Comic Review – Geek-Girl #0 and Mr. Mash-Up #0

                This past weekend I received an email from Sam Johnson, writer of the abovementioned comics, asking me to review them.  Mr. Mash-Up #0 is a newly released comic while Geek-Girl #0 (the precursor to Mr. Mash-Up) is a recently released variant edition, probably to capitalize on the initial appearance of Mr. Mash-Up.  Regardless, they are new to me.  I have not been paid to write this review and any opinion is mine and mine alone.  I appreciate Sam reaching out to me, but as per usual, I will not be pulling punches if I see something that doesn’t quite work for me.  I will review the issues one at a time, starting with Geek-Girl #0.

                Before I get started though, I need to print this:

Mr. Mash-Up #0, 28 pages, b&w, written by Sam Johnson, illustrated by Bruno Letizia, Eric Lamont & Meisha Mimotofu, and published by Actuality Press is available now in $3.99 Regular and $1.99 Digital/Kindle editions, along with Geek-Girl #0, at www.geekgirlcomics.com . Suggested for mature readers.

This review is going to take awhile, best to go and get yourself a beverage and settle in.

Ready?  Okay, here we go.

Geek-Girl #0

Cover:

                The cover by interior artist Sally Stone-Thompson is not bad.  It has a very classic superhero element to it in terms of a flying character high in the air amongst birds and clouds.  The slight downshot doesn’t lend a whole lot of dynamism, but once you read the story you will realize that, at least at this stage of the game, dynamism isn’t really the point.  I like the fact that the clothesline is entangled on her foot a bit, almost as a tether to the real world and the fact that she wasn’t just born a superhero, she became one.  It grounds her in reality a bit.  I would have liked to have seen something behind her aside from clouds though.  We are clearly looking down ever so slightly, so there should be something on the ground to look at, especially since she obviously flew through someone’s backyard to get the clothesline tangled on her foot.  There are slight anatomy issues on the hands and feet of Geek-Girl, but it is not a deal breaker for me in any way.  The coloring is pretty good and the logo against the light background is effective and easy to read.   

6/10 – It’s a nice simple cover, perfect for a debut issue.

Story:

                The story by Sam Johnson is actually pretty good (and I’m not just saying that for Johnson’s benefit).  It is a nice origin story, which gives us a glimpse of how Geek-Girl got her powers while also leaving a little mystery for future issues.  There are a couple minor plot holes that come to mind, but nothing that really derails the story all that much, and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future they are addressed.  For example, the powers are acquired by a microchip in a pair of glasses.  This is obviously something that Trevor, the creator worked long and hard on in order to impress a girl, and if he really wanted to he could probably sell it to the government for big money…yet he just lets it go in a game of strip poker.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s an incredibly honorable thing to do, but it’s hard to imagine that he is willing to let the glasses go so easily. 

                I would also like to know why Ruby (Geek-Girl’s alter ego) wants them, or more importantly, why she utilizes them after she acquires them.  She states that she wants them because she knows how important they are to Trevor, which seems, to me at least, like a lame reason to want something, but that doesn’t really jive with why she puts them on and utilizes the powers that they grant her.  This also doesn’t paint Ruby in the best of lights as a person.  Is she an anti-hero?  Is she a bad person?  Cheating a drunk guy out of a multi-million dollar project at a game of strip poker is not necessarily the kind of origin you expect from a hero.  I have a feeling that Johnson will address this as the story unfolds in subsequent issues, but a little hint here or there in this issue would have helped.  I also assume we will find out how Ruby realizes the glasses can make her fly.  We see her flying on the cover, and in the beginning of the issue (before the flashback about how she got her powers) she is flying as well, yet there is no mention that the glasses grant that power.  In fact the only power that we are shown during the “origin” sequence is that of super strength.  Again, I assume that Johnson will clear this up eventually; it was just odd to see her flying multiple times in the beginning with no hint that that is one of the powers granted by the glasses. 

