Comic Review: Danger Girl: Revolver # 1 - 2 (of 4)

Written By: Andy Hartwell Art By: Chris Madden Colours By: Jeremy Cox Publisher: IDW Price: $3.99 Release Date: OUT NOW Back in 1998 the J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartwell created spy, action, thriller Danger Girl arrived on the scene. With a tongue in cheek approach to the spy genre and mixing up the styles of James Bond and Indiana Jones (among other things) Danger Girl's original seven (and a preview) issue run showcased J. Scott Campbell's incredible artwork like never before. With Abbey Chase, Sydney Savage and Natalia Kassle bursting onto the comic scene, the title was a hit spawning action figures, a playsation games and a long rumoured movie. Since the original run there have been a number of special edition collections of the original storyline (including oversized versions as well as 3D editions) and a series of spin off stories, featuring new adventures (not drawn by Campbell) as well as team ups with Army of Darkness and even Batman. The Danger Girls have been a constant in the comic book world for fourteen years and even when they've only had a presence via re-prints or Campbell's artistic creations there's always been a sense the Danger Girl team deserved more. So now IDW have the title and after the gorgeous oversized hardback collected edition of the original run they produced last year, Danger Girl has been given a new four issue run. Revolver has arrived. With J. Scott Campbell only supplying the covers for this mini series (as he has for the other spin off mini series and one-shots) it falls to Chris Madden to carry the burden of not being as good as the original creator. With that said from the first page of issue 1, that has the ever sleezy Bond-a-like Johnny Barracuda sitting in a hot tub being catered to by three very attractive Italian ladies, this is probably the closest Danger Girl has ever got to capturing the visuals of the original series. Campbell's designs have been celebrated very well by Madden and the colouring by Jeremy Cox gives Revolver a bright, almost cartoon appeal that when read on a tablet glows beautiful. It has to be said that this more cartoon-y approach isn't always consistent and can sometimes feel a little too child-like, especially for the sexier side of Danger Girl but it's never enough to detract from how well it works for the return of the title, especially in regards to feeling more like the original series. As for the story, Andy Hartnell knows how to write his characters. His sense of adventure and full on action movie set pieces are as appealing as ever and from the moment we meet up with Abbey again (as she smashes through a window, in a wedding dress, riding a horse) Danger Girl is back up and running and feeling as great as it always has. The big draw here is the promise of a new third member to the team. After the fallout with Natalia Kassle, this Danger Girl trio has been a pretty constant duo but with an all new red haired danger lady (wielding a bow and arrow no less) on the first Campbell cover, it seems as if we have a third member on the way. You won't see her in issue 1 but by the end of issue 2 the reveal of who this new girl actually is turned out to be pretty interesting and could be quite a bit of fun going forward if she sticks around. Anyway, plot wise, issue 1 is all about action and it's not until the the last third of the comic that we get a sense of what the latest mission is but even then it's pushed aside for the big reveal that Abbey Chase was once engaged to the contact they are due to meet up with. Moving into issue 2 we start with a very Indiana Jones style flashback on a rope bridge and then we hit Peru where Abbey and the ever awesome Sydney Savage stumble upon a lost civilisation and the plot starts taking shape. Two issues in and this is feeling more like a catch up with the girls with the new addition to the team being the only important outcome when the four issue run ends. To some, this lack of focus on a plot might be off putting and to any Danger Girl fans out there this might be starting to feel like another side adventure rather than a deserved true sequel that seemingly will never come but so far for me it's falling somewhere between the two. I love these characters and the sense of fun with a sexy twist these Danger Girl stories generate are always a blast. I'm hoping the next two issues get a little meatier and of course after that it will be nice to have a more consistent release schedule but for now team Danger Girl are back and they are as fun and explosive as ever. Rating: Issue 1 Issue 2