This work follows Allison Green, formerly Mega Girl, as she tries to navigate her “post-super,” life. After years on the beat, she’s given up crime-fighting (but retains her powers). In her, “new,” life, she has to juggle college, volunteer firefighting, and a world that hasn’t let go of her previous identity. As such, she struggles with the ethics of super-heroism, and how to truly change the world for the better.
Pros:
- It’s in color now, and the production values have obviously increased. This alone addresses one of my annoyances from the previous book (e.g. that characters could sometimes be hard to differentiate).
- The story is still an interesting deconstruction of the superhero genre; I appreciate that the story considers the practical and philosophical implications of superheros in the “real world.” As an added bonus, the writing is less heavy-handed than it was in the previous omnibus.
- The story continues to set up a lot of threads to potentially pay off. This could be a pro or a con depending on how things shake out in the coming volumes, but I am listing it as a pro for now (because the story is ongoing).
Cons:
- Action scenes are still scattered and only OK, especially in comparison to more battle-focused work (e.g. “One Punch Man”). If that’s what you are looking for, you will be better served elsewhere.
- I like that the author considers how the emergence of superheros might affect other countries. With that being said, I was disappointed at how small a role these vignettes play (e.g. mentioned briefly in dialogue without ever really crossing over into the “main” story).
- This collection was released in 2018, and nothing has been published since. As near as I can tell, the work is (and will remain) unfinished. You can see a final message from the author and illustrator here.
Conclusion:
The book doesn’t rise to some of the greatest heights of comics, but it’s fun for what it is. The philosophical underpinning and debates were better integrated into the story this time (via an actual philosophy professor), and the fact that the comic is in color makes a big difference. With that said, it’s hard to recommend this one, given that the work is now on indefinite hiatus. Oof.
Check it out here.
You may also enjoy…
- “Rat Queens (Vol 1),” by Kurtis J. Wiebe
- “The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins,” by the McElroy Family
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