Review also posted to my blog.


content warnings: violence
representation: deaf side character, afro-latino side character

“I said you could be the negotiator. I didn’t put you in charge.”
“Oh, I’ve been in charge since I got here.”

Wow, I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to! Most comics tend to be somewhere between a 3 and a 4 star for me because there's almost always one big element that doesn't work for me, but it was all there with this one!

This follows S.H.I.E.L.D agent Bobbi Morse as she goes on many adventures, from saving the Queen to dealing with a 12 year old girl, all while trying to figure out what's going on with her constant medical checkups.

I fell in love with Bobbi from the first panel. She's as sarcastic as they come, but that sarcasm comes along with genuine intelligence (just look at her PhD). She's also badass, as most S.H.I.E.L.D agents are. Not only did I love Bobbi, but I also loved her interactions with all the side characters; her therapist, her boyfriend, her ex (my boy Hawkeye), Howard the Duck, Miles Morales, all of them. She had great chemistry with everyone she was put on the page with.

The plot of this comic is a bit confusing at first. The first issue shows Bobbi over the course of a few checkups as you get to know her and what's going on with her medically. Then the next three issues show little adventures between appointments that we just gets hints at in the first issue. The final issue ties it all together. Even with the first issue offering pretty much no explanation for anything, I still really enjoyed it, half because I loved getting to know Bobbi and half because I loved the random cameos in the waiting room (Hercules in particular was always a delight).

Holt shit, I absolutely adored the art in this comic. Kate Niemczyk is a new fave for sure! The detail when it came to people was never so much that it was ever attempting to be realistic but also never felt like that half-assed style where there's hardly any intelligible detail. It was also immediately obvious to me that a woman was illustrating this comic because even when Bobbi's meant to be dressing sexy there are still no gratuitous shots of her boobs or butt. That's always an added bonus in my superhero comics.

The only real criticism I have of this comic is that I thought everything wrapped up a little too quickly. I think this could have benefited from another issue maybe, just so everything wouldn't feel so rushed in that final issue. Other than that, I adored this comic! If you're looking for a great (more or less) standalone comic with your new favourite protagonist, some amazing art, and pretty good social commentary, then I can't recommend this enough.