Danger Girl is to most a misunderstood comic book franchise.  Many judge the book by its cover and dispel it before reading a single panel and give it the same criticism that many other female led comics get -it is labeled as silly or exploitative and never really given a chance.  It is true that it is silly, but it is designed as a parody of the spy franchise and any parody has to contain some level of humor.  What is not understood is the exploitation, which is evidently there but not to the degree that most assume.  The female characters are sometimes treated as caricatures of female characters in espionage films, but the male characters are actually far more over-the-top.  Johnny Barracuda could be easily considered to be more offensive to male readers than Sydney or Abbey could be to female ones.  Furthermore, while the Danger Girls are drawn in revealing clothing, it should also be noted that their costumes are actually far less revealing than most comic book superheroines.  The entire franchise could then be said to be one which is somewhat misunderstood and underappreciated.

Because of that the series has never really caught on, although it does have its fans.  There have been a few ongoing plot elements that have never really been explored, but chief among those is Abbey’s background.  As is evident in this first issue, it is not as though Abbey is an amnesiac and cannot remember anything from her younger years, rather it is just that she does not understand what the events of those early years signify.  There have been other developments that have been hinted at in previous series, but there have never really been any answers.

There are no real answers here either, but they are ready to be explored, or so it would seem.  The setup to revealing Abbey’s past is handled well here as there are no immediate revelations, but rather true to the life of a spy, her secrets have secrets, and the introduction to her past in this issue is thus handled well, giving a glimpse, albeit a short one, into her past and how she is tied to the others.  The only drawback one could identify from this series is that the other members of the Danger Girl team are missing, though that doesn’t seem to be something that will continue through the series.  At the moment this is a fun introduction to a question that fans of the series have always had and it will be interesting to see what the creators have in store for the remainder of the series.

Story: Andy Hartnell Art: Stephen Molnar
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

IDW provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.