Advance Review: Paradox Girl: First Cycle
A couple of years back, The Random Dude Josh invited me onto the UCPN podcast Flipside Focus. On the pod we discussed Indie books and I had one job; pick a Kickstarter to talk about! As luck would have it, he had already picked Paradox Girl; I picked something else. You would think that this would make Josh my mortal enemy, right? Not at all, thanks to him I got to read the first three issues of the series, the first three you will find in this trade. As for my pick, I am sorry to say, I can’t remember what it was. But Para (to her friends), certainly made an impression.
This trade collects the issues that made its successful Kickstarter debut and I am pleased it went from strength to strength. Basically, Paradox Girl has teleportation and time travel powers and looks good in a suit and thigh highs. What makes this such an enjoyable read is that Para has zero responsibility to the tine line. If something goes wrong, zip back do it again, or in some cases not. This can lead to continuity headaches, but only if you really want to look for them. Instead enjoy the conversations she has with her earlier / later selves as they show the innocence of a girl who believes, with great power, comes the ability to get more Waffo’s!
Writer and creator Cayti Elle Bourquin certainly has her head screwed on. As the force behind the various time jumps, in jokes and more time jumps, how everything is kept straight is beyond me. Wisely ignoring the majority of time travel rules, her Para has a sense of logic and decision making that is set at either the easiest thing to do, the dumbest thing to do, and if that doesn’t work, the most absurd thing to do. Now for all the comedy, and there is plenty, there is also some >ahem< time to have a heart to heart that is very sweet. I can not state how well Bourquin does, mixing the insane with more insanity that actually kind of makes sense. There are two distinct elements to the dialogue with conversations between the strait-lace Axiom Man about responsibility totally ignored for conversations that, due to the time jumps is either with herself before or after she makes a decision and on some occasions, herself after a number of decisions. To say that you have to hold on for your life is a bit of an understatement.
The art, for the main part, is supplied by Yishan Li who incorporates a Totally Spies vibe into the panels. Li’s art also has a manga feel with massively expressive faces, at least for the main character. The panels are character focused which at times can result in blank or detail-less backgrounds. This though is a minor point for Li perfectly captures the humour elements that permeate this book. Li does well to keep up with Bourquin’s chaos, though it should be said, that Li certainly gets plenty of practice at drawing the lead character. The colors are bold and bright, fitting the book and the collaboration of letterers work so well that you don’t even notice any differences.
This collection shows just how fun comics can be, especially if you don’t apply any rules regarding time travel; please take note Avengers: Endgame! In Paradox Girl, you have a character that is driven by impetus rather than any sort of social requirement to be a hero; let’s be honest, would we all be a little like that with her powers. Through in the fact that despite any perceived flaws, she is her own woman, strong and confident in her abilities and in her self.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Cayti Elle Bourquin
Art by; Yishan Li
Additional art by; Harley Williams, Suzanne Elisabeth Miller & Stuart Wallace Miller
Fonts by; Apostrophic Labs, Vernon Adams, Anja Meiners, Nate Piekos and MS & Canada Type
Published by; Image Comics
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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