Reviewer: Iain Burnside
Story Title: Down in the Dumpster Blues
Written by: Jim Rugg & Brian Maruca
Penciled by: Jim Rugg
Inked by: N/A
Colored by: N/A
Lettered by: N/A
Editor: N/A
Publisher: Slave Labor Graphics
Cool is an ever elusive quality in all walks of life. In terms of comic books, it’s practically non-existent. I mean, really, what’s so cool about outdated morality tales on Truth, Justice and the American Way? What’s so cool about weepy-eyed melancholy brought on by excessive worrying about Power & Responsibility? What’s cool about spandex, variant covers, deconstruction, disassembling, invalidated deaths, kiss-kiss bang-bang widescreen violence, half-a-dozen rebooted #1 titles per week, crisis after crisis and that ever-pervading feeling that none of it ever really matters?
No, when it comes to the state or quality of being cool, comics have always been a half-step behind. Well, except for the ’80s. Or have they? In between the glossy pamphlets of DC and Marvel, with the kids on one side and the geeks on the other, there is a narrow, OH so narrow, window of opportunity for other publishers to stand up and be counted. The problem is, most of the time, most people aren’t even aware they are meant to be looking.
Pity them, then – for in this slimmest of slim vestibule of hope lies Street Angel, THE coolest comic book of 2004.
Hell, let’s dispense with the vague disclaimers, this is the coolest comic book of the past fifteen years.
It’s so cool that it can waste the solicitation text for this issue on describing issue #5 instead, and come off as charming rather than arrogant. It’s so cool that it can spend the whole of this issue doing not much of anything and still leave the reader feeling like they got value for money – and also, bizarrely, leave them feeling like they want to kick Jerry Seinfeld in the crotch. It’s so cool that every issue comes complete with two covers – one with the familiar pink backgrounds on the front and a variant on the back (this month in 1950’s newspaper strip style) – and doesn’t make any big song and dance about it. It’s so cool that the titular heroine – Jesse Sanchez, a.k.a. Street Angel – squares off against her regular Giant Squid nemesis in a Western showdown before the comic even starts. Nothing about this book is right in any sense of the word and, as the first three issues encounters with confused astronauts, time-traveling pirates, pimptastic Incan Sun Gods and confused ninjas named Gary have shown us, this is EXACTLY what makes it tick.
Yet, in this issue, all of the fantastical comedy elements are nowhere to be found. This issue, the reality of a homeless 14 year-old girl living on the streets kicks in. For most storytellers, no doubt this would mean dredging up some hopelessly derivative or contrived tales of rampant street violence, sexual deviance, racial conflict and drug abuse with a ham-fisted, condescending, finger-wagging undertow of judgement. For Rugg & Maruca, this just means trying to get young Jesse some food without having her pride hurt if at all possible. Honestly, the love the creators obviously have for their character – not to mention the enjoyment they clearly gain from making this comic – is so clear to see that it is quite touching.
At some point in this review the plot should really be covered, so here goes – Jesse is rudely awoken by a curious cat that promptly steals her makeshift bed of old sheets and newspaper. She spends a lot of time trying to find some food and, after talking to a very business-like beggar, she finds a stash of old doughnuts in a dumpster behind a bakery. Unfortunately, a well-to-do girl from school is walking by. Even more unfortunately, the dumpster is ridden with bees – ANGRY bees – and so she has to jump out straight into her path and, well, you know how it isâ?¦
It’s worth mentioning also that, just as this is the first issue to focus on the more personal aspects of Jesse’s world, it is also a major breakthrough in terms of the artwork. The early splash pages exploring the Wilkesborough ghetto really help to give a sense of just what our protagonist has to endure on a daily basis and helps to further our respect and empathy for her, which all builds up to the wonderful pay-off at the dumpster when she comes face-to-face with the girl from her school. It’s two worlds colliding and, with no words spoken, a veritable ream of dialogue is evident in the artwork.
Really though, no matter how many positive adjectives can be lumped into a review, the only way to fully comprehend the strange, beautiful heart and charm of Street Angel is to go and read it. Previews are available online at the official site. Be sure to also keep a look out for Project: Superior, an anthology from Adhouse Books that will be released in February and is in the current issue of Previews. Not only will Rugg & Maruca be involved with the quite marvelous new character Afrodisiac (coming soon too Street Angel #5!) but several other highly talented men and women will be too, including Jim Mahfood, John Cassaday and many, many more. Trust me, this is gonna be cool.
And you DO want to be cool, don’t you?
