I’m feeling a little gimmicky this week, so I’m going to challenge myself by listening to my Prince playlist and try to keep it from affecting my review of Strong Female Protagonist too badly. Wish me luck.
If you’re going to be so cocky as to call your comic “Strong Female Protagonist”, you had best come correct and actually deliver, and luckily author Brennan Lee Mulligan and artist Molly Ostertag very much deliver. Our heroine Alison Green, another former superhero trying to avoid Controversy and failing miserably (as you might expect) is unarguably powerful, noble, attractive and suffers much, yet the story gives us glimpses into her Dirty Mind. She’s got a temper and often would like nothing more than to just Go Crazy, just get nuts and execute many of the villains she faces, and she usually has no answers to the moral dilemmas presented in her stories. Of course she’ll be the first to let you know about it, but nevertheless Paisley Park is in her heart. I’d say she’s a pretty believable and likable lead.
Unlike the “Keene Act” in Watchmen and the anti superhero decisions in Incredibles, Alison’s decision was all her own. Once the teenage sensation Mega-Girl of the superteam The Guardians, she gets Delirious when confronted with questions on the effects superheroes have on global conflict during a talk show. She then unmasks herself on worldwide television, and gives her superheroine career a Kiss goodbye to enroll in a university. However, she can’t ignore the Signs O’ The Times as she has to then contend with former super villains like the mind reading Patrick (formerly the worldwide scourge Menace), and a rampaging mutant named Cleaver with a backstory as tragic as you’d expect any decent villain’s to be.
As Alison has made sure not to burn any of her Grafitti Bridges, there’s also her old hero companions such as Pintsize, a comic geek with the ability to shrink, and Feral, a 90s styled former anti-heroine who harvests and donates her regeneratable organs (this becomes a political sticking point). One especially poignant story involves Professor Cohen, who prompts Alison to essentially ask him “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” It turns out he’s got a very specific reason as to why.
SFP examines Scandalous themes that have been already touched upon in certain eras of comics- superhero registrations and government action, property damage, the moral implications on how heroes affect the world, mankind’s fear of a possible New Power Generation, and so on. But that’s not an Automatic black mark against it, because Mulligan’s writing is pretty genre savvy and the chains of events are usually understandable. Issues are tackled with awareness but without any obvious slant, as stories that easily could have become a platform for heavy handed moralizing get handled with a good amount of gravity. Most of the normally abled cast get some nice moments in the sun, including Alison’s family who are just as imperfect as her, but just as endearing also.
I think Ostertag was dreaming when she did the artwork, but I can forgive her because it never goes astray. Her layouts are always strong, and the character designs are simple but well defined and expressive. It’s all drawn in a slice-of-life style rather than the usual look of most cape comics, which is a nice change of pace. However, I do have to express some concern with the character design of teleporter Johnny Temple, whose outfit and general look are so Prince derived I’m starting to get nervous that he’s only one click away from suing.
And he will. Oh, you know he will.
It’s hard for me to throw a Parade for Strong Female Protagonist as it doesn’t necessarily explore uncharted waters, but its big hearted main character, strong writing and world building easily make it a winner regardless. It’s a fun story about a young girl who understands that life can’t ever be Diamonds and Pearls, especially not with superheroes and villains crashing into each other, but maybe she can at least prevent some Chaos and Disorder or get rid of some Thieves In The Temple, even while not wearing her old Raspberry Beret colored costume. For a poignant drama and exciting superhero tale you’ll Adore, go ahead and click this link.
Batdance.