Jill Trent is one of those comics that you’re just glad exists. In fact, you have to wonder why Jill Trent ever ended up in public domain. Editor D.M. Higgins has a great run down all about Jill and her partner Daisy at the beginning of the issue so I won’t bore you. The issue itself consists of five different versions of Jill appearing in five different stories. No two are alike and frankly that’s one of the biggest successes of this anthology. I kind of don’t want to go over each story because they all play on the same theme and really it’s just the presentation and dialogue that varies. I will spotlight a few things that a couple of the stories did very well rather than poke at flaws between the different tales.
In the first story the character designs were the most interesting. They felt modern and in a way the biggest update to the characters. The story was just okay and the science was more fiction than fact.
The second story was kind of cheesy, but I liked it because it seemed the most approachable to younger readers. I also liked the setting the best as it felt grounded in the real world. The cheesy moments where actually pretty funny and enjoyable and while the art wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t my favorite from the bulk. Again it was more science fiction than science, but it was a good bit of fake science.
The third story tackled the science angle the most and frankly ended up being my favorite because of it. There was actual “Science Sleuthing” going on and I actually learned something which I though was great. It wasn’t too kiddie, but I could see kids also enjoy the story.
Overall I’m glad I read Jill Trent. I’m glad it exists and is out there for others to discover because it’s a positive example of women in comics. Jill and Daisy are always handled like real women and not handled with kid’s gloves.
Now, there are more issues coming in this series. I don’t know if it will be a new batch of creators with new versions of Jill, but I kind of hope not. I would like to see more of these Jill’s and I think it might get tiring reading another new version each time, but we’ll see. I could be wrong. There could be a version of Jill out there that will really knock my socks off. In the meantime, though check out Jill Trent.
Score: 4/5
Jill Trent: Science Sleuth #1 Creators: D.M. Higgins, Rafael Romeo Magat, Charley Macorn, Matthew R. McDaniel, Jacqueline Ching, Charley Macorn, N.J. Coyle, Michael R. Hall, Kyle Roberts, Adam Rowe and Ryan Incandenza. Publisher: Super Dames Comics Price: $5.00 (Print), $3.99 (Digital) Website