For those who are into feasting on multiple issues of the same book, Henchgirl #2 through #6 is available. It’s been a while since we looked at Henchgirl #1, so time for a recap.
Mary Posa is a lazy, tad neurotic small time criminal, who has a heart of gold. Along for the ride that is her adventures is a cast of characters who tend to enforce some neurosis or another. The books are set ups for the best laid plans that end up getting turned around.
Kristen Gudsnuck is the creator/writer/artist of the book and her dedication to the book and the characters is clear to see. The writing of the book tends to follow a set structure; Mary has a plan, she bumps into a fellow criminal or hero that she knows in her civilian life and things tend to then go wrong. The book, for the most part, reads well, the humour of the situations are funny the first few times but after a while, Mary crying either tears of joy or sadness does tend to get boring. The key to the book is Mary’s dialogue and her realizations creating a type of observational humour.
Gudsnuck’s art has a cartoony style that works for this story. Her characters are expressive and the story flows well through the panels. I would go as far to say, that with a more polished look, Gudsnuck could work on a book like the current (pre-Rebirth) Batgirl or soon to be cancelled Black Canary book. Either of these books have a less than traditional approach to art, which with her work on her own book clearly showing an understanding of storytelling, Gudsnuck could easily compete with that competition.
As with the aforementioned DC books, I am not the target audience for Henchgirl. As such, it’s really difficult for me to get really excited about the book. This is by no means a problem that Gudsnuck has caused or needs to worry about. I have a number of friends who love this type of book.
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer/Artist:Â Kristen Gudsnuk
Publisher: Scout Comics
Author Profile
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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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