Teppo]] via the Subutai Corporation in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foreworld.com|title=Foreworld}}</ref>

A printed collector's anthology edition, also including two other Foreworld graphic novels, ''The Dead God'' and ''Symposium'', was published as ''Blood and Honor: The Foreworld Saga Graphic Novels'' on July 29, 2015.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

==Premise and historical basis==

The majority of characters featured in the ''Suffrajitsu'' trilogy are fictionalized versions of real people and many events and locations shown are also closely based on real history.

The trilogy is set during the height of the English [[women's suffrage]] protests of the early 20th century, which included acts of mass [[civil disobedience]], [[sabotage]], and even [[riots]] as pro- and anti-suffragists battled over the right of women to vote in national elections.  During this period, many suffragettes were imprisoned on charges ranging from [[vandalism]] and [[assault]] to [[sedition]].

In response to the so-called [[Cat and Mouse Act]] legislation, which allowed hunger-striking incarcerated suffragettes to be temporarily released from prison and then re-arrested when their health had sufficiently recovered, the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] established an [[Edith Margaret Garrud#Trainer of bodyguards|all-women bodyguard team]].  Trained by [[Edith Margaret Garrud]], the team - known within the WSPU as "The Bodyguard" and dubbed "jujitsuffragettes" and "Amazons" by the media - frequently clashed with the police, employing [[decoy]] and [[Military deception|subterfuge]] tactics as well as [[hand-to-hand combat]] to protect fugitive suffragettes from arrest and assault.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://womenshistorynetwork.org/suffrajitsu-the-jiu-jitsu-teacher-of-the-womans-war/|title=Suffrajitsu – The Jiu Jitsu Teacher of the Woman's War|date=October 12, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-amazons-of-edwardian-london-kick-ass-suffragette-b-644342073?rev=1422999500817|title=Suffrajitsu: The Amazons of Edwardian London<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

The Suffrajitsu trilogy also refers to numerous circa 1914 events, institutions and social movements notably including [[eugenics]], [[Bohemianism]], composer [[Alexander Scriabin]]'s [[Mysterium (Scriabin)|Mysterium]] and the controversial [[White feather|White Feather]] campaign, which protagonist Persephone Wright rejects on ethical grounds.

==Issues==

Issue #1 of the trilogy follows Amazon leader Persephone Wright and her team as they engage in escalating conflicts with the police in London and Glasgow during early 1914.  Most of the key events depicted in Issue #1 are closely based on real history, including sections of speeches by the politician [[William Cremer]] and both Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

In Issues 2 and 3 the plot dramatically diverges from real history, although major elements and characters are inspired by history.  In Issue #2 the Amazons embark on a daring rescue mission in the Austrian Alps, battling with members of a [[eugenic]] cult called the Order of New Templars and in Issue 3 they must race to prevent a terrorist attack that may have dire consequences for the entire world.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

==Characters==

* '''Persephone Wright''':  a "[[fallen woman]]", expert strategist and the field leader of the Amazons; partially inspired by real suffragettes including [[Gertrude Harding]] and [[Elizabeth Robins]].
* '''[[Emmeline Pankhurst]]''': the leader of the radical [[Women's Social and Political Union]], and a fugitive from the law when the story begins.
* '''[[Christabel Pankhurst]]''':  Emmeline's daughter, and effectively the second-in-command of the WSPU.
* '''[[Edward William Barton-Wright]]''': Persephone's uncle; owner of the [[Bartitsu]] Club (the Amazons' gymnasium/base of operations) and a staunch supporter of their activism.
* '''[[Florence LeMar|Florence "Flossie" Le Mar]]''': a New Zealand-born adventuress.
* '''[[Toupie Lowther]]''': an aristocratic, cross-dressing lesbian motorist, fencer and jujitsu exponent who serves as Mrs. Pankhurst's getaway driver and chauffeuse.
* '''Judith Lee''': an amateur detective and expert lip-reader of Anglo-Chinese descent (adapted from the early 20th century "lady detective" character created by author [[Richard Marsh (author)|Richard Marsh]]).
* '''[[Katie Sandwina|Katharina "Sandwina" Brumbach]]''':  an Austrian professional wrestler and circus [[strongwoman]].
* '''Miss Sanderson''': a silent [[femme fatale]] who is an expert at self-defense with umbrellas and parasols.
* '''[[Katherine "Kitty" Marshall]]''': a quick-witted teenager who keeps her suffragette activism secret from her family.
* [[Vernon Kell|'''Vernon Waldegrave Kell''']]: the Director-General of the newly formed [[British Security Service]].
* '''[[Edith Margaret Garrud]]''' (cameo appearance): the Amazons' jiujitsu instructor and leader of the Palladium Irregulars, a reserve unit of suffragette bodyguards.

==Novellas and short stories==

During 2014 Suffrajitsu author Tony Wolf organised a scheme that produced two novellas and two short stories inspired by the Suffrajitsu trilogy and licensed and published via the [[Kindle Worlds]] platform.  The stories included:

''The Pale Blue Ribbon'', by John Longenbaugh

''The Isle of Dogs'', by Michael Lussier

''Carried Away'', by Ray Dean

''The Second-Story Girl'', by Mark Lingane

With the closure of the Kindle Worlds platform in July 2018, these short stories and novellas are no longer available.

==''No Man Shall Protect Us'' documentary==
In 2018 ''Suffrajitsu'' author Tony Wolf wrote and co-produced/directed the documentary ''No Man Shall Protect Us: The Hidden History of the Suffragette Bodyguards'', detailing the non-fictional, historical activities of the WSPU Bodyguard team.  The documentary was made freely available via the [[Vimeo]] media platform.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dy_Iu63ALY ''The Jujitsu Suffragette''] (BBC mini-documentary)
* [http://thepandorasociety.com/suffrajitsu/ ''Suffrajitsu!''] (Jan. 2, 2015)
* [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/25/edith-garrud-suffragette-martial-arts Edith Garrud: A public vote for the suffragette who taught martial arts] (''The Guardian'', Jun. 25 2012)
* [http://www.bartitsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Jujitsuffragette-interview.wav Radio interview with the author] (BBC World Service)
* [http://www.kindlepost.com/2015/01/guest-post-by-tony-wolf-author-of-suffrajitsu-mrs-pankhursts-amazons.html Inspired by a true story ... no, really] (Amazon Kindle Blog, Jan. 26 2015)
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34425615 ''Suffrajitsu'': How the suffragettes fought back using martial arts] (BBC News article referencing the graphic novel)
* [http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/suffrajitsu The Suffragettes Who Learned Martial Arts to Fight For the Vote] (Article on the suffragette Amazons in history and fiction, with Tony Wolf interview)

{{Emmeline Pankhurst}}

[[Category:American graphic novels]]
[[Category:2015 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Action comics]]
[[Category:Steampunk comics]]
[[Category:Fictional bodyguards]]
[[Category:Comics about women]]
[[Category:Comics set in the 1910s]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1914]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Emmeline Pankhurst]]