You have 24 hours to save the world, so who do you call? No, not Ghostbusters – that decision would haunt you forever – and not ‘girl power’ which fizzled out at the turn of the century. What you want, what you really, really want (curse them there Spice Girls), is the new breed of female superhero. Thankfully, this volume provides a guide to over fifty female superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe who are more than capable of saving our vulnerable planet from invading aliens and nasty tyrants.

To easily see their distinctive powers and abilities, this book is divided into four sections that classify them according to Determination, Daring, Compassion and Curiosity. It’s a tough choice deciding whether the determination of Captain Marvel, Storm or Hellcat is better at world saving than the daring of Thor or Spectrum, the compassion of Firebird or Medusa or the curiosity of She-Hulk or Moon Girl. Each character gets a double page spread that includes a short biography and a comic book illustration of them in dazzling colour. Their friends, allies and role models are helpfully cross-referenced so you can easily navigate to other pages and get an overview of how they relate to each other.

The foreword by Marvel Comics writer Kelly Thompson reveals they are not all about slaying our enemies, they are about giving us aspirations and hopes for a better future. As a girl, Kelly read about the epic adventures of female superheroes, inspiring her to become a writer and to create equally fascinating characters to fight for justice and tolerance for new generations.

So who are you going to call?

FEARLESS AND FANTASTIC! FEMALE SUPER HEROES SAVE THE WORLD / AUTHOR: SAM MAGGS, EMMA GRANGE, RUTH AMOS / PUBLISHER: DORLING KINDERSLEY / RELEASE DATE: 18TH DECEMBER