Comic Book Review: Molly Danger Book One

Sometimes it feels as if everything has been told already. The superhero formulas invented and exploited extensively since the golden age of comics are incredibly difficult totems to avoid for any creator. When you sit down to write a comic, there are so many considerations already established by the genre, that you can’t help falling into some kind of repetition.

Molly Danger is based on a story you perhaps already heard of. Molly is a extraterrestrial being stuck on planet Earth by accident. Because of the new environment, she has acquired extraordinary resistance and strength. Her skin is like steel and she can break giant Robots with a punch. And as far as we know, she is Immortal. A Private corporation named “D.A.R.T” takes care and raises the alien child with the purpose of defending the 3 million city of Coopersville… and also to earn a mountain of cash selling merchandise with the Superhero’s brand.

So far, this story is very reminiscent to the Classic Siegel/Shuster Superman and would seem fairly predictable at first glance. But it isn’t. Artist/Writer Jamal Igle takes this staple tale and gives it so much of his fairy dust, the the whole project seems brand new and irresistibly attractive.

Jamal Yaseem Igle is a well known name in the world of comics. In fact, he’s one of the most important artists in the industry of the last 20 years. Huge mainstream Comic Icons like Green Lantern, Wolverine and Supergirl have been touched by his talent and distinctive style. He even collaborated with the legendary French publishing outlet Les Humanoides Associes for Army of Angels. (Which, on a sidenote, looks fantastic and is a must have. You can look for it as ‘Dominion’ or ‘L’Armee des Anges’)

This is a very personal project that he decided to run all by his own, without the intervention of any publishing powerhouse. His Kickstarter campaign was so heartfelt and honest, fans responded with so much love it surpassed the initial $45.000 goal.

The final product is a 48 full color page Edition in Hardcover Graphic Album Size (That’s 9×12). Each panel is extremely gorgeous, with a very contemporary high key lighting technique full of gradients and vivid tones that emphasize on Purples and Pinks… Maybe to reflect Molly’s mental age. Particularly spectacular is the opening sequence where a Giant Robot takes on the city and Molly is summoned to save the day.

Penciling is done by Jamal himself, with Juan Castro (X-Men, Katana) on Inks and Romulo Fajardo Jr. (KISS, Battlestar Galactica) as Colorist. Molly Danger Book One sets up the origin story, gives us a peek at the main villains and serves as a perfect teaser for the rest of the series. You immediately get hooked by the relentless pace and likable characters. Character design is so appealing in Molly Danger, you even care about the bad guys.

Yes, Molly Danger starts off from a fairy well known premise. But Jamal’s storytelling manages to present the story cues in such a way it feels fresh. No flashbacks are used to establish her origins and her main conflict (and weakness) is shown right upfront. She’s just a 10 year old lonely girl surrounded by adults.

Each secondary character is presented with such depth, they feel not only as story gimmicks but as real plot drivers. You immediately get the notion that the lives of these people are dependent on one another and fates will be decided when they intersect. The most notable of the secondary characters is Austin Briggs, a daring pilot with a thing for disobedience, who becomes Molly’s bridge between the cold life as a corporation guinea pig and the normal life of a teen.

It’s not usual to watch a story develop in such a solid way throughout the first installment. Every single character is well laid out for us, with their own conflicts and contexts. It’s also a huge merit in Jamal’s writing to cast shadows where they should be, in order to intrigue and hook the reader for future installments. Molly Danger is certainly a labor of love, that uses the traditional Superman storyline to convey different undertones to the whole saving the world entrepreneurship. Family and ethnic conflicts underneath the main plot end up giving some spice to what is for me, is one of the most promising rated “G” titles of the past year.

Molly Danger is published by Action Lab Comics and can be found in Comixology.