Geek-Girl #3 - Markosia Enterprises

GEEK-GIRL No. 3, September 2018

Enthusiastically publicising that this twenty-four page periodical contains “Round Two” of Nina Dante’s attempt to unseat Ruby’s bespectacled alter-ego as “The Hero of Maine”, Sam Johnson’s narrative for Issue Three of “Geek-Girl” may well have surprised many within its audience by providing far more than a simple slug-fest between the jealous cybernetically-eyed lawbreaker and “Little Miss Popular”. Indeed, despite Kaye’s rival receiving “an experimental new power” instead of the robotic arm she was intending to purchase via “doing a Kickstarter”, “The Welcoming Party” arguably appears to focus far more upon the titular character’s doubts as to ever wearing Trevor Goldstein’s super-tech glasses again than the aforementioned rematch, especially when Karin Carpenter begins pressurising her resoundingly popular ‘friend’ into donning the costume once again as some sort of publicity stunt at Raleigh’s nightclub.

Before any of this dialogue-heavy soul-searching takes place however, this comic first resolves Summer James’ confrontation with “the menacing Chromex”. This altercation really must have got the readers’ blood pumping straight from the start as the heavily armoured maniac seems entirely hell bent on pummelling the powerless young woman before him as a result of her bravely interrupting his attempt to rob a gas station; “You got in Chromex’s way, lady. You don’t get to do that again!” 

Delightfully though, this somewhat tense sequence is seemingly penned by Johnson to provide Neon Girl with a truly awesome entrance, allowing this title’s fans their first proper look at the town’s “resident Big Gun super-heroine” during this mini-series’ second volume. Now sporting a robotic hand, the blond-haired heavy hitter makes short work of Chromex courtesy of hurling a car into the villainous tin-can, and is only thwarted in her attempt to incarcerate the clunky criminal when he is surprisingly spirited away by the League of Larcenists during an all-too brief vehicle chase.

Perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, “the über-bitchy unofficial leader of Ruby’s clique” is also given plenty of ‘screen time’ within this publication, first as the model hostess for a geek-chic celebratory V.I.P. table, and then as an arrogant bully who forces an unconvinced fan into wearing some of her spare contacts so Kaye could borrow her glasses for the evening and look even more like her costumed counter-part. Manipulative, controlling and overbearing, Karin positively bristles with indignation when Summer’s late arrival ruins her plans to transform the evening into a major promotional event, even when James hands over to her “the replica [Geek-Girl] costume I made”…

The regular cover art of "GEEK-GIRL" No. 3 by Carlos Granda & Chunlin Zhao