There is a resilient spirit of pluck and pep in the stories of Lady Fight: Aggression that perseveres from beginning to end. I first experienced Earthbound Comics’ trinity of femme fatales with the Escalation installment of the series, but I didn’t know what to make of it at the time. The art was quirky and fun, and while the flash-fiction stories poked at my imagination, I was ultimately left unnourished. I needed more.
Well, now I have more, and I like Lady Fight more as a result. With Escalation, the stories were dropped in my lap; I didn’t know what to make of the three heroes that star in this series. Their actions were trite and their motives were boilerplate. But with Aggression, I see an arc, and with it the characters have more flavor and purpose.
Like with the previous issue, the book is broken into three stories that are about seven pages each. The first is “Cat 5” by writer Sebastian Piccione and artist Mike Dreher, which features the sassy hero named Category 5 (due to her ability to whip up the air around her into hurricanes). In the most current chapter, she’s not fighting a lame shark villain like in the last issue, but rather ghost pirates. These phantoms are haunting the seas looking for their buried (and cursed) treasure. Once the hero is called in, will she help or hinder the wraiths? At first, I almost tossed the book aside over this very plot, but once I finished the story, it was more satirical than anything else. I was taking the story too seriously, and when I loosened up, I even had a chuckle.
The second addition is “Explosion Proof” by writer/artist Matthew Grant, which deals with the secret agent turned mercenary named EePee, who is battling enemy agents in order to uncover a secret “List,” which is a collection of bounties worth more than anything else in the world, at least to a merc with the savvy and dexterity to carry out such deadly operations. I must admit, I have a soft spot for this character; she’s the vaguest of the three women this series explores, but I appreciate her nerve. And her hybrid persona of the Black Widow and Spider-Woman doesn’t hurt, either.
The final tale is “Souverain,” which was my favorite installment in Escalation, but my least favorite in Aggression. I admire writer Mike Luoma and artist Ben Ferrari’s ambition to create a hero battling both the corrupt government in Afghanistan as well as the interfering presence of the United States, but the span of seven pages isn’t enough to fully solidify this character, who is set in the most interesting of environments and circumstances. The story is a bit convoluted despite its thoughtful premise—such a tale requires more room to stretch out.
I’d like to know the ultimate intention of the creators of the Lady Fight series: what exactly are they trying to do here? But I cannot read their minds, and I’m only able to evaluate what’s in front of me. For all of their testosterone, I’m willing to say that they’re fairly skilled at crafting interesting feminine heroes. I’m sure it’s not easy, but I do believe they’ve all done it. The three characters are unique and have special personas, and even when I don’t like the stories they appear in all the time, I’m able to appreciate the characters regardless.
When I don’t like the first issue of a book, that’s usually the end of it; it’s rare that I soften to future issues. But it seems that’s the case for the fellows over at Earthbound. I’d say they know what they’re doing, and I look forward to seeing their future progress down the road.
This comic book review originally appeared on Broken Frontier on 08 March 2010.
