Comic Review: Street Angel: Vol 1: Deadliest Girl Alive

Street Angel: Vol 1: Deadliest Girl Alive

Image Comics

Writer: Brian Maruca & Jim Rugg

Artist: Jim Rugg

Street Angel is a punk-rock, post-modern, satirical social commentary tackling a myriad of societal issues such as youth homelessness, institutional violence, male misogyny, and gender norms. While it’s been an under-the-radar title from Image, it’s totally worth your time. Here’s why.

There are a lot of assumptions this story makes that readers have to accept. First off, a homeless middle schooler by the name of Jesse Sanchez has superpowers. Sure, those superpowers aren’t readily defined, but she is, like, just the best fighter. She “…ninjas, drugs, nepotism, and pre-algebra…” and just like that, I was like–I love this comic. She’s also the world’s best homeless skateboarder. So punk. Each issue is an episode within Jesse’s life. Sometimes, she beats up bullies picking on a stray dog. Other times she goes to middle school. Each issue is unique, funny, and questions the norms of our society.

The characters in this piece are great, though Jesse is the only persistent one. From Benji, a.k.a Princess, the dog, to Whiskas the attack tiger, this piece is full of hilarious characters that aren’t boxed in by humans alone. Sometimes these characters are introduced with a type of playing card that shows their stats, special moves, and some fun facts. I couldn’t help but laugh at these types of introductions. While the plot and character development aren’t really linear, the issues vary enough to keep readers wondering what will happen next.

True to form, as a punk-rock comic book should, the art is raw and dark. It’s the type of art you’d image a spray paint tagger might use to tell a story. It’s like the petroglyphs of skateboarders underneath an overpass with a homemade rail and particle board quarterpipe. Then there are the sound effects mashed in over the images. The result is an immersive cityscape with sounds and smalls as well as broken windows, dirty streets, and lots and lots of spray paint. Lastly, the paneling is essential to the feel of this piece. There are few if any six-panel pages and many scenes take up full-page splashes, or even spreads. Action and violence are large, loud, but also comical in character’s ninja poses. While all this happens, readers get the feeling they are in an anarchist city where anything could happen. Even the physical laws of our world don’t apply. All of these attributes make the art not only appropriate but a gripping aspect of storytelling.