Review: Sheena Queen of the Jungle - Fatal Exams #1

Am I really that transparent? Am I really that easy to coerce? Did you really think that giving me a book to review full of college girls in thigh highs would get a review out of me? You’re damn right it will! Sheena Queen of the Jungle returns with a new series from Dynamite Entertainment as the leopard print wearing heroine enters the most vicious of jungles…the classroom!

It seems that Sheena is in need of the art of civilisation. So she has been enrolled into the finest of girls boarding schools. With her out of the way, Cardwell Inc. has a free run at Sheena’s home the Val Verde rainforest. But in a strange land, will the hunter become the prey or is there something even deadlier on the prowl?

The book is written by Steven E. De Souza and Wes Clark Jr. , the former responsible for the Sheena reboot concept. The pair capture the fish out of water elements well enough. Its not a new concept, even with school girls; a great example of this type of story is Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes #1 by Grant Morrison, which has Steph Brown Batgirl infiltrate an assassins school, not to mention several seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Here the pair have a few plates spinning; Sheena in school, poachers in the jungle and a witch of sorts. That’s quite a lot to get through setup. That’s a lot of talking!

The verbiage is off-set by some gorgeous art. I guess, given the setup for the book, there is a specific look required and Ediano Silva manages that in spades. All the girls look great, the bad guys are hulking but it is the various locations and situations that make the book sparkle as much as the plethora of legs and short skirts. I do have a question; if Sheena is protecting animals, why does she wear a leopard skin? A small point, sure. Along with the figures, the faces of the characters also work throughout. A very impressive achievement. Colors are supplied by Renato Spiller who gives the book a kind of dark and gritty scheme, not sure it works in the school scenes but hits on other pages. Have a book filled with dialogue? Need a letterer to drop a great font but not distract from the art? You need Taylor Esposito, which is whom delivers his usual standard of quality to proceedings. Finally, there are a raft of covers to choose from; whilst I generally go for Joseph Michael Linsner (see the banner), it is truly buyer’s choice.

I was buying the previous Sheena book before I felt it ran out of steam. Hopefully with a distinct setup, story compression will not eke out the fun elements that is so prevalent in this engaging first issue.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art -5 Stars
Color – 4 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Wes Clarke Jr & Steven E. De Souza
Art by; Ediano Silva
Colors by; Renato Spiller
Letters by; Taylor Esposito
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

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