                Sam Johnson does write dialogue very convincingly, even in “super-human” situations.  The conversations are believable and something you would expect to overhear, which is a good sign.  The last couple pages feel a bit rushed, like he was trying to squeeze in a villain before he ran out of room, but it does add to the mystery and actually makes me curious about the next issue, so I have to give him a lot of credit for that.

6/10 – This is a good origin story and a very good setup for future issues.  There are a lot of questions yet to be answered about Geek-Girl, her powers, and everyone’s motivations, but Johnson seems like he has the answers, he’s just waiting to reveal them to us. 

Art:

                I will be the first to admit that the manga-style that Sally Stone-Thompson utilizes is not really my cup of tea.  I will also readily admit that it works very well here.  There is really not much in the way of epic superhero action in this issue and she handles the “talking head” scenes very well.  The people can be a bit stiff, and the acting is a bit wooden, but it’s not terrible by any means.  Stone-Thompson starts out exceptionally well in terms of the art, there are a few anatomy issues here and there, but up until the last three pages, the art is solid.  That goes away quickly when Geek-Girl steps outside.  The fact that it’s raining is not that big of a deal, it’s how Stone-Thompson renders the rain that makes it so distracting.  It literally looks like she took a Sharpie and drew lines all over the place.  I’m not sure if she was up against a deadline, burnt-out or both, but the stark dip in quality from the rest of the book makes it look as if this section was drawn by a different artist altogether. 

One of the main problems with Stone-Thompson’s artwork in general is that there is very little variation in terms of the shot selection.  If you look at a page from this comic, you will see that Geek Girl is generally the same size in each panel.  This isn’t too big of a deal when there are fewer panels on the page, but towards the end when the number of panels seems to increase for some reason, we could have definitely benefited from a long shot of the scene, just to establish where the characters are.  The fact that the first sequence where Ruby acquires the glasses is completely devoid of backgrounds, only to be followed by a scene that is rich in them is odd too. 

I love the amount of detail in these two panels.  They are minor in the grand scheme of things in terms of the story, but they do a great job of establishing the scene while providing something interesting to look at.  The curved railing is great!  Stone-Thompson could have easily gone for something more generic here but didn't and should be commended for that. 

In contrast, this is part of a three-page sequence that should be the high-point (the first time Ruby actually uses her powers to help someone) but because of the way the art looks it feels rushed and unimpressive.

6/10 – A solid beginning gives way to a convoluted and (what appears to be) hastily drawn final three pages.  With a little anatomy work and panel variation, Sally Stone-Thompson can be very good at this whole “comic book” thing.

Overall:  6/10 – There are elements here that I don’t care for, but overall, it is an interesting concept that, if fleshed out a bit more (or at least more of it revealed to us as the readers) could be very interesting.  I’m definitely interested to see where this story goes and I would absolutely recommend giving this book a shot.

Mr. Mash-Up #0

Cover:

                I’m not really sure I “get” the cover by Mike Bunt.  It looks like the creepiest Valentine’s Day card ever, and that doesn’t really make any sense based on who Mr. Mash-Up is or what the comic is about.  The illustration itself is nice enough, and the bright white of Mr. Mash-Up in stark contrast to the rest of the cover is effective in drawing your eye to him.  The biggest problem, and where this cover fails exponentially, is with the logo.  I’m not too keen on the logo itself as it is not easily readable in its own right but what makes matters worse is that it is virtually unintelligible on the burgundy backdrop of the cover.  The only thing that even clues me in to the fact that there is text there at all is the white of the gradient running through the letters. 

1/10 – I like the face but the fact that the logo is completely lost amidst the background really hurts this cover. 

Story:

                There are actually three separate stories here.  Sam Johnson is the writer of all three with a different group of artists handling the visuals on each.  The first story, “Voodoo Trespass” focuses on Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman.  It’s kind of like a female version of the Punisher with a little occult magic thrown in.  This is probably the most complete story and despite the dimension hopping that she does (read it and that last part will make sense) it is still remarkably easy to follow.  Johnson does a good job of feeding us more information on Cabra Cini before she became involved in Voodoo, while also showing us why she started to dabble in dark magic through the course of the story and not making it just a big information drop at the beginning.  Mr. Mash-Up makes an appearance at the end, but his significance aside from being there to get in Cabra Cini’s way is not entirely clear.

