The final story arc of “Crime War,” “Geek-Girl Volume 2 #4: The Legion of Larcenists,” is written by Sam Johnson, art by Carlos Granda, colored by Chunlin Zhao, and lettered by Paul McLaren. This issue has 31 pages and is available digitally on comiXology by clicking HERE; published by Markosia Comics. The rating is Teen+ and this extra-sized issue retails for $3.99. The tagline for this issue is: “Ruby Kaye, the original Geek-Girl is back in action! The League of Larcenists are now Legion – and after a night on the town with her BFF Summer, Geek-Girl is ‘ready’ to take them on – with a hangover!”
The cover for this issue is similar to the cover for issue TWO, but the main difference is that now, Pig Head has fulfilled his team of “The Legion of Larcenists.” What I really like about the “Geek-Girl” issues are the recaps before the story begins. Reading a lot of titles per week, both weekly web comics and monthly titles (manga and comic books), sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all these wonderful series, so recaps are greatly appreciated. After the recap, the story begins with a prologue, where readers will see Maine’s original super-heroine, Neon Girl, and she’s having a serious conversation with high-tech guru, Johnny Carlyle. Is Mr. Carlyle good, is he bad…and why does he smoke so much?
The following scene takes the readers to the present, and here we see Ruby Kaye and Summer James visiting their friend Mariella at the place of her employment, “Munchers.” A nice conversation occurs here, and this is when the readers will see how close these three ladies are, especially Ruby and Summer. They are best friends, after all, and it really shows here. Then a petty criminal shows up, but he’s no match for Ruby, aka Geek-Girl! Once Ruby takes care of the criminal, she asks Mariella for a cocktail, then she blacks out. This takes us to the next scene…
I don’t want to spoil any more of this story, but the following scenes reveal The Legion of Larcenists, and two key players who are not “all in” with Pig Head‘s ideals, so they form an alliance. This is a key moment in this story, and with the announcement of “Geek-Girl” being an ongoing title now, hopefully we’ll see more of these two characters, and the Legion themselves. The team-up of Neon Girl and Geek-Girl was worth the wait, the action is intense, and for the fans who’ve been reading this series since the beginning, they’ll notice how much Geek-Girl has matured as a super-heroine, and the confidence she now has. With future issues, we’ll have to wait and see how long this confidence lasts.
The cliffhanger at the end of the story is interesting, it reveals events that may come into fruition depending on “offers” that were proposed to Geek-Girl and a guy named Tyler, who played a major role in this story. Now the question is, “what will happen next?” Now that this series is an ongoing title, readers will find out what’s to come with future installments to these stories.
“Geek-Girl #4” ends the “Crime War” story arc relatively well. What Sam Johnson does so well as the writer, is that he focuses on characterization for each character. Whether it’s a main character, or some that readers may see from time to time, he knows how to draw the readers into the story; into this city in Maine. From the small conversations that these characters have, to the main dialogue that occurs during the major fight scenes, readers are there, witnessing these events right before their eyes. These are characters readers will care about, and they’ll want to come back to see what happens next. The realistic elements added in these stories makes the settings, characters, and plot “three-dimensional,” and readers can relate to these things.
The artwork by Carlos Granda brings the stories to life, from the structures, to the vehicles, and the expressions on the characters’ faces, even the way they pose, it vivifies the universe of “Geek-Girl.” Add the coloring by Chunlin Zhao, words can’t describe how well this creative team delivers with each issue. But the story can’t be told without the letterer, and Paul McLaren does an amazing job with this issue like he has with every project he’s worked on. Kudos to the “Geek-Girl” staff for another great installment to this story arc and overall presentation of this issue.
“Geek-Girl #4” was a fun comic book to read. The character conversations, the plot, the settings, and the fight scenes were meshed well in this extra-sized issue. It was really nice to see Ruby Kaye return as Geek-Girl (now that she’s out of her coma), but I’ll admit, I’m going to miss seeing Summer James as the stand-in Geek-Girl. Nevertheless, this is Ruby‘s alter-ego, so seeing her suit-up again was fantastic, and seeing her team-up with Neon Girl was awesome! Hopefully, there will be a way for Summer James to become her own, individual super-heroine, but if she remains as a secondary character to Ruby, that’s not bad either. Great stories need the “best friend” character to be there for the protagonist, so only time will tell what will become of Summer James. I rate “Geek-Girl #4” 4.9 Geek-Heads out of 5, a great way to end this story arc, and I highly recommend this book to comic books readers and fans of independent comics. Below are some options for buying this issue digitally or in print:
Indy Planet (print and digital copies available)
Geek-Girl and all characters/contents copyright © 2019 Sam Johnson.
Anything Geek Culture 