Review: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #36

Marvel“s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a monthly reminder to us all of what good comics have always been about ”“ and for whom good comics were originally made. In contemporary times, adult comics ”“ “serious”“ and salacious graphic narratives often dominate popular discourses on comics. We (at CC) are as guilty of that dominance as anyone else. But comics were originally for the children ”“ not the little kid inside all of us adults, but for actual young people. And comic books were “targeting”“ American youth well before “middle grades”“ or “young adult”“ were formulaic markets to be leveraged for maximum profits.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a book that transcends these categories and effortlessly delights readers with powerful stories that resonate with our complicated times. MGDD #36 ”“ “You“re Not Asking the Right Questions”“ is part five in a story arc centering on the fate of Lunella“s (aka Moon Girl) school. Like most American children, Lunella attends a public school ”“ P.S. 20 in New York City. Like most American children, Lunella“s school ”“ her education in fact ”“ is over determined by high-stakes standardized testing, that too often has little to do with actual class room learning and too much to do with political maneuvering and municipal planning plagued by profit motives.

In “You“re Not Asking the Right Questions,”“ readers are confronted with the realities of our current public education conundrum. If, as a society, we actually do not place a premium value on public education, then what will be the fate of generations of undereducated youth? But maybe this isn“t the right question to be asking. For Lunella and her devilish dinosaur sidekick, the more pertinent questions to ask are: who is sabotaging our public education system and why is it so easy to rig and/or manipulate the public education system for private profit and personal gain? The answers to these questions point directly to those in power in the city of New York. In this case ”“ a former criminal Kingpin who is now the mayor of the city can create a carve out for his child and set in motion forces ”“ physical and otherwise ”“ that might destroy PS 20 forever.

The destruction of a public school may not (on the surface) seem to be the most disastrous outcome for a hero who is the most intelligent person in the world, but that is what makes Moon Girl so valuable to all of us as a hero. It is, for her. For Moon Girl, education matters. And even though she could just as easily be at MIT as she is at PS 20, she implicitly understands the value of public education for the greater good of our society. And this empathy, her compassion, as much as her intelligence is what makes her one of the most important heroes to watch, read, and cheer for in these crazy times. 4.5/5

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(W) Brandon Montclare (A/CA) Natacha Bustos