Sunday, June 25, 2023

Sunday Splash Page #276

 
"Mascot Rodeo," in Jenny Zero II #2, by Dave Dwonch (writer/letterer), Brockton McKinney (writer), Magenta King (artist), Arnaldo Robles (color artist)

Following directly from the first mini-series, Jenny Zero II has the title character embrace her role as the first line of defense against the kaiju, while retaining her, unique charm. Meaning she still curses a lot and gets shit-faced at public appearances, and sleeps with her extremely obnoxious alpha male stereotype coworker.

The creative team use a diary of her father's Jenny received at the end of the previous mini to delve a little into how Jennys father gained his powers, though it doesn't get much beyond when they manifest. We also get to see what exactly was the screw-up Jenny made that sent her into such a tailspin before her father even died. Robles does some lovely color work for the parts of that where Jenny's using some sort of kaiju-derived narcotic.

Magenta King smooths out her linework considerably from the first mini-series. Which has the effect of making Jenny look more stable, more in-control. And she mostly is, so that's fine. Even if she's joking around, she doesn't dismiss facing the threats that arise, she fights them. The figures aren't any busier, King still being restrained and keeping things straightforward with the shading. Not a lot of hatching or extra little lines allover. Everybody's in the bloom of youth and having fun, no such thing as stress lines!

The mini-series wraps up with the Director of the agency revealing herself as a worshipper of some kaiju death cult that revived the worst kaiju as a mixture of biology and science. The metal face under its flesh face looks a lot like Ultron, but maybe that's unavoidable if you want a silver-grey machine with an ominous glowing grin. Jenny manages to handle that, but may have lost every other member of her supporting cast she actually liked in the span of about ten pages.

That the (at present unconfirmed) deaths of her best friend and uncle would hurt makes sense; that she would seem be distraught enough over alpha dork seemed unlikely. She'd been giving him shit since he appeared in the first mini-series. They get drunk and fuck once, and now she really likes him? Plus, the comic goes to pains to highlight the Director has three assistants who are mentally linked, all with different telepathic specialties. Like removing memories or inserting them, or producing illusions. After the first issue, it doesn't really come up, which felt like a missed opportunity. Unless it's going to pay off in Jenny Zero III: The Search for the Good Tequila.

I'm joking. No such thing as good tequila.

The third mini-series has not been solicited at the time of this post going up, but I assume there'll be one since the Director's on the loose and Jenny's mother has apparently decided now is the time to get involved in her daughter's life. As opposed to, you know, those years Jenny was an alcoholic, pill-popping tabloid disaster.

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