Review: Pretty Violent #7
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Derek Hunter and Jason Young
Artist: Derek Hunter
Colors: Spencer Holt
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Gamma Rae finds herself at odds with a mysterious new enemy – the Unseen! A threat that neither heroes nor villains saw coming! No pun intended – or is there?! Also, Gamma learns that heroes don’t do drugs and watch porn; at least, not in public. Lessons are learned indeed.
Positives
Pretty Violent #7 picks right up were it ended all those month ago. It is brutally funny. It is subversive. It is smart. The colors JUMP off the page. Spencer Holt continues to be a star. I mean, Gamma Rae is the star, but Spencer makes her, and everyone, really just sparkle and shine. The blood splatter is gloriously gooey. The color palate, in general, is just perfect.
I love Derek Hunter’s background work. Sure the punches feel real and the looks on Gamma’s face are always fantastic, but the world he creates with his pencils are so smart. There are pieces of broken building just behind Gamma. The trail of destruction is evident everywhere she goes. We know this is a fictional world, but it has rules. This isn’t a Tom and Jerry cartoon where everything resets in the next panel.
Gamma Rae’s quips are so funny because she doesn’t always know they are supposed to be funny. The joke is for us, but sometimes, it is on her. There is some excellent non-linear storytelling happening here too. What a great way to drop us into a new arc. I just love it.
Negatives
I am so happy this book is back, I have nothing bad to say except that it took too long. Damn you pandemic. Also, I would have loved a double issue. Still, those are just wishes, not complaints.
Verdict
Pretty Violent #7 is practically perfect in every way. Sure, Gamma Rae is not Mary Poppins, and I would worry that if she ran into her, she would rip her apart. Maybe on accident, but maybe not. The new arc looks to be full of joyous cartoon violence. The reason this book works now, and why it has worked the entire run, is that Hunter and Young are not trying to make us see the real world. They are making fun of comic books while writing a comic book. It is special. Thanks Image Comics for allowing such a funny, stinging work of satire live somewhere.
