Jessie Robertson reviews Danger Girl: May Day #1…
“An all-new cast of sinister characters! Secrets from Deuce’s past! And the shocking return of the deadliest (and sexiest!) Danger Girl villain of all-time! Fans of the original and best-selling Danger Girl series CAN’T MISS what’s sure to be the wildest adventure of the year! Plus… a mysterious Major lurks in the wings!”
Danger Girl first debuted in 1998, in the time of “big” in comics: Big Guns, Big Action, and Big Breasts. It’s about a group of super spy women who each bring a spy skill to the table and engage in dangerous espionage and secret missions worldwide. Danger Girl has spawned over 15 different series, that have shown them in Manga and 3-D, as well as finding themselves teaming with G.I. Joe, Batman and even Ash from the Evil Dead series. They even had their own video game. I think the important question is how, after nearly 15 years do you keep this book fresh and modern it to the times when story is just as important as the great and testosterone-fueled imagery this kind of book is known for?
One way is to bring in one of the co-creators of the book, Andy Hartnell (the other creator is one J.Scott Campbell, of Gen 13 fame) and retool the story. Spy stories always invariably need a bad guy to go after, a group trying to take over the world or blow it up; in past Danger Girl stories, the Hammer Empire, an evil ideological Nazi-type group bent on taking over the world in their own image. This go around, the story is another great aspect of the spy genre: forgetting who you are.
I’m not that familiar with Danger Girl lore so bear with me but it appears the Girl herself, Abbey Chase wakes up on a weapons freighter with no memory of who she is or where she is; she combs through her memories, encountering scenarios, familiar faces, etc. trying to regain some sense of herself. She was found burned, bloody and broken but in her recovery time she has remarkably healed herself of all injuries. She was kept watch over by another woman who is completely intrigued by this person. The book is a perfect first chapter to catch up old fans and introduce her to new ones. I’m excited to see where this story goes and what kind of team she puts together and who is game to blow up the world this time. And if I may, a modest request to the artist: Give us some Sydney in the catsuit?
Jessie Robertson
Originally published April 24, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
