By Dustin Cabeal
I’m way late on reviewing this, but I didn’t want it to slip by before the next issue. One because I enjoy it and two because it’s pretty different than a lot of other comics out there right now. A big thing for me is that even though this is a “hunter” comic book, it’s not annoying or repetitive like those stories tend to be. The fact that two issues into this series and we’re still revealing how our trio came to be and why they ran into Janey from Zombie Tramp have all yet to be revealed.
That does mean that we’re getting a lot of backstory. Part of me acknowledges that it’s not the best because there is a lot of exposition, but personally, I’m not against exposition if it’s entertaining enough to make me forget that I’m reading exposition. A lot of comics use exposition, and there are two reasons it works, the reason I just listed, and the other is that a lot of comic readers just accept the fact that comics are like that because they’ve always been like that. Which is a lazy ass excuse, but I’m not here to die on that sword rather but to say that yes… there’s a lot of exposition in this issue, but it’s entertaining enough never to be mentioned in this review again.
We do see a bit of how Lila got into her body, which I won’t spoil, but added an interesting layer and depth to the overall story being told in this series. There was a lot more planning behind Lila’s backstory, and journey than I feel was put into Zombie Tramp at times. Not that ZT hasn’t recovered from that, but it’s clear that Mendoza didn’t want to make any missteps with Dollface.
I still really like the Weird Science element of this story. It’s a great throwback to a movie that I love, but it works and shows that the idea has legs. The ending is a bit awkward, but that might be because it ends on a gag rather than a giant single page of a person’s reaction, but even just a “To Be Continued” would have wrapped it up better.
The art continues to be brilliant. Mendoza has grown so much over the years that it’s hard not to enjoy everything he’s doing with Dollface. In particular, the comedic elements that are manga-influenced are great, but at the same time, they fit his style and the American style of comics. It’s not just “random manga moment,” but rather a part of the personality that Mendoza is infusing into the series. It also makes his work on Dollface stand out from his work on Zombie Tramp. That and Lila is a hero character, while Janey can best be described as an anti-hero.
Comics seem to be as divided as our country and political system, which is too bad since it’s just a form of entertainment and not something that will change the policies of the country tomorrow. For me, I can understand why some wouldn’t enjoy Dollface, either because of the sexuality or the title (which is dumb because that’s instantly judging a book by its cover). At the end of the day though you have to understand the humor and the satire that goes into Mendoza’s work. It can be interrupted on two fronts, those that take it too seriously and those that can appreciate what it's doing.
Score: 4/5
Dollface #2
Action Lab – Danger Zone