Review – Help Us! Great Warrior #6 (of 6) (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Madeleine Flores
Artist: Madeleine Flores
Colours: Trillian Gunn
Release Date: 29th July, 2015

In the past few years public figures – Joss Whedon in particular – have spawned an ongoing – often heated – dialogue about the ‘Strong Female Character’ and female representation in our media. One of the criticisms with these kinds of characters is that male writers often seem to see these women’s strength in a way that is ultimately incompatible with their femininity, casting them as isolated and deeply conflicted figures (By the way If you’re wondering what the heck this has to do with a super cute adventure comic from Boom! then hold the phone, I’m getting there.) As much as I love a stoic female badass, à la Imperator Furiosa or Ellen Ripley, there’s a problem when the only way to be a female hero is by rejecting anything feminine. This is why Madeleine Flores’ unabashedly girly Great Warrior is so wonderful.

The Great Warrior isn’t motivated by blood-lust or the need for glory (although she does enjoy a good throw down) but by the need to protect her villagers, who are in fact her own self-made family. She has a deep love of pizza and often tries to avoid her heroic duties. She will pause, mid-battle to check the state of her deodorant or compliment her best friend. And all none of these ‘frivolous’ qualities disqualify her for being a force to be reckoned with.

Issue #6 does not start promisingly, as we find our warrior plunged into the grey abyss of the demon world as the result of last issue’s heroic sacrifice. Predictably though, she bounces right back and is soon embracing her demon heritage to take charge of her new home. This issue brings this arc to a satisfying close, and expands the world of the series by introducing us to the parallel demonic dimension. I’ve long been a fan of the Help Us Great Warrior web-comic which tended to be one-shot jokes played out in four panels (as you can see in the Classic Help Us Great Warrior pages that round out the book) but it’s nice to see the character involved in longer plots, with more emotional resonance.

Madeleine Flores’s art is adorable throughout, her characters have a satisfying heft to them and her use of anime-influenced touches adds additional punch to both emotional and humorous moments, working just as well for a boss-fight as a heartfelt moment between friends. With its aggressively cute potato-shaped characters and incessant bishie sparkles, the medium is perfectly suited to the in-your-face girly-ness of the content.

The series is an all-ages title and as such is very light fare, a fluffy cup-cake rather than a hefty comic meal, but its simplicity is deceptive. Help Us Great Warrior has much to say about how to be heroic. Sometimes it’s about punching demons in the butt of course, but it’s also about taking care of yourself. The Great Warrior constantly approaches challenges on her own terms, and though like all heroes she has her spidey-no-more moments, her underlying self-belief helps her overcome these crises of confidence. She strongly values her friendships and these are a key part of her success. The cutesy style will cause some readers to dismiss it off-hand and it’s a better fit for younger comic book fans but it’s a charming diversion with a great message that you can be strong and girly.

Rating: 3/5.

The writer of this piece was: Kirsty Hunter
Kirsty Tweets from @kirstythehunter.