Fire has started a villain rehabilitation programme at the beauty parlour she’s bought to pass the time during the unofficial term she’s serving in the open prison known as Smallville (don’t ask, it makes no sense). Fellow ‘jailbird’ Ice is helping wrangle the likes of Gentleman Ghost, Lot’s Wife and Gorilla Grodd’s sister Linka for the online reality show Fire hope will make them famous. Also on hand are the likes of beauty technician Tam, diner waitress Rocky Rhodes and her brother Charlie, another fame seeker.
Charlie is so keen to get in on Fire’s act that he shows up at the beauty parlour ready to trust his luscious locks to her untrained hands.
Bea being busy, though, he’s put in the hairy hands of Linka.
Oops.
So what’s Bea busy with? Only big city reporter Jimmy Olsen, who’s turned up unannounced to write a colour piece on the super salon.
The talented team of writer Joanna Starer and artist Natacha Buchos have made another fun comic, replete with colourful characters, silly incidents and… a very dark conclusion. That follows a hilarious climax, so it’s safe to say I was caught off guard, even though there is a bit of foreshadowing. And I really hope what seems to be happening on that final page is somehow a feint, or an illusion, otherwise someone has been pretty much Dibnyed. And I don’t mean Ralph.
Let’s concentrate on the positive. Starer puts some effort into tying this comic to Bea and Tora’s time with the JLI. Buchos brings the cast to joyful visual life. The Gentleman Ghost gets a fun new nickname. Maxie Zeus is surprisingly hot.
And brains-in his-buttocks boy Smarty Pants turns out to be seriously creepy.
(Compared to that final page, ‘seriously creepy’ counts as ‘simply delightful’).
Tamra Bonvillain’s colours are again beautifully autumnal, while Ariana Maher’s letters are full of life. And the cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson is a vibrant gem.
Overall, this is another offbeat success – I just wish that last page hadn’t shown up.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 