Whack and Wallop

Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks #5 (Image, September 2017, $3.99)
Jim Mahfood's frenetic adventure series is absolutely fascinating visually. His artwork is a combination of Jamie Hewlett, Evan Dorkin, David Choe, Ralph Steadman (look for the Hunter S. Thompson appearance in this issue), graffiti, and anime stylings. The writing, at times, is funny, but more often than not, the comic's plot-driven dialogue, jokes, and commentary don't do much on their own beyond explaining what's happening in the artwork (which can be necessary) or advancing the plot. Mahfood's writing isn't literature, but his artwork is: pop culture-infused fine art to the extreme. A lot of fun, and sometimes substance.



In this issue, the Grrl Scouts are being accosted by followers of Josie Sanchez, who desires the titular magic socks, which seem to be locked up somewhere. The gathered masses use their mobile phones to whack and wallop the Scouts. Daphne Sanchez finds herself elsewhere, revisiting bad actions of her past, experiencing rare remorse, and seeking the aid of Mictlantecuhtli. The story arc should be resolved in the next issue.

While Mahfood's page design can be jagged occasionally, the lack of a general page borders and full color bleed works really well visually. The storyline with Daphne is adequately set off from that of Josie with a different palette entirely, and it is clear that Mahfood appreciates the female form.



The letter column is mostly composed of correspondence from people who met Mahfood at a convention, and who smoke pot. Folks also send in their fan art, which is fun to see. Mahfood's soundtrack for this issue included the Dead Kennedys, Danzig, Madlib, the Minutemen, and Van Halen. Man, I love back matter like that!

Availability: Mahfood's previous Grrl Scouts comics have been collected in Grrl Scouts Volume 1 and Grrl Scouts Volume 2: Work Sucks.