This is more like it. The hit rate for the jokes is high and the drama involving the characters is much more grounded than the concept suggests.

Fun, with magnificent art. There is a lot to unpack here, and I wasn’t quite as amused as I had hoped to be, but it is a refreshingly bizarre idea and the social commentary is spot on.

Test ends on such a sublimely bittersweet moment as we realise the full import of the title. The titular character having finally grown into their own and found their place in life is made to feel as if they were nothing more than a means to an end. Their own ravenous desires having been sated they are forced to watch how that spark has traveled and become greater than themselves.

Okay so this is just plain cool.

The second issue dials up the campy ick, the true horror, and the feels all in one unique and enjoyable package.

Finally the book kicks up a gear, and we begin to get a lot more, pertinent action, and a few more answers.

Oddly, even though the book starts with an almighty fight scene, this issue feels like the calm before the storm.

The family unit has been separated, and are starting to all edge even further adrift. For all the disparate parties survival is beginning to mean very different things, and acceptance of the vagaries of this violent ravaged world could prove to be the undoing of some.
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And just as I was wondering about a seemingly abandoned plot point from an earlier issue, it comes back into focus here adding further menace to the story. more

For such a lovely looking book the horrors on display are both powerful and disturbing.

Here we see the family unit being broken up even more than before, and even after a few short issues, the very fact that this is painful speaks to the skill of the entire team in creating such an involving read.

Highly recommended.

This book is so lean, so mean, and so cut throat it really just reminds me of early Carpenter movies in both scope and mood. And really I can’t say fairer than that.

The way that new and different fractions and elements are introduced is beguiling, it shows such a firm grasp. I am already saddened to know that this is a five parter but recognise that part of its power is in how its density and tautness combine to ratchet up the tension and the stakes. more

I am liking what I see but the “rules” are so vague at this point that I am unsure how much depth or purpose this book is striving fore. Still I am looking forward to finding out.

This is great stuff. It might seem like an odd comparison but this feels like how a horror version of Brubaker and Eptings Criminal might play out, and by anyone’s standards that is a serious compliment.

The human drama is what drives the action and increases the depth of the horrors on show. There are subtle almost filmic touches that infiltrate the art work that amplify the sense of unease and provide motifs that suggest an inevitability that will hound these characters. more

The outright shock of the first issue does not carry over into this issue but that is by no means a bad thing. Instead we get plenty of small creepy moments that invade the story playing with our expectations of where this tale will take us.

It feels not so much that mysteries are being uncovered but that secrets are showing themselves and dragging our protagonists into their clutches which is deeply unnerving as we do not yet understand the intent behind the hauntings. more

Like all good Noir the denouement is, as it should be, perfectly obvious in hindsight. There is even potential for a more hard boiled sequel. If one does appear there are one or two creative wrinkles in the art and conception that I would like to see ironed out, but for now this book still provided a satisfactory ending to a different take onan old trope.

There is such a wealth of imagination here and the art remains so, so pretty.

Now that I have learned to temper my expectations I am having a fun time with this book.

How does my favourite comic just keep managing to outdo my already high expectations?

It must be sorcery! There can be no other explanation for a team being this in synch.

It’s crude, erudite, funny, philosophical, troubling, and just so magnificently bonkers. Do yourself a favour and get on board.

I enjoyed this more than some it seems.

It reminded me a lot of 2000AD Future Shocks which is never a bad thing in my books. I can even see how the story could be developed afterwards.

I enjoyed the world building too, including the dialogue. Makes me very intrigued to see what Karla Pacheco does with Spider-Woman.

Hrrmh!

The second issue is certainly more linear and has a greater pace than the debut but something is still not quite clicking for me. I’m certainly not giving up on Strikeforce as it is fun and has a great premise but it just feels inconsequential.

Nothing wrong with it being just a bit of a romp per se, but we have been advised within the story by Blade, and by the marketing team for the book, that this is terribly important end of world stuff and that the stakes are excruciatingly high, and sadly that element is mostly conspicuous by its absence.

For example, Jessica Drew has some great one-liners this time around which are fairly funny, but this approach coupled with Blade’s later rebuke about her not paying attention conspire to make her look pretty vacuous, undercut her supposed detecting skills, and strip away even the slightest hint of danger. Her gift of snark was always self-depreciating and a way to deal with her own trauma, but she was always highly empathic to underdogs and victims. Here, the look at him line towards Billy positions Jess as part of the group being “antagonistic” towards him, whereas old Skool Jess (at least up to and including Kelly Sue) would have found a way to be kinder.

