SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST #4

Untitled
Writer & Artist not listed but probably the same as the first three issues.

Shanna, Dirk and a whinny Russian named Ivan are the only survivors of the group. They find themselves between the Axe-Man and a horde of raptors. Shanna manages to lead the raptors right into the Axe-man’s thugs. The Axe-man gets wasted by Dirk in a scent that looks straight out of a John Woo movie. Shanna then leads Dirk, Ivan and the rescued neanderthal baby out of the city. They run into the survivors of the Axe-man’s group. When they hear he’s dead they join forces with Shanna. A battle ensues that almost sees them overrun by raptors. Doc arrives in the nick of time with his homemade coconut bombs and saves them. The survivors then use the Axe-man’s plane to leave. Dirk invites Shanna to join him but she and Doc decide to stay on the island.

Well this series was awesome. Incredibly fast paced. In no time at all Shanna and Dirk waste the Axe-man, escape the Nazis city and escape the island. Doc and Shanna are still there so its quite possible there may be future adventures in store. I really enjoyed this reboot of Shanna.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST #3

“Pit of Beasts”
Writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Khari Evans

Last issue we left the pirates in an arena facing two sabretooth tigers. Shanna has jumped in with a club to save them. The club gets knocked out of her hands but that’s ok. She uses her hands to break one of the cats neck. Then tears off the others sabre tooth and stabs him to death. Obviously Shanna is one strong woman. So they are facing the angry neanderthals when a warning horn is sounded. The city is under attack by pterodactyls and raptors. While the neanderthals are busy Shanna leads the survivors to the rooftops. While there they run into the Axe-man and his surviving crew.

Once again another warp speed story. Shanna once again shows she is one major bad-ass. There is some compassion when she saves a baby neanderthal from a pterodactyl. It ends with the appropriate cliffhanger. This issue was mainly wall to wall action and little plot. But that’s ok. I mean this is a comic book about a scantily clad woman on an island with dinosaurs, Hong Kong gangsters and Nazis neanderthals. Any plot is kind of a bonus for a title like this.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST #2

“Run Rabbit Run”
Writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Khari Evans

Shanna is leading Dirk and his pirates through the jungle. They hope to sneak around The Axe-Man and his army of thugs. Then steal his plane and leave the island. Well things don’t go quite as planned. They get sidetracked by a horde of dinosaurs. Then they run into the Axe-man but the dinosaurs chasing them distract him enough so they can escape. The group then goes into a cave to seek shelter. Well what do you know? They find a lost Nazis city of gold. They don’t have time to admire it because it is filled with cannibalistic neanderthals. The neanderthals overwhelm them. Shanna and another girl manage to escape. One unlucky fellow gets eaten by the neanderthals. The other men find themselves in an arena and sabretooth tigers are unleashed. It ends with Shanna jumping in to the rescue with a giant club.

And so the story continues. We have dinosaurs. A bloodthirsty Chinese gangster out to kill them all except Shanna who he wants to make his love slave. Well the guy has good taste. And of course a Nazis city of gold inhabited by cannibalistic neanderthals. The story is beautifully drawn and moves along at a lightning pace. The cliffhanger ending is more than enough to draw the reader back for more.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST #1

“Pirates, Gangsters and Sea Monsters”
Writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Khari Evans

The South Pacific. A high-tech gang of pirates rob an ocean luxury liner. The liner is property of a Chinese gangster Teddy “The Axe-man” Xiang. As they are leaving the ocean liner is pulled under by a giant leviathan. The large wave damages the ship and forces them to land on a small island. This is monster island and no sooner than they land are they surrounded by a horde of raptors. Just as they are about to be overrun, Shanna comes to the rescue. With her twin machetes she chops up the raptors. Then she takes the crew back to her treehouse. A few days later a plane carrying The Axe-man lands. He is looking for the thieves who robbed his ship and revenge for his brother lost on the ship.

The second Shanna series gets a new writing and artist team. It starts off to a promising start. Shanna and Doc have built a nice treehouse for themselves. Shanna is still one badass sexy chic in a furkini. We have pirates, Hong Kong gangsters, dinosaurs, sea monsters and giant bees. It has the feel of an old Godzilla monster movie. Actually the opening reminds me of the movie Deep Rising. I wonder if that was the inspiration. Anyway this is a great start to the series and look forward to the next issue.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #7

The Killing Season Chapter Seven”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

Shanna has reached the compound and is giving out the vaccine. She has no time to hang around because the horde of raptors is coming. She first tries to blow the bridge with dynamite that leads to the compound but it is a sturdy bridge. So she has to use her considerable strength to push down a giant tree to shatter the bridge and save the compound. Later she starts to cry because she thinks that Doc is dead. But Doc has made it. Shanna cut his leg off to get him out from under the boulder. He apparently survived and greets a joyful Shanna.

