Review: Sheena – Queen of the Jungle #8
Despite all reports to the contrary, cheesecake isn’t dead! It could be argued that Dynamite Entertainment are trying to ensure that this particular genre doesn’t go the way of the dodo, with a range of books that features Red Sonja, Vampirella and Dejah Thoris. Sheena’s own book has been around for quite some time, following her guest slot in Swords of Sorrow a couple of years back.
As things stands, Sheena could have found herself in a better place. The Queen of the Jungle, previously drugged, awakes to find her self bound, in a cage that is in a lab owned by her most bitter enemy. From there, its cleavage straining to the max as Sheena tires to escape in order to get herself from out of a “devils choice” that could cost her the life of one of her closest friends.
The book is written by InseXts, Bombshells and Batwoman writer Marguerite Bennett, who is joined by Christina Trujillo. The pair go some way to deliver a book that, if I am being harsh, helps replenish Bennett’s reputation, as in my opinion, I don’t think there is a more inconsistent writer in comics at the moment. No matter how good InseXts is, or how cute Bombshells can be, it is an unavoidable fact that Bennett’s Batwoman book has been pretty bleak to the point where it has been removed from my pull list. Back to this book; with a franchise character book, there are certain beats that need to be adhered to and for Sheena fans, there are definitely in there. As a non fan, I found these elements a little shoe-horned in to be honest, though only as a distraction rather than any real problem. There is a lot of waffle going on, which I found helpful as I hadn’t picked up previous issues; would readers who are seven issues in already feel the same?
Maria Sanapo provides the art that encompasses all the usual entrapments of cheesecake from cleavage, swimsuit for an outfit, bondage and mild torture, everything makes an appearance. Whilst these are to be expected, Sanapo does a good job of actually not taking things too far. There is a cartoon like quality to some of the panels, which gives the art a touch of innocence, What I do question is the shadows of the cage and how they are applied across Sheena. I know this sounds like a minor thing, but thanks to the shadow casting in different directions against one light source, I am not sure how those panels can be as shown. I would have hoped that the colourer, in this case Ceci De La Cruz who drops in a bright scheme, or the editor would have picked this up. Off course, I am not an artist, so I could be wrong, but the problem is enough to distract my eye, so therefore has an impact on the reading experience.
I am glad that there is still a place on the rack for cheesecake, especially as Dynamite are showing that it can be achieved without weakening strong female characters. It shouldn’t matter that the character is female; put it this way, nobody complains when Batman or The Shadow find themselves in a similar predicament. If equality means that everyone is treated the same, then people can’t really complain about cheesecake. I would have only hoped that there was a quality control office on the book.
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Marguerite Bennett & Christina Trujillo
Art by; Maria Sanapo
Colors by; Ceci De La Cruz
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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