Graphic novels and comic books are known to promote sexist stereotypes when it comes to the female bodies drawn in their pages, yet less attention has been paid to what female characters do and say in these novels. This study examines the roles and dialogue given to male and female characters in four popular graphic novels in order to understand which gendered behaviors are being promoted or vilified by the authors. Cynthia Wolff's research on stereotypical gender roles in modern fiction provides a framework for analyzing male and female character roles within these graphic novels, while Robin Lakoff's research on linguistic expressions of submission and dominance is employed in the analysis of the dialogue. These analyses of character roles and dialogue clearly indicate that the dominance of male characters over female characters is firmly established through the use of lexical keys and stereotyped gender roles.
