“Isn’t there anything else on TV?” “Just that movie Knuckles’ grandad said was terrible”.
Subatomic Party Girls #1
Monkeybrain Comics (May, 2013)
“Like Voyager”
WRITERS: Chris Sims & Chad Bowers
ARTIST/COLORIST: Erica Henderson
LETTERER: Josh Krach
The girl trio band Beryllium Steel–Cleo, Libby, and Vette–is about to be the first band on the moon. Too bad their manager is seeing more dollar signs from a memorial album and sabotages the ship. Except instead of dying they end up in deep space and attacked by the cat lady pirate Alassen Raged. That is until one of her crew is convinced the band is actually a profit, which means they “get” to see Raged’s boss, Drixly.
What they got right: If you remember when Sims and Bowers were doing that “Action Age Comics” thing (wish that was still up), this seems to be along the same theme, even having a (mostly) reformed mad scientist behind the ship because that was how Action Age rolled. They even refer to the readers as “Action Agents”. I like the design for Alassen (which gets a concept discussion in the back of the book) and while they’re clearly ripping off the concept of Josie & The Pussycats In Outer Space it’s enough of a new twist that I can totally accept it.
What they got wrong: Why would the manager think being dead was more profitable than being the first band to perform from the moon? Worked okay for Barbie & The Rockers.
What I think overall: This story is all premise but it makes it interesting as only the Action Age style could. I’d be curious to read more issues in the future but with Monkeybrain gone the fact that I have this in my ComiXology library is amazing.
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