Jim Rugg

You are required to love a comic that features a rogue geologist as a villain. Yes.

Street Angel is the story of a homeless 13-year old world-class skateboarder and ninja fighter. She lives in a world of (the aforementioned) ninjas and scientists, but her world is also chock full of Aztec gods, Conquistadores, Irish astronauts, Satanists, and the headaches that come with being homeless. This volume collects the five issues of the series as well as short stories, covers, and a wealth of pinups show more and sketches. And it is a thing of beauty.

The stories in Street Angel happen free of context and, blessedly, continuity. Each story seems to happen in its own little universe of fun. I suspect that Rugg (artist and co-writer) and Maruca (co-writer) weren't so interested in telling a grand, linear story; they were mostly concerned with figuring out how comics work. They needed to figure out the rules, and then they needed to break them completely.

The collection I own is called "volume one" in the indicia. I pray that there will be a second some day. show less

I love the sense of humor behind this rather violent comic about a crime-fighting, skate-boarding orphan. The stories are short, unrelated and they take every opportunity to poke fun at familiar themes. My favorite line is said by a Spanish conquistador who has traveled forward into Street Angel's time. When she asks what their deal is, one of them says, "We come from your distant past." and the other says

Or possibly from your future...you know...if there was some kind of apocalypse and

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mankind lost all of its technological prowess, had to start over from scratch and civilization followed roughly the same path a second time around.

The character profiles in between each story, outlining their abilities (such as strength, intelligence and skateboarding skills) were fun, and there's a great cover gallery at the end of the book. show less

Summary: In Janes in Love, the Janes have mostly given up their guerilla art campaign after the New Year's Eve incident, and have turned their attention to matters more personal. But Jane is finding out that neither art nor love is particularly easy, and that in order to find one, she'll have to pursue the other.

Review: In this volume we do see some more from the other Janes, but I still felt like the story was not as well rounded as it could have been. While there was an interesting story show more and a good message, it all primarily focuses around Jane, and I think that it would have been a deeper and more compelling story if we'd gotten the bigger picture. Art Saves Jane, and maybe Art Saves Jane's town, but what saves Jayne? Or Polly Jane? The other Janes don't really have the depth of characterization as Main Jane, and even in this volume are occasionally treated as little more than comic relief. Developing them more as characters, and focusing more on their relationships, both with each other and with the wider world, would have helped. However, I still appreciate the themes behind the story, about the power of creativity and expression, and I especially liked the message that if a crush doesn't like you back, it's not the end of the world, or of your worth as a person. Overall, these were a quick, cute read, with an interesting take on fear and art and community and fitting in and expressing oneself. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: While I think this would appeal most strongly to aspiring artists, it should be enjoyable for anyone who felt like their high school just didn't get it. show less

I was so prepared to call this quirky and tryhard, but it’s actually charming. I love the conversations about being afraid of how the world is going (look, we’re in a worldwide pandemic right now) but fighting to see the beauty in it. Of course, I also enjoyed the conversations about the different methods of art, controlled and poised and explosive and combative, etc. Payne is really rough around the edges, but she added a fun layer to the plainness.

I’m glad Jane’s PTSD and anxiety show more after the incident are treated realistically, and I liked her mom’s development. The “evil adults” who wanna ruin all artistic expressions trope felt a bit cliché here, but it works, I guess. The Janes are all flat archetypes, but that also works I suppose. The book feels like a conversation-piece to me more so than a character or plot-driven story, but I liked it.

3.5 show less