You know these new comics are very lite on words. This one took me under five minutes to read. Its mostly pictures with very little narrative or dialogue. Not complaining since this is still an excellent comic. The art is just beautiful and effectively tells the story. Shanna finally shows some emotion at the end. I love that Cho didn’t reveal that Doc survived until the end. It makes is seem that Shanna actually did kill him. I was pleasantly surprise with this revelation. This was a great re-boot for the Shanna character and look forward to how its handled in the next series.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #6

“The Killing Season Part 6”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

Doc and Shanna are fighting their way through a valley teeming with raptors. Shanna’s twin machetes are cutting a path through them and Doc isn’t doing too bad with his rifle either. They manage to make it to the other side and things are looking good. Suddenly the ground gives way and they are caught in a landslide. Doc is trapped under a boulder. A boulder too heavy even for Shanna to lift. The raptors have their scent and Doc implores Shanna to go on without him. But first he pleads with her to kill him before the raptors can get him. Shanna refuses but Doc insists. We end with the image of Shanna swinging her machete.

This was an exciting issue. The story is simple and goes fast but that’s ok. This is a type of comic that was meant to be appreciated for its beautiful artwork. Shanna looks awesome swinging her machetes and decapitating raptors left and right. Doc narrates this so we get insight into the story. Doc is an honorable and brave man willing to sacrifice himself for others. He also has hope to make Shanna less cold and more emotional. He seems to be succeeding. The ending leaves a cliffhanger for the conclusion to this series.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #5

“The Killing Season Part Five”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

A T-Rex drags out the decapitated T-Rex from a river that Shanna and Doc killed last issue. No sooner than he starts to chow down is this T-Rex surrounded by raptors. Hundreds of raptors. They swarm the T-Rex and make him a meal before moving on. At the compound things are looking grim. Only two men are healthy enough to drag the growing number of dead bodies to the pit to be incinerated. Only hope that Shanna will arrive keeps them going. Meanwhile Shanna and Doc run into a problem. The valley they have to cross is swarming with raptors. A detour will be too late to save the compound. So Doc convinces Shanna they must go straight through. They will blast their way across with dynamite and Shanna’s twin machetes.

This was a very picturesque issue. It shows in colorful detail the threat that awaits Shanna and Doc. The situation looks hopeless but I love that these two will try anyway. It sets up one epic battle to begin the next issue.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #4

“The Killing Season Part Four”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

Doc and Shanna reach the secret Nazis base and manage to retrieve the antidote. They also find a humvee and several crates of dynamite. The odds of them getting back in time have improved. Unfortunately they are ambushed by the T-Rex that Shanna stabbed with a spear and pushed over a cliff. He’s still alive and real pissed off. Shanna manages to hold him off long enough for Doc to make a bolo out of dynamite. He manages to throw it around the T-Rex’s neck and blow its head off. Their ride runs out of gas and they are forced to continue on foot.

I have to say that this cover has to be my favorite comic book cover of all time. The inside was pretty good too. The story is told with minimum of dialogue and is beautifully drawn. We find out that the Nazis base is huge. Big as five city blocks and can hold 200. It has a kitchen, movie theater, gymnasium and swimming pool. Not to mention a power plant. There still seems to be power so I wonder why the hell didn’t these guys move in there instead of a flimsy stockade that they live in. Just something that seems a little odd to me. Anyway looking forward to the next issue.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #3

“The Killing Season Part Three”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

Half the camp is infected by the virus. The cure is located back at the Nazis lab. The Doctor asks for three volunteers to go with him. Its dangerous because its now the dry season and the predators are migrating. Shanna naturally volunteers and later two others. Dr. Elsa says they have eight days before the virus is irreversible so it looks grim. On the way the group is attacked by a T-Rex and loses one of the guys. Shanna manages to kill it using a spear. It ends with them arriving at the lab.

The third issue was mainly a visual treat. The story is told with a minimum of dialogue or exposition. Shanna defeated the T-Rex by driving a spear in it and pushing it over a cliff. She used advanced geometry to figure it out. So she has not only superhuman strength but a high IQ. She is still emotionally cold but there is a spark of feeling in her. Interesting to see how this plays out.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #2

“The Killing Season Chapter II”
Writer & Artist: Frank Cho

It is four months since the soldiers found Shanna and Elsa at the secret Nazis base. They have taken them to the fort they build. Shanna is showing herself to be a remarkable woman. She learns English is no time and has the strength of twelve men. She has no problem with killing dinosaurs with her bear hands. Dr. Elsa has remained secretive about the Nazis base. They do find out that Shanna is a genetically engineered creation. The Doctor of the military men has his concerns. Shanna while intelligent seems to have an emotional coldness. A lack of emotions. Twice she almost kills one of the men. The issues ends with one of the men opening a packet that was taken from the base and releasing some sort of viral agent.

This story does a good job of establishing Shanna. It gives us an idea of who she is and what she’s capable of. Cho does a good job of portraying her as emotionless and dangerous. There is still plenty of mystery about the island, the Nazis base and Shanna’s origin. We also find out how Shanna got her name. The soldiers named her after the comic book character that she resembles. A nice nod to the original character. The viral agent sets up a great cliffhanger. It ends promising more Shanna, dinosaurs and Nazis. What more could you ask for.