The Angela/Satana match up is fun and works because it’s also integral to the plot, and is character based in a believable, even heartfelt way. The sharp team up between Monica and Bucky, who get the best action scenes this time around, is also great as it brings out the best in the both of them.

Blade seems a little saddled with the Basil Exposition role but looks badass at all times so carries it well.

The plot doesn’t advance too far, but does pick up some traction once the team lose one of their own, and the stakes suddenly seem marginally higher.

If the book continues in its inoffensive jokey way then I shall just get onboard with that and take it as it comes. But I am still hoping for something with a bit more bite. I want to feel the terror, not just be told in story that it exists. We shall see.


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I had a lot of fun with this comic.

The characters were compelling and the shocks unexpected. It felt really well thought out with some great conflict being stored up for later issues and real sympathy elicited for the various victims and/or mediators.

Looking forward to Issue 2.

The final issue...

As the series comes to a close we get a battle between the two gods which leaves a lot of collateral damage and ends decisively.

The themes of faith or lack of are explored more fully in this issue which makes sense as the stakes are so high.

I still find myself enjoying the moments rather than the complete production but will miss its unique plot and pretty pastel colours. more

Between the first issue and this there has barely been any plot movement at all.

The art is great, the action this time around being far more readable.

But the story is leaving me pretty cold so far.

Oh dear,

The art is great this issue and the first half of the comic is the prettiest public awareness information pamphlet I have ever seen. Shame we have seen it in every single film or tv show about having a new baby, and an even bigger shame that it is portrayed as a revelation here.

The second half involves Jess going out and trusting Porcupine with her baby. Wait what? Doesn’t he have a wife and child of his own that he keeps deserting? And Jess keeps having visions about how little she trusts him halfway through her evening. Maybe should have thought about that before? But wait, of course Porcupine turns out to be the most domesticated father ever in the history of the entire world, just not for his own family, but who cares eh, there’s nothing even remotely pathological about that.

Oh and She-Hulk worries about how many calories she has consumed with her drinking because we can’t forget to fat shame the big girl can we.

Then Jess finally tells her best friend she went to a Sperm Donor and congratulates herself on becoming a working single mummy. But not like Jessica Jones, or Julia Carpenter, or Jubilee, or Tigra, or...

And then the male creators take a whole page to congratulate themselves on their willies working and dude-splain how their readers should be careful before making a decision like the, (not in the slightest bit rapey), decision they made on behalf of the fictional character because Jess had a close fictional support network, which if you work out the timeline doesn’t quite track but hey...go pregnant ladies, you show those women who don’t want kids what’s what, you’re the real Superheroes, after all seven billion people can’t be wrong!


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OMG just when things cannot look bleaker for our titular heroine...

She bumps into the exact character she needs to help her solve everything. This time a Skrull kid, but phew, would you believe he is a friendly one who knows all about her, and her ass. Well thank goodness for that it’s not like anyone wants to forget that furore is it. And hey every ten year old in my neighbourhood talks to grown women about their asses too so it’s not like it’s creepy or anything. It’s just banter, right?

The kid asks Jessica, who has forgotten to think by herself by now just like all women who need a man in a crisis, if she can use her bio-electric powers to cut s hole through a steel wall. (Reader, she cannot. They only work on organic matter.) Oh wait, after all these years she has a hidden upgrade, who knew? Lucky!

Maybe she is Domino in disguise? Certainly seems like it.

Then she has her baby. I’m actually taking a mark off for this scene. Had it felt in the slightest bit earned then I might at least have praised the emotional honesty of the art, but it’s mawkish and contrived.

Then she beats up the bad guys in yet another montage scene, it’s well drawn, but it’s another montage scene. Surely we could have something different this far into the run.

Then Jess and Captain Marvel share the most obvious joke in the world.

And I’m adding a point back on for depicting a lovely and natural breastfeeding scene, regardless of how hard I feel that Jess should not be a mother, I thought that was an excellent choice. more

The colouring is lovely.

Some of the art is too.

