Reviews
Kung Fu Grip!
Medium Rare Reviews
Only two pages into issue #1, the brawl between the chicks on the cover (Neon Girl & Atom Girl) begins, and it’s 1 part brutal, 2 parts sexy, and 3 parts seriously funny — which is a winning recipe in my book. I’m not really one for spoilers of any kind, but there’s some really cool soap opera drama bubbling under the surface.
The Comics Journal
Division of Labor: Tag Team #1
What makes this comic work is the sense that it was much more than a mere exercise or gimmick. Each artist seemed to throw themselves into each tightly-wound four-page story, each acting almost as different parts of the same organism, with everyone trying to make the other look good through their individual efforts in the collaboration. Tag Team showed off a diverse set of art styles and page design concepts, which contributed to each story feeling different despite the same general constraints.
The Comics Journal
Rich Kreiner: Minis Monday: Pizza Wizard, Sugarcube and Neon Girl
Neon Girl by Dennis Pacheco so convincingly harnesses mainstream superhero trappings that it’s difficult not to read her adventures without comparison and reference to mainstream fare. Still, Pacheco does work in his idiosyncratic wrinkles, chief of which is an overt allowance for sex and sexuality: For instance, superhero-spotting is facilitated by eyeballing breast size. Issue one features an extended “Big Girl Fight” mixing generic mayhem and coy dishabille. Issue zero, in addition to its battle, gets down to the sheets with the joy of boning a superhottie which segues neatly to a moment of wizening insight. Pacheco’s dialogue, plotting and rendering is certainly convincing enough to meet industry standards. So depending where his heart lies, it seems entirely possible that he’ll continues to work out his current interests with this title or, alternatively, Neon Girl will prove something of a springboard for landing more homogenized superwork-for-hire.
Forces of Geek
Action Figure Lex Luthors Mini Comic Reviews
…Neon Girl is actually a very good book. Illustrated and written by Dennis Pacheco, the story follows Neon Girl defending the city against Ving Van Voom a giant demon monster who is destroying public property while her boyfriend watches on helplessly. On the one hand this book seems like it is a standard superhero brawl but there is so much more going on here. This book is really about the failing relationship between Neon Girl and her boyfriend.
It’s about two people and the trust or lack there-of-between them. Pacheco is ahead of the curve in discovering subtlety that escapes allot of new writers.
Heather Makes Comics
Neon Girl – somewhat reminiscent of the graphic novel Ultra, this book about superheroines smacking each other around in a streetside cat fight was pretty funny. Also by the same author, Pacheco: really liked his mini comic “bizchochito.”
Comicsgirl
Neon Girl #0-1 — Pacheco
A fun, irreverent take on the superhero genre, Neon Girl is a sort of everywoman superheroine — capable and confident, but still someone who has to deal with the ins and outs of everyday life. Neon Girl #1 is more of an extended battle between Neon Girl and Atom Girl over the superhero Red Eye, but it’s done with humor. Pacheco is playing with genre motifs here, riffing on typical “fan service” moments. His women are attractive but realistically drawn and the action is first-rate. But even though I liked it, I think these two are enough for me.
The Comics Bin
Neon Girl #1 by Pacheco ($3, b&w, at www.pigeonholepress.net)
Neon Girl has no hidden agenda, except perhaps the color of Atom Girl’s underwear. Oh, wait… that’s clearly shown on the cover.
This comic revels in a slam-bang, no holds barred cat fight between Neon Girl and a jealous Atom Girl who suspects the other of stealing her boyfriend Red-eye.
Pacheco does a great job of both capturing and spoofing super hero women in action. The art is clean and exciting (heh).
Talkin Bout Comics
Bizcochito – Pacheco - pigeonholepress.net – This is billed as ‘a tale of sweet revenge’, and ‘a cautionary tale in two acts’. This small square mini is 24 single panel pages, and tells a story that spans a 13 year time frame, and highlights the fact that some people will wait far longer than you might think to exact revenge. It is very cute, very well drawn, and very available to read for free. If you follow that link you will be on a page that shows several of Pacheco’s works. bizcochito is toward the bottom of the page. Well worth reading. Budgeting and a desire to get a wide variety of creators are the only reasons I didn’t buy more of his work. He was not able to be at SPX, but his work was well represented.