Rocket Girl #1 – Review

By: Brandon Montclare (story), Amy Reeder (art)

The Story: She’s still preoccupied with 1985—I mean, ‘86.

The Review: As much as I like to stress the value of realism in a comic book, there’s a part of me that equally appreciates some good, old-fashioned escapism, too.  Heck, the fact that I read comics at all should be evidence enough of that.  So it’s sometimes disheartening to see how few genuinely fun, melodrama-free titles there are out there.  I mean, I can’t rely solely on Batman ’66 for my monthly dose of good times, can I?

That’s why I tend to think Rocket Girl is tailor-made for people thirsting for pure entertainment like me.  A story about a teenaged time-traveling cop going back to the eighties to stop an evil corporation from retroactively guaranteeing its worldwide dominance?  Montclare-Reeder might as well reach into my wallet and help themselves to some cash, because with that kind of premise, that’s how easy it is for me to sign up.

Obviously, envisioning a future (so to speak; Rocket Girl only goes as far as 2013) where adolescents have become the authorities requires more than a little tongue in cheek, and the debut issue admittedly stands on the strength of its sense of humor rather than the depth of its substance.  But as previously stated: humor is a rare commodity in the comics biz these days, and fortunately for us, Montclare-Reeder deliver most of their laughs without trying too hard.

Everyone enjoys a bit of role reversal, right?  So having the fifteen-year-old Dayoung Johansson barge into 1986 New York City and shaming all the supposed grown-ups, from scientists to police officers, with her hyper-competence is just wonderful on a lot of levels.  What makes it even better is the sitcomy way they just get swept up in her flow—eventually.  “What the hell is this?!” yells one officer as he runs to confront this piece of jailbait claiming to be a cop.

“This…?” she repeats.  “This looks like a ten-double-zero…so why don’t you give me a situation report!” she snaps, knocking the hot air right out of him with a good toss of her helmet.

Immediately, he stands to attention and begins to cooperate.  “This detective guy that got shot…”

Clearly, Dayoung has her act together better than most adults at any age, but she’s helped in that regard by an utter confidence in her convictions.  Despite her barely post-pubescent boss’ attempts to point out the moral ambiguities of going back in time to stop some corporate revisionism and possibly undoing the utopia New York City has become, Dayoung won’t stand for such graying of the issues.  “What’s right is right,” she says stubbornly.  There’s something refreshing in the way she doesn’t stand for means-ends theory, but you have to wonder if that’ll change once she experiences the decidedly complicated past she’s blasted into.  After all, she still has a lot of growing up to do, no matter how sure of herself she is.

In the meantime, we can place our trust in Montclare-Reeder to keep us happily occupied the whole way.  The pacing on the issue is appropriately exhilarating, barely giving you time to catch your breath and absorb your surroundings before taking off again.  The dialogue isn’t exactly clever or witty, but it has that snappy rhythm which easily keeps up with the plot and manages to give you a good sense of character at the same time.

After a rather humiliating dismissal from Batwoman a couple years ago, Reeder gets a chance to show why she was in the running to succeed J.H. Williams III in the first place.  What she lacks in artistic invention, she more than makes up for it through incredible powers of imagination, filling panels with endless props and details, the kind that keep you rapt to the page as you’re reading and bring you back to gaze in joy when you’re done.  Through it all, Reeder’s good humor infuses every scene, especially in the expressions of the characters: their exasperation, confusion, dubiousness, hysteria.  Most of her art is character-building in itself: the faint traces of a blooming mustache on Commissioner Gomez’s face, the freckles across Dayoung’s nose, scientist Annie’s pink-poodle hairdo and her goldenrod nail polish.

Conclusion: Bright, upbeat, and full of life, the debut issue of Rocket Girl snatches you up in its blazing trail, leaving you almost no time to notice that it’s still in the theoretical stages.

Grade: A-

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – It’s hard to tell if Montclare’s referring to 2013 as “The Past” is a mistake or an indication of something more profound at work.