There is no real plot or tension though. Jessica has to swim through some pretty pictures to get some intel. Pregnant ladies can swim. Go pregnant ladies or something.

Sigh!

OMG Jessica confronts her worst enemies in her least capable state!

Oh meh! What could have been I guess. Having set up such a powerful dilemma the script runs as far and fast in the opposite direction as possible. Giving us instead quirky old fashioned phones, and comedy villains, and brightly coloured guilt from Captain Marvel.

By now this comic is so formulaic, fake plot fake outs, splash pages, inner monologue compensating when things get silly (thank goodness for pregnant yoga), that is strikes me as odd to see others praising its originality. And on that score we had two recent She-Hulk series with a similar tone, HellCat not being completely dissimilar, and Squirrel-Girl. As if Marvel will only let female characters exist if they are cutesy and somewhat silly. more

Oh no!

If this book was about say HellCat then I think I could handle it. In fact now I think about it the way Hopeless writes Jess would be perfect for Patsy. The barely controlled temper, the gung-ho attitude, and the inability to plan her next move would really, really suit that character and poor Jess would be free for something more deserving of her unique skills. Particularly as he doesn’t even use most of her abilities. Gliding anyone? Anyone? No. That’s great!

And now here she is pregnant, just like Jessica Jones, or Julia Carpenter, or Jubilee, or Tigra, or...any of 101 other Marvel Mums. But this time, unlike Jones, or Julia, or Jubilee, or Tigra it’s all about Jessica being a single mum..,wait what?

I thought this was s really perverse decision until I understood how it came about.

You see the Writer. Artist, and Editor had all just become fathers and were so determined to tell the world that their willies did in actual fact work that they have chose to make the one female character who said she never wanted kids to carry their spawn too.
Not in the slightest bit rapey.

And nor does it even slightly suggest that all those women that get treated like circus freaks for not wanting kids just need to lighten up a bit, and go with it. Things change after all! And all mummies are superheroes. So much so that Porcupine is now able to cover Jess’s maternity leave and fight in her stead, except without any of her powers. And so continues the writers journey to making Jess as mundane and lowly powered as possible. She’s no longer a Superhero she’s a Supermummy.

Putting aside my deep concerns about the dubious message this book sends by silencing a unique female role model it’s business as usual nothing really amounts to anything other than a few creaky punchlines, a couple of weak lines purportedly demonstrating a vague generic support of the concept of feminism, and a plot that could have been emotionally meaningful considering Jessica’s history but isn’t. more

Fine. If the cliff hanger from last week came out of nowhere then Jess’s escape is even less earned. Basically, she does some basic parkour, makes a cheap joke about her tragic past, and then runs into a load of hulked out cows.

I think the writer even knows this is painful stuff as he has Jess toss off a quick gag to acknowledge it. So that makes it ok then.

So now we learn why the Porcupine was dragged along, it’s so he can solve the case by “thinking just like Jess”, because just being in her company has taught him everything he needs to know. Actually he lucks out, like the other detective work in all the previous issues, by bumping into a nurse that pretty much tells him what has happened and now we understand the action taking place in an abattoir, I guess, it’s all such random happenstance it’s hard to tell.

Porcupine finds out the whole town has been controlled by a gamer which doesn’t explain how they had greater moves than Jess as they were still normal humans, nor does it explain the hulked out cows, but never mind, Ben, who I had forgotten was shot in the previous issue, is still alive (As if there was the slightest doubt), and is making unfunny comments that are supposed to be jokes as everyone is laughing. Ho, Ho!

And then Jess leaves to go save the World or something, it isn’t clear, and after this trivial and pointless issue I could care less. more

I really had hoped that after the previous issues that the Porcupine and the entire tawdry storyline involving him had been left behind.

And it makes no sense that, Jess and Ben, knowing that he has previously deserted his wife would agree to drag him along with them. But that is this book all over. Instead we get a “wacky” montage showing just what “fun” it is to bring the annoying character along.

Then things take a sinister turn and we finally, get to see Jess in action barring her gruesome fight last issue, except it’s a nonsensical splash page where we can’t actually read the actions we just know it’s cool.

Then before you know it Jess is dragged off to abattoir where she has a meaningless fight with the big bad and ends up in a cliff hanger from nowhere that doesn’t seem to relate to the rest of the issue at all. more