Jirel of Joiry

Cover art of a recent omnibus edition, by Arnold Tsang

Jirel of Joiry is the heroine of a series of Sword and Sorcery short stories by C. L. Moore, running from 1934 to 1939 in Weird Tales. Notable for being the first female Fantasy hero. The stories are:

• "Black God's Kiss"
• "Black God's Shadow"
• "Jirel Meets Magic"
• "The Dark Land"
• "Hellsgarde"
• "Quest of the Starstone" - A Crossover story with her other famous character Northwest Smith, co-written with her husband Henry Kuttner.

Tropes used in Jirel of Joiry include:

• Action Girl: Jirel.
• Chainmail Bikini: Averted, no matter what the cover art of the Planet Stories edition would have you believe.
• Crossover: With Moore's SF character Northwest Smith. This is not as mad as it sounds - both characters often end up in strange realms facing powerful, mysterious creatures and the word "magic" even pops up a few times in the Northwest Smith stories.
• Eldritch Abomination: The Black God. Pav might also qualify.
• Feminist Fantasy
• Fiery Redhead: Jirel.
• Religion Is Magic: Wearing a crucifix will protect one against the Black God's realm.
• Narrative Profanity Filter
• No Ontological Inertia: Jarisme's tower returns to its original location after her death.
• Samus Is a Girl: Jirel's introduction.