The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It's True

I got this at Ryan North's signing at Port Con Maine in Portland ME USA, June 2018.

Title: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Issue: Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It's True
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2015
Writer: Ryan North, Dan Slott
Artist: Erica Henderson, Matt Haley, Kieron Dwyer, Ty Templeton, Eloise Narrington
Colorist: Rico Renzi, Erica Henderson, Laura Villari, Jorge Maese
Letterer: VC's Clayton Crowles, Dave Lanphear
Cover: Erica Henderson
Editor: Jon Moisan, Wil Moss, Tom Brevoort, Lauren Sankovitch

The opening story in this volume, with a group of hostages describing various alternative versions of Squirrel Girl, didn't do much for me, but things improved considerably with the introduction of Ratatoskr, the Norse trickster squirrel-god. From there it was Asgardian fun straight to the end. The new supporting characters, Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boy had some amusing moments, but as in the first volume, Doreen's roommate Nancy totally steals the show. Nancy getting to go to Asgard was easily worth the price of this whole book.

There were plenty of funny moments with Hippo, Loki, Cat-Thor, and perhaps a bit more database theory then you really wanted to know. The reprint backup features featuring Squirrel Girl and the Great Lakes Avengers had a few laughs as well.

This was an amusing follow-up to the first volume and I look forward to reading more.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume 1: Squirrel Power

I bought this at a book fair at my school in Shanghai.

Title: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Issue: Volume 1: Squirrel Power
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2015
Writer: Ryan North, Steve Ditko, Will Murray
Artist: Erica Henderson, Steve Ditko
Colorist: Rico Renzi, Christie Scheele
Letterer: VC's Clayton Crowles, Brad K. Joyce
Cover: Erica Henderson
Editor: Jon Moisan, Jake Thomas, Wil Moss

Trade paperback collecting the first four issues of Squirrel Girl's first solo series, plus her debut appearance from Marvel-Super Heroes #8 in 1990.

Doreen Green, who has all the powers of a squirrel along with all the powers of a girl, is moving into her college campus in New York City. She's dealing with the usual issues: Annoying administrators who mess up schedules, a new roommate, Kraven the Hunter, Whiplash, and, um, Gaslactus.

This was amusing from start to finish, with Doreen's roommate, Nancy, almost completely stealing the show. There was also an awesome discussion about non-gendered pronouns between Doreen and Galactus,

The art is a perfect fit for the story and pacing, and Doreen's common-sense approach to dealing with villains is a winning formula.

The backup story is Doreen's debut appearance from 1990 where she takes on Doctor Doom. It does not go well for the Monarch of Latveria.

Rating: 8.5/10

Static Shock #2

Title: Static Shock
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott McDaniel, John Rozum
Penciler: Scott McDaniel
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Harvey Richards
Cover: Chris Brunner, Rico Renzi

We launch right into the action with Static being ambushed by Virule, who nearly severs Static's arm with some sort of disc-projectile (with a one-atom cutting edge, as it turns out!). Fortunately, Static has some abilities that even he wasn't aware of, and he manages to escape the situation.

Most of the rest of the story is set-up for the rematch. There are a lot of villains, and a pretty large supporting cast, many of whom have their own subplots already in progress (taken, I assume, from Static's previous comics).

The book juggles a lot this issue, but manages to keep things fast-paced and fun. Even the things that I had problems with were good in their own ways. Sure, Static gets information about a super-powered gang from a gang-affiliated schoolmate a bit too easily, but it was still nice to see the teenaged superhero not being portrayed as horribly socially awkward in his secret identity. Virgil's confidence is a refreshing change from a lot of similar characters.

I also like the fact that Static's powers get some respect, both from the villains and from the plot itself. Having some doubts about how to handle Static makes the villains a lot more human.

We end the issue pretty much where we started, but the book was definitely entertaining.

Rating: 7/10