Rocket Girl #5 – Review

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

The Story: I saw the lights go out in New York City…

The Review: I don’t think every story in the world has to have a purpose beyond pure entertainment, but it sure can’t hurt for their longevity to have one. It’s kind of a game for me to gauge where in the silly-serious spectrum a story lands, but it’s also an important task for doing a proper review. As I’ve said elsewhere, I don’t weigh every story on the same scale; how I think of a story largely depends on how it wants me to think of it.

After five issues, I’ll hazard a guess that Rocket Girl wants me to think of it as an exciting thrill ride that’s also capable of dangerousness when the occasion calls for it. Vague as the causes of Dayoung’s dissatisfaction with “The Past” were, at least here we can see there are very serious consequences to what she’s doing in “The Present.” A distinct feeling of dread looms over “The Past” as darkness rises from the bottom of the city until all of NYC is in shadow, suggesting that maybe LeShawn was right and Dayoung’s meddling with Qintum’s history did “erase everything this city is built on!”

But perhaps the moment that really brings you down in the issue, the one that tells you Rocket Girl most definitely will not be just fun and games, is the rather grisly death of Mustachioed Cop (2013 Version).* Although he’s so disfigured by last issue’s subway explosion that his 1986 doppelganger doesn’t recognize himself, it won’t be too hard to make the connection now that 2013 Black Cop has made direct contact with 1986 Black Cop, eliciting the disturbed question, “…Why don’t I remember any of this ever happening?”

He probably can’t remember because there’s a great likelihood that none of what’s happening is supposed to be happening. Not that you can tell one way or another, since even Joshua, the man who manipulated Dayoung into going back, doesn’t seem entirely prepared for the side-effects that choice would have on his era. All he knows is sending back the Quintum tech isn’t as important as sending Dayoung herself, though he offers no explanation why.

Indeed, the Quintum tech becomes a moot point of the plot once Annie, inspired by Dayoung’s example, decides to destroy the Q-Engine, even risking arrest because of it. So the story from now on won’t just be Dayoung pursuing a singular goal. Having put away her armor and badge and committed herself to remaining in 1986, Dayoung is now in the same position as any other teenager of that time: unanchored, uncertain, and vulnerable to marginalization. It’ll be interesting to not only see Dayoung adapting herself to these new circumstances, but also to see what effect her actions will have on the future when she’s no longer sticking rigidly to her police or moral code.

While I still look to Madame Xanadu as some of the best samples of Reeder’s art you can get, Rocket Girl challenges her in wildly different ways, revealing her amazing range. The battle between Dayoung and a posse of cops in an elevator shaft is a spectacular show of Reeder’s mastery over movement. You have Dayoung leaping and rocketing up and down, jabbing and punching in precisely-timed moments, and yet you rarely get lost in the steady, thrilling flow of action. Reeder’s coloring is also remarkable, using specks and flashes of red and blue light to show Dayoung’s high-speed trail.

Conclusion: This being the end of its first arc, the series remains noticeably undefined, but it’s proven to be a dependably entertaining read with strong possibilities for greater weight.

Grade: B

-Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * Does he or his partner have a name?

– I know Dayoung effected a pretty great escape for Annie from the cops here, but they can basically still just find them at Annie’s apartment, right?