                The second story, “Return of the Prodigal #!%*” takes place shortly after the first story ends (and that’s one thing Johnson excels at – making the three stories feel sequential and cohesive).  “Return” features a large battle and is therefore a bit confusing at times.  Whether this is on purpose or just a happy accident, I have no idea.  The story itself does give more of a nuance to the character of Mr. Mash-Up and is the first time we have seen him in a “starring” role. 

                The final story, “Gold Town: ‘A Whole Other Thing’” goes back to being about those around Mr. Mash-Up and not about him specifically.  I didn’t care for this story as much, probably more due to the fact that the main character in this issue “Pete the Pimp” is just an unlikable S.O.B. than anything else. 

5/10 – At the conclusion of this issue, I found myself wondering where this was going.  Unlike Geek-Girl, this doesn’t really lay much of a framework for a future issue.  Sure, you can create more stories with the characters, but they aren’t begging for another issue like Geek Girl was.  I really wanted to see where that was going next, with this one…not as much.  If it was part of a back-up story though I would read it.

Art:

I love this page!  You would think that so much going on in the panel borders would make everything kind of confusing, but it doesn't because of how heavily the art is shaded.  I also have to give  Letizia credit for having the cajones to do it.  I'm sure this page alone took a long time to complete.

“Voodoo Trespass” – Bruno Letizia

                The art was decent, had a very “underground comics” kind of feel to it.  Letizia does a good job of acting and storytelling (finally, some variations in the shots!) but the anatomy could use a little work and the shadows feel a little forced at times, like they are there to spot blacks without any other kind of purpose.

It's just hard to tell what's going on.  I though Mash-Up was getting stabbed in the second panel, but he's not.  Color or shading or something to help separate the characters would help, but it really all boils down to storytelling.

“Return of the Prodigal #!%*” - Eric Lamont and Mike Bunt

                Anatomy is an issue again here, and we are back to a bunch of medium shots broken up by a medium-close shot every now and then.  There is a lot of dynamic action which unfortunately gets lost because of the open nature of the art.  By that, I mean that there is very little shading, be it hatching, cross-hatching or just splotches of black which makes it hard to discern who is who and what is what.  Add to that the fact that everything looks like it was inked by a sharpie, with very little line delineation and what could have been is usurped by what is.  This art would have been better served if it was in a colored comic where the colorist could work hand in hand with the other artists to create more space and dimension between all of the elements in the panels.  

I don't even care that the girl's legs are too long in the second panel, the amount of detail and acting here is great, though the way Pete moves in panel five would indicate that the window is on the opposite wall to where it actually is based on panels two and seven.  

Any time you can give me a downshot of a populated bar, I'm game.  I don't know why, I just find them interesting.

If any sequence was calling out for pulling back so we can see the action a bit better, it would be this one.  The slanted panels add some dynamism and is a good stylistic choice, but I had to go back and try and interpret what was going on (it took me a bit to realize that panel two is the back window of the car), and that's not something you want in an action sequence.

“Gold Town: ‘A Whole Other Thing’“ – Meísha Mimotofu and Eddy O’Bomsawin

                The detail is great and the acting of the characters is very well done.  The closing sequence is a little confusing because of the shots that Mimotofu decided to use, but overall the artwork is nice.  The lettering, in particular the choice of font that was used for Pete’s exposition is hard to read. 

6/10 – Mimotofu outshines everyone else here, and O’Bomsawn does a great job inking and keeping everything clear.  I was less impressed with “Return”, but “Voodoo” had some decent artistic moments.

Overall:  5/10:  I like it, not as much as Geek Girl, but it was definitely better than some of the garbage that is being published.  I am interested in seeing what Johnson has in store for these characters, as the concept itself is interesting enough, it’s just some of the execution that is lacking.