Tura and Eva #1

Posted: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Tura and Eva #1 Creator(s): Jim Sumii
Publishers: Fecus Publishing (Self Published)
From: USA
Price: $2.50 (US)

It's ironic that a medium with the name comics for the most part takes it self far two seriously. Just why would people with super powers wear daft, skin-tight costumes? And if people really did that, wouldn't people make fun of them instead of showing them reverence? Jim seems to realise this is a problem, and so in this series dealing with two young female want-to-be superheros he treats the genre with the light touch it deserves, while still delivering a healthy dose of super-villains, urban destruction and Holles Brand Fudge Sponges.

Tura and Eva are self-aware heroes, berating their creator for not having drawn an adventure for them for a year, so they venture out on their own. There are other self-referential references as the two meet another team who spend all their time on corporate promotions. A wonderfully bitchy argument soon ensues and costumes are stolen. Jim has an appealing sense of the ridiculous, typified by the character Disco Girl, who unleashes her Disco Wall and Disco Wall attacks when fighting crime as well as pissed off DIY comic zine heroines.

Jim manages to pull the reader into his comic very efficiently, providing a refreshingly entertaining take on making fun of super-heroes. One of the keys to his success is the charming artwork (a mix between Archie comics, Scott McCloud and Brad Yung) that provides us with a couple of cute main characters and a jolly supporting cast. There's really nothing more he could do to make this anymore visually appealing. The comic has high production values, with an attractive colour cover and some very well executed grey-scale colouring and printing.

This book pokes fun at mainstream comics, flying the flag for small press characters and there creators. The tone is light, but the use of the occasional swear word and tenancy to target clichés means it would best fit a more mature comics reader who knows what targets are being hit and will appreciate the skill with which it achieves this.

In a Word: Wild.



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