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Electric Girl Issue 8
Distributed by: Mighty Gremlin
Written and Illustrated: Mike Brennan
Genre: Supernatural
Rating: E for Everyone
Reviewed by: Justine Manzano
Reviewing comic books often lead one into such interesting worlds. Few however have allowed me to meet characters with such interesting names as Oogleeoog and Blammo. That is, of course until I picked up Issue 8 of Electric Girl. Knowing nothing about the comic book series or the characters in it, I began to read, already completely sure that this was going to be another mind-numbing experience. Of course, as usually happens when a person has pre-conceived notions, mine were blown out of the water. I was pleasantly amazed by this little comic book, as it packed a huge comedic punch!
The story of Electric Girl follows a young girl named Virginia, who has the strange ability to be able to conduct electricity. What sets Electric Girl apart from other comics was that this was not a Superhero drama. Virginia is not about to fly to anyone's rescue-in fact; her sardonic and snotty view of the world will not allow her. Instead, Virginia simply tries to live life as though she has no powers-and she gets into plenty of trouble just doing that.
Virginia is an interesting character to helm a comic book. Her strong Daria-style attitude makes her more than entertaining. But author and artist Mike Brennan gives us two other interesting characters to strengthen the mix. The first is Virginia's dog, Blammo, who will touch the heart of anyone who has ever had a pet. Then there is Oogleeoog, a gremlin who has been following Ginny around all of her life. He cannot be seen by anybody but animals and those he chooses to reveal himself to-and Virginia is the only human that he has ever revealed himself too. The two have a quirky and competitive friendship, hurling insults at one another constantly. Now, what is a gremlin, you might ask? Well, gremlins are the cause of mischief in this world, so you can imagine how much fun it must be to have Oogleeoog around.
In this particular issue, we join Ginny as she goes to the dentist. Now, a dentist visit can be a horror for anybody, but it is much worse for a girl who conducts electricity, as you can imagine. This comic is just fun for the look on the dentists face when she walks into the office.
The second story in the comic focused more on Oogleeoog. It follows him and his friend Mikkimak who has just admitted that he is in love with a human, and has decided he wants become one. In a desperate attempt to get Mikkimak to change his mind, Oogleoog pulls Ginny into a trial to prove that Mikkimak is wrong, all so Oogleoog does not have to see his poor demon friend get hurt. The surprise ending on this story was priceless and goes to show that you really have to know someone to love them.
The final story in the comic focused Blammo and his trip to the park with Ginny's father. This story has no dialogue, but the pictures are worth a thousand words and all of them are hilarious.
All in all, I found Electric Girl to be quite a fun experience. The book is for all ages, and it has the simple easy-to-follow storylines to make it good for children and a biting dark humor that adults can hold onto. Electric Girl certainly is in a world all to itself. As long as this comic book holds onto its original roots, it hast a new fan for life. Not to mention the fact that Blammo is just too damn cute! I must go buy his t-shirt!
Send your comments and or questions about this article to Jmanzano@ybfree.com.
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