Even though I missed Issue #3, here I am reading Issue #4 of Punk Mambo, and Cullen Bunn is such a great writer that I don’t feel lost. What happened in the last issue? Punk Mambo got her ass whooped. Mambo is all punk, from outfit to attitude. She also practices voodoo magic, and a not-so-nice enemy is attempting to collect all of the LOA for himself. The LOA are the sort of spirits that give Mambo a large element of her magic capabilities.

Spitting in the face of every rule, even her own, she sets off to find the LOA and take them back from an evil spirit called Gunnysack and a villain named Mr. Aguilliard.  

The great thing about Bunn is that he doesn’t give us the exact same voodoo tropes we’ve seen a million times. In his hands, it becomes new and fresh, something that’s mysterious and unknown. One of the primary reasons to read this book is because Punk Mambo is a wonderful character; she stands firm to her guidelines of never standing firm to guidelines. She’s a fighter who embraces the natural balance between life and death, and after being knocked down, she gets back up and is ready to kick ass again.  It’s fun watching people get swept up in her chaotic view of the world, from the LOA to the guy helping her now. They are sort of forced to go with the flow.

Everything here is solid; the art and colors are gritty. The monsters and magic being used are original which keep the reader invested as to what the heck is going to happen next.

This is another really well done Valiant book.

Creative Team: Cullen Bunn (story), Adam Gorham (art), José Villarrubia (colors), Dave Sharpe (letters), Lysa Hawkins (editor)
Publisher: Valiant
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