The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (click for source)
by Aaron Nash
Squirrel Girl……. Just think about that name for a second. I bet you never thought a character with that name would:
1.) Be literally unbeatable, having beaten Thanos, MODOK and even Uatu (the Watcher) in the past without really breaking a sweat.
2.) Be a genuinely engaging heroine who has far more depth than most other ‘seriously’ written superheroes.
And…
3.) Be the basis for one of the funniest and, arguably, cleverest comics Marvel would release in the last 20 years.
Squirrel Girl……. Just think about that name for a second. I bet you never thought a character with that name would:
1.) Be literally unbeatable, having beaten Thanos, MODOK and even Uatu (the Watcher) in the past without really breaking a sweat.
2.) Be a genuinely engaging heroine who has far more depth than most other ‘seriously’ written superheroes.
And…
3.) Be the basis for one of the funniest and, arguably, cleverest comics Marvel would release in the last 20 years.
Click for source
Well they say ‘surprises come when you least expect them’ and this is never more true than of the debut issue of Squirrel Girl’s first solo series. Before reading, I had heard very little about this ‘unstoppable’ hero of the Marvel universe and now I literally can’t get enough.
Doreen Green is just like your average girl; she’s smart, cute, funny, part squirrel and has a best friend called ‘Tippy-Toe’ who happens to be of the tree dwelling rodent variety. Ok, so I guess not everyone has squirrel friends or is part squirrel themselves (but imagine how awesome the world would be if it were true. It’d be amazing!). So when we look past the normalish tendencies we quickly find she’s not so ordinary. She has squirrel blood coursing through her body and may or may not have a large bushy tail. The blood is easy to hide from the outside world, but how does one hide a tail? CAREFUL CHOICE OF TROUSERS….. that’s how!
In this series Doreen faces arguably her greatest test yet in the world of superheroes and villains…. College! Can she succeed on this difficult mission or will she fall at the final hurdle? Well, you’ll just have to find out yourself!
Yes, the story and the character are as preposterous as they sound, but these are some of the factors that make this comic something truly special. Very rarely do you come across a book that is genuinely laugh out loud funny because of the clever writing, without resorting to the crass, childish humour of something like Deadpool ( I know lots of people like Deadpool, but there’s no denying that with the material, it could be far cleverer.) The pacing and the plot are fantastic in this first issue and never feel stale or overlong. If anything it leaves you craving more as it is so fantastic. The dialogue is clever and natural and never feels unjustified.
Doreen Green is just like your average girl; she’s smart, cute, funny, part squirrel and has a best friend called ‘Tippy-Toe’ who happens to be of the tree dwelling rodent variety. Ok, so I guess not everyone has squirrel friends or is part squirrel themselves (but imagine how awesome the world would be if it were true. It’d be amazing!). So when we look past the normalish tendencies we quickly find she’s not so ordinary. She has squirrel blood coursing through her body and may or may not have a large bushy tail. The blood is easy to hide from the outside world, but how does one hide a tail? CAREFUL CHOICE OF TROUSERS….. that’s how!
In this series Doreen faces arguably her greatest test yet in the world of superheroes and villains…. College! Can she succeed on this difficult mission or will she fall at the final hurdle? Well, you’ll just have to find out yourself!
Yes, the story and the character are as preposterous as they sound, but these are some of the factors that make this comic something truly special. Very rarely do you come across a book that is genuinely laugh out loud funny because of the clever writing, without resorting to the crass, childish humour of something like Deadpool ( I know lots of people like Deadpool, but there’s no denying that with the material, it could be far cleverer.) The pacing and the plot are fantastic in this first issue and never feel stale or overlong. If anything it leaves you craving more as it is so fantastic. The dialogue is clever and natural and never feels unjustified.
Click for source
It’s also one of the few ‘family friendly’ comics that I have come across in recent years. There isn’t any bad language, major violence or even any truly dangerous situations. The writing would favour adults just for the fact that some of the humour may slip over the heads of kids, but that is another reason why it is so clever. Just like some of the best family films do in cinema, this captures all audiences and can be enjoyable for all ages.
The art is also as fantastic as the writing. It is never photorealistic and in a way feels much like the American Archie comics from the 1940s - present day. It’s colourful and the characters all have ever so slightly caricature-alised features. On initially seeing the normal comic cover (there are numerous variant covers which are all fantastic) I wondered if it would work. I never should have worried as it fits the fell of the comic perfectly.
As is obvious from my review… I loved this comic. It’s possibly my favourite thing that Marvel has pumped out since X-23: Innocence Lost back in 2006. I am extremely excited to read the forthcoming issues of this series and don’t see how they could let me down (although, as ever, time will tell)
I’d give this my highest recommendation and believe that it is a series everyone should give a chance, just because it is so fantastic and so unbelievably different.
Dying to get your paws on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl after this review? Let us know what you think below!
The art is also as fantastic as the writing. It is never photorealistic and in a way feels much like the American Archie comics from the 1940s - present day. It’s colourful and the characters all have ever so slightly caricature-alised features. On initially seeing the normal comic cover (there are numerous variant covers which are all fantastic) I wondered if it would work. I never should have worried as it fits the fell of the comic perfectly.
As is obvious from my review… I loved this comic. It’s possibly my favourite thing that Marvel has pumped out since X-23: Innocence Lost back in 2006. I am extremely excited to read the forthcoming issues of this series and don’t see how they could let me down (although, as ever, time will tell)
I’d give this my highest recommendation and believe that it is a series everyone should give a chance, just because it is so fantastic and so unbelievably different.
Dying to get your paws on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl after this review? Let us know what you think below!
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