If on-screen representation reflects their position in society, older women are unfamiliar creatures at best; monstrous aberrations at worst. You only have to consider how they have replaced the long-haired little girl in horror movies in recent years. It Chapter 2, Hereditary, A24’s X, and even Netflix series Marianne, have shown us that there is nothing more chilling than the uncovered, aged female form. The Hagsploitation and Psycho-biddy sub-genres are thriving.
At the same time, roles for actresses continue to dry up beyond a certain age, leading female performers to fill and stretch all lines from their face in an attempt to appear younger than they really are. As for video games, identifying titles with playable women protagonists over the age of 40 (maybe even 35) is a virtual needle-in-a-haystack hunt.
All of this is a roundabout way of saying that beyond a certain age, women in Western society are shunted to the sidelines; made Other. Youth, beauty (piggybacking on youth), and fertility are still the hallmarks of female value, and when those qualities fade, women become irrelevant. They’re cast aside and forgotten.
Five-part comic series Golden Rage puts a literal, bloody spin on this abandonment, depicting a reality where older women are dumped on an island to fend for themselves. Cue Lord of the Flies and Yellowjackets-esque tribalism in a no-holds-barred battle for survival.
Published by Image Comics, Golden Rage comes from an all-woman creative team fronted by writer Chrissy Williams, a published poet and editor on The Wicked + The Divine; and artist Lauren Knight, who has worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They’re joined by colourist Sofie Dodgson, flatter Shayne Hannah Cui, letterer Becca Carey, and editor Joamette Gil.
If Golden Rage is sounding bleak at this point – perhaps a little too painfully relevant as it positions women’s perceived “usefulness” as entirely body-centric – here’s something that may hook you back in. Golden Rage is most often described as Battle Royale meets The Golden Girls.
Amidst the brutality in Golden Rage, there’s humour, sometimes spiky camaraderie, stiff joints, and cats. Though it doesn’t dive deep into plot and motivations, serving instead as an introduction, Issue 1 of Golden Rage strikes an excellent balance between violent action and quieter, character-focused moments. The shift between the two states is emphasised by a switch from a ruddy colour palette to warm, fresh shades. Knight’s line work also sits on that fine line between edgy and slice-of-life expressive, and is adept at serving the changing tonal needs of the story.
For the record, the reader is introduced to the world of Golden Rage through Jay, a newcomer to the island who is notable for her youth in comparison to the other women. Through Jay we learn that the greatest threat on this “crone island” is The Red Hats, a merciless group out to claim all resources for themselves. It’s also through Jay that we meet a trio of older women who do one helluva job at showing the resourcefulness and diversity of this dismissed segment of society.
Sweet-hearted, talkative Lottie is the most grandmother-like of the women, fitting convention (at least at first glance). But there’s also insightful, cynical Caroline, coming from a background in academics; and Rosie, a woman of few words, with steel muscles to match her steel-grey hair. No cookie cutter grannies here. Every one of these characters is complex, giving the finger to typical assumptions about older women.
And, yes, the first issue of Golden Rage even manages to squeeze in depiction of the naked aged female form. Here it appears as something matter of fact and natural, instead of repulsive.
It’s still early days for Golden Rage. As already mentioned, Issue 1 simply lays a first foundation layer. That said, it’s something different, with admirable representation-expanding goals, and a lot of potential to tell an entertaining story that runs the full gamut of emotions. All while getting readers to question their attitudes to older women.
Golden Rage #1 is available from today, 3 August, while the collected five-issue edition releases 28 February 2023. Whether you collect the series issue by issue, or wait for the trade paperback, make sure to pick up your copy. Do it for the grans!
One final note is that August is a good month at Image Comics for badass women treated with nuance and relatability. One week after Golden Rage #1 hits physical and digital stores, it’s the turn of The Deadliest Bouquet, about three estranged sisters who reunite to solve the murder of their secretive, Nazi-hunting mother. We’ll be reviewing that one soon.