Comic Stack 03/04/15: Leading Ladies

This week’s stack (which should’ve been last week’s stack, but I got all caught up in my emotions about another leading lady, Silk) features some leading ladies in comics. We take a trip with five girls at a camp for Hardcore Lady Types. We learn that a third-rate cosmetic company will likely be the cause of a zombie outbreak that only affects women and only men get eaten. Finally, we put on our spiked leather jackets and brass knuckles to team up with The Fever!

Bonus: There’s music! (Thanks to Lumberjanes for inspiring this, and okay, there are three comics and I only made 2 playlists. LANGUAGE WARNING on some of these songs.)

Lumberjanes #1 by Grace Ellis
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Genre: Leading Ladies, Action-Adventure, Comedy

Friendship to the max is what this book promises and is also one of the mottos for Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. Five friends go into the woods after camp curfew after encountering an old lady outside of their bunk that turns into a bearwoman. Of course, they had to investigate, which ends in an epic fox fight where they’re warned by the three-eyed foxes to “Beware the holy kitten,” but not before one of the girls totally punches one of the foxes into stardust or something.

For their effort, they’re scolded by their bunk leader, Jen, who takes them to their camp leader, Rosie, where they recount their adventure in true teenage girl fashion. They’re not punished for breaking eight camp policies, which is a relief because who wants their parents called.

I don’t even know what’s going with this one, but it seems fun. There’s already a strong message of friendship and adventure in the book. I’m going to keep reading it for that reason alone. I think there is a first volume out, so I plan to read it soon because I think this could end up being the type of book that my daughter would enjoy, too. Also, there’s a soundtrack at the end of the book, so that’s important.

Listen to this WONDERFUL playlist (that I didn’t even have to make up myself because they did it for me) Fox Fight Jams!

I’m an audiophile and I’m easy like that.

Alpha Girl #1 by Jean-Paul Bonjour, Jeff Roenning
Publisher: Image Comics
Genre: Leading Ladies, Zombie Horror, Comedy

“Well, I would love to tell you that the world ends due to some beautiful cosmic event.”

The world is in chaos, overrun by female zombies who attack men thanks to a (third-rate) cosmetics company who thought it would be idea to start messing around with pheromones for a project. Judith and her little brother, Buddy, are wards of the state. A brief backstory reveals that they’d always fended for themselves. Their mother was a drug addict, and after she overdosed, Judith was bounced from home to home for a while before settling in one. Buddy, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. After being preyed on twice and defending himself, he ends up in juvenile hall where he won’t be paroled until he’s eighteen.

This is a zombie story. I hate zombies. I hate zombie stories. Correction, I usually hate zombie stories. There have been exceptions to this, as with anything else. I tend to like zombie stories that seem to be more about the people of the story rather than the zombies themselves. The Walking Dead for instance, I enjoy that because of the characters and the stories they have to tell. I’m more interested in how people are shaped by a zombie apocalypse than the actual zombies. I also enjoy stories that provide some interesting take on zombies such as a virus being the actual cause or have some technological basis rather than death or give some interesting perspective from the zombies’ POV.

This book doesn’t go too much into Judith’s role in this story. It only serves to give us a glimpse of what’s going on in the world and where Judith comes from. These are important things we to know since we need to know how the virus started and we need to know what factors will motivate her to do something about the situation she’s in now. Despite there being an interesting premise of cosmetics being at fault, I’m a little on the fence. I’m curious, but it’s not the type of curiosity that would compel me to pick up another book.

Curb Stomp #1 by Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Genre: Leading Ladies, Action-Adventure, Crime

In an unnamed city surrounded by three boroughs, three gangs protect their respective turfs. While the city sleeps safely, the surrounding areas are left to fend for themselves with little to no protection. The Wrath protect Newport, the Bayside Five protect Bayside, and the Fever protect Old Beach. The Fever is the main focus of this story.

They’re group of tough women who’ll do whatever it takes to protect their home and each other. The Fever consists of Daisy Chain, Bloody Mary, Derby Girl, Violet Volt, and their leader, Machete Betty. In a moment of self-defense against some encroaching rival gang members, Machete Betty loses her temper and makes one bite the curb setting off a chain of events that threaten to be disastrous for the women, but they’re going to see each other through this–whatever it takes.

I loved, loved, loved this book and everything about it. I love the art. I love the gritty, visceral story. I love the girl power message that’s steeped in an aggressive, take-no-shit attitude. While the women of this book are tough, I have to love the tender moments between them showing their sisterly love, too. There was literally nothing I didn’t like about this book except that it was too short. It reminds me of how I felt about Saga when I first started reading it. Instantly hooked and ready for the next book in this series. I am so enthusiastic about this series.