Geek Girl Issue Three Review: Room to Grow

The medium of comic books has a tough job. What needs to happen is that a visual aspect of art must work in tandem with the narrative from the cover. In the case of issue three of ‘Geek Girl’ before you dive in, there’s a crazed looking woman staring down at you. Her name is Nina Dante and she is a serious threat with her lip and nose ring. But more than that is the determined stare as well as a clenched fist. Already intrigued you have to know why Nina is contemptuously glaring at the reader. Still, the actions of issue two have to be addressed.

Ruby, the original teen to hold the mantle of Geek Girl wasn’t hero material to begin with. Having stolen the tech from a lovesick peer, then guided or guilt-ridden into becoming a superhero by her friend Summer, Ruby gets seriously injured. During her recovery, Summer figures she can hand back the tech, become friends again and maybe a proper thank you. That isn’t the case. Not only is Ruby being willfully-selfish, her parents blame Summer for the choices their daughter made. Summer having been stripped of her abilities still believes in being a hero nearly gets herself and a friend killed. No one in this comic seems to be thinking things through. Rather, they’re everyday people who have no idea that there are serious consequences to being a hero. You may think because of Ruby’s near death experience she would have a bit more grace when dealing with the people who filled in for her. There isn’t. And though the fear of being Geek Girl again is frightening, she didn’t have to take back the technology that gave her the abilities of strength and flight. At least she could have returned it to the original owner. The character we feel for is Summer as she faces disillusionment in her young life, we root for her to survive long enough to learn from these experiences.

That said, the “real Geek Girl” has powerful enemies and they don’t care that she’s too scared to fight. As if on cue, here comes Nina challenging Ruby to a fight in public. Nina has no time for Ruby’s teenage angst, she wants to prove her metal as an enhanced being and maybe get enough money to get some more work done. One thing a seemingly manic Nina does is give Ruby perspective. No, she can’t go back to her old way of thinking. But she can appreciate the supports system she has and perhaps finally understand what it means to be a hero.

Overall ‘Geek Girl’s’ third issue shows that even teenagers can mature. Still, while friendships are being repaired, danger is lurking. When one threat is taken care of another enhanced woman is calling Ruby out. Issue four will bring on more challenges. Remember Pigman and his gang are still out there. And there’s that organization that’s selling ways of making people powerful. There are many more stories to tell.