Jim Mahfood’s self-published series is once again unleashed to the wider world via Image Comics. Read on for our review of this brand new series of “Grrl Scouts”, which contains minor spoilers.
Written and illustrated by Jim Mahfood
Colored and Lettered by Justin Stewart
Designed by Carmen AcostaJIM MAHFOOD (Tank Girl, Clerks) debuts his first new creator-owned work in years with the glorious return of GRRL SCOUTS! Join Gwen, Daphne, and Rita as they reunite for a pulse-pounding psychedelic adventure through the streets of Freak City. This first issue is stuffed to the gills with an action-packed story, bonus art, soundtrack, sketchbook, and a behind-the-scenes comic thingy. Plus, a variant cover by the one and only SKOTTIE YOUNG! Pure fun! Pure flavor!
Comics like “Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks” #1 are the reason why creator-owned books exist. There’s such a wealth of creative freedom within these pages that it feels exactly like Mahfood has printed these pages out and handed them directly to you. Which is no doubt the point, as the excellent design work on this debut issue – from the crude, comic strip style recap page to the yellowed, paint-splattered sketch pages at the back of the book – works to provide the harmoniously organized chaos that is “Grrl Scouts”. It’s this aesthetic that will provide a familiar feel to those fortunate enough to have collected Mahfood’s original, self-published efforts (then going by the name “Girl Scouts” until a Cease and Desist order,) and undoubtedly the feel the creative team is going for.
The titular “Grrl Scouts” are Gwen, Daphne, and Rita, and it’s Daphne’s cousin Josie that is the villain of the piece, chasing the girls down for the equally titular “Magic Socks” which, aside from being magical, are kept deliberately vague in this first issue. Josie is an instantly unlikeable character, killing her own mother for trying to give her medication prescribed to her by a psychiatrist. The visually striking way in which she carries out the killing is worth noting, as Josie summons a magical gun seemingly from an app on her phone, the ‘BLAM!’s slicing through the panel and murdering her mother. This aesthetic is picked up later in the issue and introduces the reader to a world where truly anything could happen. After the deed, Josie instructs one of her ‘delinquent’ henchmen to “film that and post it”, instantly capturing her cold attitude and setting her up as a real threat.
We’re told early on that this is about a year or so since their last adventures, and the rest of the issue is given over to bringing the gang back together. The characters have had a couple releases from Image Comics in the past, as well as one from Oni Press, but “Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks” #1 could still be someone’s first time in this world, and as such, Mahfood does a good job of bringing the reader up to speed on just who these girls are, and more importantly where their moral compass is pointing. We seem to learn a lot more about Daphne in that regard, as she loses her job at a strip club because she’s dealing drugs (and taking drugs) while on duty, a fact that leads to the first confrontation of the issue with the club’s manager. None of these girls are innocent, and while Josie is set up as a killer of innocents – a line our protagonists won’t cross – the Grrl Scouts themselves aren’t afraid to break a few noses as well as the law.
The art style initially feels like a confusing mess of non-existent panel borders, splashy colors and messy linework, but when reading through the issue, there’s a natural creative flow that betrays the complexity of any given page. Like all the best graffiti, “Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks” #1 combines exaggerated form and vibrant colors to craft a style all of its own. The pop-art backgrounds, the characters drenched in neon shades, the sound effects included in the action like tangible, floating structures within the set, all are framed by hand-drawn panels that barely contain the imagination within. Similarly, there’s a level of detail in the minutiae of a scene that really demonstrates a skill beyond that which the visual style suggest. One full page spread of Rita painting in her apartment is a perfect example of this, as she’s surrounded by posters, records, even other Image comics; the standard detritus of an artist who doesn’t care for their surroundings. Such detail doesn’t just set the scene, every detail in the background is more information about Rita herself.
Continued belowThis is a book that works hard to look effortless. A casual read-through might give the illusion of shallow punk-rock psychedelia, but there’s a hidden depth to “Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks” #1, or at least a conscious effort on Mahfood’s part to reclaim a reckless sense of creativity that’s lost in the over-produced sheen of modern pop culture. The Looney Tunes sense of physics, the superbly striking colors of Justin Stewart, and the obscenely graphic content all steer far from current comics and grasp at a sense of form that is unafraid to push forward rather than emulate its peers.
“Grrl Scouts Magic Socks” #1 takes a fairly standard adventure story, and injects a layer of neon grime and foul language that results in a book that very clearly follows the footsteps of “Tank Girl” and the underground punk ‘zines of the 80s and 90s – there’s an explanation of these influences in the back matter in fact – yet Mahfood pushes that tradition further, utilising standard structural tropes and story conventions as a backbone for insanely trippy visuals and effortlessly original design. They don’t make comics like this anymore, but they really should.
Final verdict: 8.5 – A high-octane neon-drenched acid trip that feels like an underground punk zine, “Grrl Scouts” is unlike anything else out there.
