June 19, 2005
Comics Review For People Who Like, But Aren't Obsessive About, Comics: Street Angel
Many comics lovers have known for a while that Street Angel is something to crow about. A few weeks ago I bought issues 1 through 5, based on the strength of the cover art and flipping through a few pages.
I was not disappointed. Street Angel has gotten me the most excited about comics since I first stumbled upon Hellboy. The short of it: Street Angel is Jesse Sanchez, a homeless 8th-grader with skateboarding and martial arts skillz. Over the 5 issues she takes on mad scientists, Spanish Conquistadors (in my favorite-titled-issue, "Inca-Dinka-Doom"), Satan, hunger, cuckolds, and ninjas. Lots and lots of ninjas. The stories are a marvelous combination of humor, action, and pathos.
The artwork keeps it all together, and propels you relentlessly forward. The best thing about the whole series, is that it's just...simply...fun. A welcome antidote to the bleak dystopian bloodbaths that pass for "edgy" in today's comics market.
All 5 issues (and there will only be 5, at least for a while), have been collected in a trade paperback, which I'm considering buying even though I have every comic.
