I have a feeling that I’m going to lose any fanboy cred I may have with the next sentence, but I’ll say it anyway; I enjoyed Marvel Divas. Of course, I also liked Twilight, so perhaps it’s no surprise. The best, and most obvious, description of this four ish mini is Sex and the City in the Marvel U. It’s an apt indication of what lies in these pages. Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa’s playwright tendencies show through with great aplomb. He has a terrific handle on dialogue. Witty, casual and sometimes funny, it’s kind of like Kevin Smith or Joss Whedon. Kind of.

Giving a mini-series to four superheroines who are also BFFs is a bold move, but as is the constant cry of fangirls, there really aren’t many titles with chicks in mind. There’s far more talking (about boys, sex and parties)than fighting and this could just as easily work without Hellcat, Photon, Black Cat and Firestar as you’d never know they were superheroines. There’s the occasional Marvel cameo (Black Panther, Son of Satan, Brother Voodoo) and some slightly odd lines that veer closely to fourth-wall-breakers. And would busy superheroines really go to a glitzy book launch? Maybe.

This book is light and fluffy and there’s a loose plot about Patsy Walker’s novel debut and Felicia Hardy’s plans for a detective agency and a last page where one of the Sisters of the Spandex Pants reveals she has cancer. Where this all goes is anyone’s guess, but it’d be a safe bet to say there’s more hugging, tears, and clingy boyfriends. Tonci Zonic’s art fits in to this daytime soap opera like a leather glove on a well manicured hand. Reminiscent of Marcos Martin at his best, it’s simple yet expressive.

It’s not exactly the sort of book that a fanboy can give to his uncertain girlfriend or wife and declare, “Here honey! Finally a comic with girl superheroes! You’ll love it!” There’s too many Marvel U references in it for that, but if you want something different and enjoyed The Notebook, then don’t feel ashamed by taking this to the counter. 

July 5, 2009
Categories: Comic Art, Reviews . Tags: Marvel comics, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Tonci Zonjic . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment