As a youngling, I remember walking into my local comic book store and stopping dead in my tracks when my eyes caught glimpse of Danger Girl Issue #1 resting so elegantly on the shelf. And, how could I not? Flipping though the pages, I was treated to incredibly gorgeous women in tight clothing who kicked a-- with a mentor who looked exactly like Sean Connery. And, if that's not enough, these beautiful women were drawn by a then unknown (to me at least) J. Scott Campbell. Looking back on it now, it's incredible how much of what I loved about the series was merely "fan service," but hey, I was 14 and that's all that mattered back then. 'Till this day, I still think J. Scott Campbell is my favorite artist when it comes to the ladies. I remember jumping ship on Danger Girl once a new artist took over, because to me they just weren't the same characters anymore.
So, imagine my surprise when 14 years later I find myself reviewing Danger Girl/ G.I. Joe and am actually pretty impressed with the artwork! That's a huge compliment from a "Hard Core Danger Girl fan," as I have just now dubbed myself. Literally, just this second. I should make hats.
So, the key to grabbing the attention of a HCDGF (Hard Core Danger Girl Fan for those of you having trouble keeping up) like myself is obviously the artwork. We want J. Scott, we NEED J. Scott, for it to be Danger Girl. But, alas, J. Scott must be off doing other things, because it ain't him this go around; however, the penciling of Mr. John Royle cleverly misleads you into believing that it is! That's right, folks; Royle's pencils are very similar to that of Mr. Campbell, at least for this book, which was a pretty smart move. I felt more comfortable reading along with the art style that I associate with the Danger ladies.
The story, on the other hand, didn't really grab me. Sure, I've jumped in at Issue #3, but it really wasn't too difficult to put together what was going on. Abbey Chase is undercover with Cobra, and the rest of the Danger Girls have met up with The Joes. I'm not saying it's terrible, but this is your pretty standard team-up story featuring two popular franchises. I will admit that I thought seeing all of the different characters in one shot was particularly cool, as was Snake Eyes. He doesn't really do much, but just "seeing" Snake Eyes is cool. Because, he's Snake Eyes.
All-in-all, a decent read. While I wasn't blown away by it, it does end on a cliffhanger, so I'll admit they have me hooked for at least one more issue, which hopefully has more Sydney. That's what we really need. More Sydney Savage.
HCDGF signing out . . .
