Anyone who’s read my previous reviews and listened to my podcasts know I enjoy female leads in comics. I also enjoy it when those women are varied – in other words, not as perfect as some others may prefer them to be.
So along comes Geek-Girl #1 from Sam Johnson and company. She’s seriously out of her league when super-powers come to her, and it’s fun to see her journey begin, knowing that she has a long way to go before we see her final adventures.
GEEK-GIRL #1
Writer: Sam Johnson
Artist: Carlos Granda
Colorist: Nahp
Publisher: Markosia/Actuality Press
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in GEEK-GIRL: When “Little Miss Popular” Ruby Kaye lands a pair of super-tech glasses (invented by brainiac college geek Trevor Goldstein) in a game of Strip Poker, she’s granted flight, super-strength, and – due to a flaw in the glasses’ programming – super klutziness! And this is just the beginning of changes the glasses will wreak on Ruby!
WHAT IF YOU RECEIVED SUPER-POWERS?
I always enjoy Sam Johnson’s writing because he has a particular way with dialogue. I always find the people he’s writing to be real, genuine and someone I just might meet in my day-to-day life.
Given that this book is about someone with super-powers, that’s really important! Ruby Kaye is in a place just about all of us geeks would love to be! But she’s got a lot to learn, from how important a secret identity is to functioning in a world with heroes and villains. Sam makes her fly off the page, sorry for the pun, and I feel for her as she struggles to deal with the changes happening to her so quickly. I also like his ability to breathe life into her supporting (and, I guess, opposing) cast. I really enjoyed getting to know these people!
The book also poses the question: What would happen to US in the real world if we received powers like Ruby receives? I actually think she does a better job of adapting than most of us, myself included.
Is she perfect? No, thankfully! I have many friends who tell me a woman lead character in storytelling must be benign, maternal and flawless so that she’s an example for other women. See, I don’t buy that approach because men can be everything from ideal to scoundrels when they are leads, and that’s okay! I like it when women fall in that spectrum and are actually human, frankly!
Sam does a very good job of setting up things that will take place in future issues, including the brother of a super-heroine who Geek-Girl must avenge. What’s up with him? I gotta know!
I found the pacing overall quick and fast-moving, but even the times when there are conversations going on, I was pulled forward. Of course, knowing super-hero lore is a big advantage in this title, but Sam has a friend for Ruby who helps her along these lines … and can be a boon to those readers who many not understand what capes and cowls are all about, too.
ART THAT MATCHES THE STORY
I found the art in this issue to work well with the script, doing an excellent job with facial expressions as well as action sequences.
I also liked the use of colors and various shadings on Geek-Girl and those around her. There was no static coloration unless it moved the story along, and that didn’t happen often.
BOTTOM LINE: A NUMBER ONE WORTH READING
It’s taken some time for Sam to get the team together, but I think he’s done very well in making this issue sparkle and be worth your hard-earned quatloos. It’s important to me that the women aren’t just “men with (female appendages),” as some like to say. They’re people and yet still believable, and I look forward to following the adventures of Ruby, her friends and foes in the months ahead. Geek-Girl puts the human back in super-human.
As I read this issue, I keep wondering just how I and my friends would deal with the circumstances Ruby finds herself in. Speaking for myself, I’m glad she’s the one figuring out what to do! I wouldn’t be nearly as successful!
Geek-Girl #1 debuts this Wednesday, November 2, on Comixology. Print versions are also available from Markosia in the future. For more information, go to this link!
[taq_review]
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.