The superhero genre really isn’t a genre anymore; like a dragon or a spaceship, it is simply a signifier that we’ve departed our familiar reality for stranger shores. There are superhero mysteries, romances, comedies, and horror stories, and current pop culture is saturated in them. However, they all tend to get lumped together, especially if they’re being told in comic form. To stand out, you have to be showing a new side of things.

Enter Henchgirl, the story of Mary Posa. Mary isn’t just part of a supervillain’s gang, she’s a twenty something struggling to pay rent, she keeps an eye out for her erstwhile boyfriend whose body becomes a mannequin when he astral projects, and she’s the oldest daughter of two of the city’s most famous superheroes.

Writer & Illustrator Kristen Gudsnek does an excellent job of creating a character that is very relatable to anyone struggling to find their identity, especially those people who feel like the black sheep of their family. Some of the plot twists are very extreme and unexpected, especially the inclusion of the magical girl trope character about midway through this volume, but Gudsnek establishes the world of Crepe City as fairly absurd at the beginning, so they don’t seem too jarring in the story’s context. The background artwork is technically excellent with a somewhat faux-naive character style, and really fits the goofiness of the characters and occasional heaviness of the plot.

The thing that truly sets Henchgirl apart is that Gudsnek successfully combines the twenty-something slacker dramedy a la Laggies, Girl Most Likely, and The Lifeguard. This is definitely worth a read for anyone that’s a fan of finding yourself, dealing with parents, and the occasional time-travel mishap.

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