If you consider yourself a fanzerfaust of Peter Panzerfaust (not even gonna apologize for that one), there’s no doubt you’ve been eagerly awaiting Tiger Lily’s appearance. Well, the wait is over, and she gets a hell of an entrance. (The overall issue ain’t too shabby either.)
Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe
Illustrated by Tyler Jenkins“PARIS,” Part Two
The Boys team up with a local band of resistance fighters who fight for the same goal of freeing prisoners of war. A daring rescue operation puts Peter and the Lost Boys in the crosshairs of the German army while new allies offer a door to a whole new world.
As the ‘Paris’ arc continues, Julien retells the story of how Peter and the Lost Boys managed to free a group of French POWs. We left off last issue when Julien encountered something of a snag in the plan; luckily, that snag’s name is Tiger Lily, and she proves to be the sort of person you want on your side when the going gets tough. Tracing the harrowing progress of the rescue plan as well as its consequences, this is another well-paced, action-packed issue, with Wiebe’s writing (as always) coming across strong and assured, and Jenkins’ art (which manages at least one neat surprise in every issue) getting some great moments.
A high point for both art and writing occurs early in this issue, when Julien explains the plan to Tiger Lily and we get a wordless black and white page which deftly and comprehensibly lays out the essence of what he’s saying. It’s a stylish little change of pace that calls to mind the black and white footage of the war that we’re all familiar with, and in that respect serves as a reminder that it’s Julien telling this story — Julien, whose present-day job is to teach French students about the war. As we saw last issue, it’s a job that requires a certain amount of “editing” when it comes to retelling particular events, and here we’re reminded that Julien is doing just that as he guides us through the story.
Meanwhile, Tiger Lily’s debut certainly doesn’t disappoint: a member of burgeoning resistance cell, she kicks all kinds of ass and definitely makes her contribution to the rescue plan. She does, however, turn out to be a French girl who likes to dress up as a Brave, which is… a little odd? I’m sure there’s going to be some back story in this department, but for the moment the dress-up aspect to her character is a little unaccountable, particularly since she’s so serious and so deadly. But then, someone with imaginative propensities certainly doesn’t seem out of place in a Peter Pan story, and bearing in mind Tiger Lily’s role in the original book, this similarity to Peter may at some point cause some, erm, problems. I worry for Julien, I really do.
There’s more to this issue than just the rescue mission, though, and a nice introspective moment toward the end raises the question as to how — and why — love and war can co-exist. The final page, however is a bit puzzling; it reinforces that idea, but seems a bit incongruous, considering how the character that it features doesn’t really appear in the issue before that point.
Tyler Jenkins’ art is solid as usual, really shining with regard to Tiger Lily’s expressions and outfit (this in a comic where, typically, the women are the least well drawn). There’s actually more attention paid to facial expression now than there tended to be in the first arc, and the result is a higher emotional ante and a comic that reads much more smoothly. The rescue mission, meanwhile, is laid out particularly well, with unusually shaped panels and stretches of white space breaking up the comic’s look in interesting ways.
Overall, this is another great issue of a series that has only been getting better and better as it goes on — no mean feat for an ongoing. And while not everything turns out peachy as the end of this issue, Julien makes it clear that with Peter around — and now Tiger Lily — there’s hope for the future.
Final Verdict: 8.5
