With it being a miserably cold January, I couldn’t help but want a pick me up from the slew of depressing stories most of the larger books are currently running. ‘The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl’ was exactly what I needed! Bringing us a new take on Doreen Green as she navigates a new life, Doreen isn’t just hanging out at the Avengers Mansion but is taking her first semester at college. Yes, the master of all things squirrel is looking to expand her horizons and take on new knowledge and responsibilities!

I have to say that Ryan North knows how to pen a story full of humor that draws you right in. Action, suspense, surprises, college classes gone wrong, and two potential character introductions that we’ll see Doreen working on while pretending to be a civilian. It was a great first issue that introduced characters unfamiliar with Squirrel Girl to the character, some of her powers, and some of her personality. For those of us who have loved the Great Lakes Avengers (you know, from those of us actually by the Great Lakes who don’t feel that the Midwest gets enough love in comics) this is a fine return of one of our favorite characters.

Erica Henderson’s style fits the comic perfectly. Lighthearted, almost cartoony, but serious enough to keep things interesting. The fight scenes illustrated within are both fun and creative though are almost out-shadowed by the amount of detail that goes in between mixing the superhero and the every day college student. Oh, and how fun are the massive influx of squirrels.

For an Avenger that has been able to defeat Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos as well as be the nanny to Luke Cage’s kid, clearly we’re in for something special when Squirrel Girl is getting her own set of solo adventures. We know that “she’s got partially squirrel blood” and from that she has strength, agility, and the ability to commune with her own set of furry friends. Now, though, she has to deal with college students as she pursues her ongoing education and that is going to be a whole new mess of troubles as she’s never seen before. From keeping her identity a secret to showing up to class on time, this is going to be a totally different kind of ride than we’re used to from Marvel.

At least, the Marvel from a few years ago. With the introduction of solo adventures in the likes of ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Ms. Marvel,’ we see that the publisher is willing to go out on a limb and get a lot more creative with its characters and while some of the major crossover events have been a let down, these new titles have really let the creative minds in the House of Ideas shine!

The first outing of ‘The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl’ is a successful adventure steeped in comedy that will have you coming back for more. Her next big task that is shown in the cliffhanger only draws you in more on how exactly she will end up having to tackle such an antagonist of galactic proportions. Of course, this is the same Squirrel Girl who was able to take down Thanos, so anything is possible. I can’t wait to see what kind of ridiculous adventures we’ll be seeing her tackle in the next outing!

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THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Erica Henderson