The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1-5
Originally released in 2015
Written by Ryan North
Art by Erica Henderson
I figured I'd go with something that's on the lighter side today, which is why I went with Squirrel Girl. Normally, if a book relaunches, I'd put the year in the title of the post, but in this case, as the cover proudly proclaims, it's their "second #1 so far this year!" (I'm assuming that the aftermath of Secret Wars caused a lot of Marvel's books to get new number 1 issues)
Another Marvel editorial mandate that seems to have a minor effect on this series was the then-ongoing movie rights dispute between Disney/Marvel and Fox, where Fox had the movie rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and all directly-related characters. This was eventually resolved when Disney bought Fox outright, but it leads to a conversation between Squirrel Girl's college roommate, Nancy Whitehead, and Squirrel Girl's mom, Maureen Green, where her mom says that she's "medically and legally distinct from being a mutant." Fortunately, the series has a very tongue-in-cheek self-aware style of writing, so it comes across as silly when it could have come across as petty.
Ryan North's style of writing keeps the series feeling light-hearted and goofy, and this extends to the little captions at the bottom of some of the pages, which often include silly little asides that ask questions or fill in plot holes that the audience might have thought of, or simply add to the humour. Erica Henderson's art may take some time to get used to for some people, but it adds to the feeling that you're watching a cartoon, where continuity is loose at best and it doesn't take itself seriously. (on a related note, has there been a Squirrel Girl cartoon? If not, Marvel should get on that)
The first issue is a stand-alone story that re-introduces audiences to Squirrel Girl, Nancy, and Squirrel Girl's squirrel friend Tippy-Toe and they deal with a brain in a robot, and former member of Hydra, known as Brain Drain. He's defeated, repaired (Squirrel Girl is majoring in computer science at college, which helps), and given upgrades that allow him to change his ways, highlighting Squirrel Girl's kindness - generally speaking, she tries her best to get villains to see the error of their ways and grow as people. Afterwards, Squirrel Girl is sent back in time under mysterious circumstances, where she encounters a villain who needs no introduction...
...but who will constantly introduce himself regardless, even if everyone around him knows exactly who he is. Doctor Doom's sheer ego is played for laughs here, with him rewriting his own history and claiming that everything, even his defeats, were exactly as he planned it...
...and yet he's portrayed as someone who sincerely believes that he's above everyone and everything else, claiming that he's superior to Galactus because Galactus has yet to master even the most basic of Maslow's hierarchy of needs (due to Galactus's endless hunger) while in the middle of fighting Squirrel Girl. He's still shown to be insanely intelligent, even if his ego blinds him at times.
Nancy's a fun character, with her deadpan reactions to the sort of nonsense that comes from being associated with Squirrel Girl being a highlight. There are a few other heroes who are friends with Squirrel Girl - Koi Boy and Chipmunk Hunk - but a side effect of Squirrel Girl being sent back in time is that nobody aside from Nancy remembers her, so they don't get much focus here. Several computer science majors are also sent back in time - they don't get much characterization, though one of them, Mary, gets a few funny moments.
These issues were a joy to read through. I know that Ryan North is writing the ongoing run of Fantastic Four, which takes itself more seriously but is still incredibly entertaining, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else he's worked on..
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