You should read "Rocket Girl"

So, as time goes on I tend to question the motivation of why I am reading any particular thing. Part of me me wants to pat myself on the back for this, calling it a sort of “unexamined life is not worth living” credo which places me in a high echelon of thinkers but another part of me wants to kick my own ass for ruining what would otherwise be enjoyable pastimes.

It's happening to me with comics. Don't get me wrong, I was never a huge comic guy, but I did read them pretty regularly and mostly enjoyed them. These days, however, as I question why I like a particular book or character I have a hard time answering in a way that could pass as a valid answer.

My problem is this: 90 percent of comics are pretty much the same thing and that thing is pretty ridiculous.

Look, for example, at the art of Jamie Tyndall.

He's going to be at the Salt Lake ComicCon by the way- along with almost the entire cast of TNG.

Before I go on I should say that Tyndall, like most all comic artists, is talented beyond measure and I could practice till the cows come back to their proverbial home and I would never do what he does. ALL THAT SAID.... I can't count more than two body types he draws. Maybe three. I doubt it's a hangup on talent. Rather, it's a symptom of the comic industry's sickness that everything has to be pretty much the same.

Let's set aside the fact that the identically built women and men represent an uncomfortable truth that nerd culture still has a long way to go in understanding gender equality and pay attention only to to the actual story and art that comes from it. It's all the same. I mean look at some of these images:

The only thing different between Superman and Batman is a cowl

Every humanoid is the same height. 

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V

I mean, this sameness happens in other mediums as well. I love the TV show “Breaking Bad” and wrote about it here but there's a knocking at the back of my head that says “This is just another show about a tough guy doing the hard thing to get things done.” I can't even watch most TV because it's either a show about celebrities doing things they don't normally do or rednecks.

Part of the problem is the fan base who meets any sort of change to their favorite characters with the gnashing of teeth.

So, when I come across something unique in the bland landscape of pop culture it makes me really excited and I'm really excited about “Rocket Girl.”

Full disclosure here: I'm somewhat friends with Amy Reeder who is the artist behind “Rocket Girl.” She was my sister's roommate in college and we had some associated hang-out moments. I think we went to the mall together once. She also had a band I was a pretty big fan of. Anyway...

Even with my bias, I think it's safe to say Amy Reeder is one of the freshest things comics has seen in a long while.

Rather than go in-depth to Reeder's history, let's look at the first two issues of “Rocket Girl.”

First off, the lead character is a teenage girl who... looks like an actual teenage girl. Not a miniature adult woman and not a hyper-sexual male fantasy. I spent years working in a residential treatment center for teenage girls so I know what they look like. They look kind of... well... let's call it two parts graceful, one part awkward, one part child and a pinch of adult. It's a subtle thing most artists never get close to while Reeder knocks it out of the park.

Apart from the obvious beauty of the art- the covers of the first two issues are some of the prettiest comic book covers I've ever seen- the character design is great in that each character is completely unique. It's funny how accustom I was to seeing a comic book where every character was, for example, the exact same height and build to where a comic like “Rocket Girl” almost floors me with the radical character design idea that, yeah, people are different heights.

Each character is completely unique- even if they are wearing matching uniforms they each give their own style through how, for example, they choose to tuck in a shirt. It's subtle but it's awesome.

Also, Reeder is the master of facial expressions which bring some of the secondary or tertiary characters to life.

Story-wise the comic succeeds where other seem to fail. Brandon Montclare is the writer and I kind of wish more writers would take his lead when it comes to episodic story telling. I understand the seeming hypocrisy with this statement as I just got done decrying the lack of originality in the comic industry but there ya go.

It's hard for me to explain exactly what makes the story succeed. I think it's because it shy’s away from the typical cliches and archetypes we get used to. The scientists we meet, for example, aren't a bunch of stuffy white men in lab coats. Here we get Annie, a kind of manic woman with frizzy, pink hair who is a bit overweight- at least compared to your standard issue comic book female. It's different, but the story fits well enough so it doesn't seem like a stunt.

Beyond characters the story itself seems to fit. The world creation is engrossing and DaYong's (the protagonist's name is DaYong by the way) quest has the makings of a very engrossing thing. So far, the hallmark of the story seems to be slightly comedic action scenes but there are a few dashes of depth I hope will develop further as the other issues come out.

Reading back over this I think I may have been a bit harsh about the state of modern comics. In reality, when I take off my jaded “I hate everything cool” sunglasses I have to admit there is more diversity in the comic industry than probably ever before, thanks largely to the Internet and independent comics. “Rocket Girl” is one of the new crop from Image Comics and is alive because of a wildly successful kick-starter campaign. I guess my complaint rests mainly with DC and Marvel comic books where every hero is the same height and every heroine is lucky to get to the end of the issue with her pants on.

Still, “Rocket Girl” is something special. Go get the first two issues and prepare for the third that comes out on Dec. 18.