Lady Freedom #3 - Second Sight Publishing

LADY FREEDOM No. 3, September 2021

Starting with a marvellously dramatic opening from “the past” which features the all-powerful Echelon finally coming face-to-face with the enigmatic Tomorrow Man on the defeated planet of Na’mus, Issue Three of “Lady Freedom” certainly appears to be about to embark upon a truly titanic tale of near omnipotent super-beings brutally battering one another into next week. However, despite such a pulse-pounding bout of earth-shaking pugilism undeniably taking place between the two cosmic heavyweights, a lot of what occurs within the rest of this twenty-seven page periodical is arguably far less accessible; “Fool, that feeble effort will not stop what has been set in motion.”

To begin with Lady Freedom and Miss Enigma are suddenly found to be “engaged in a secret mission” together on a far distant world, where its murky swamplands are infested with some sort of robotic Komodo dragons. Just how the crime-fighting couple happen to have reached such a location is disconcertingly never explained by Arthur Bellfield, nor how the pair knew this was where they’d find both Tomorrow Girl and the mysterious Matrix of All. Instead, one of the titular character’s “most trusted allies” simply appears out of nowhere, hands over a baby to the Native American and then is shockingly murdered by Enigma with a bullet straight through the head.

Similarly as disconcerting though, is this comic’s secondary plot-thread which sees Camille Arboghast become the target of a surprise attack by two of Echelon’s extra-terrestrial minions. Gor and Vara definitely make an impressive impact upon the reader with their remarkable ability to defeat Scarlett in just five seconds, but apart from a single line suggesting that they come from a future where “you’re going to be one of the greats”, there doesn’t seem to be much rationale as to why the deadly duo have been dispatched to tackle Lady Freedom’s friends.

Luckily, Larry Spike Jarrell’s pencilling is debatably worth this publication’s cover price alone, with Echelon’s aforementioned battle against Tomorrow Man providing the artist with the opportunity to sketch some seriously sense-shattering panels. Whether it be some jaw-breaking blows to the chin, or some horrendously savage batterings with a metallic hammer, the illustrator manages to imbue all this comic’s fight sequences with some eye-watering brutality.

The regular cover of "LADY FREEDOM" #3 by Larry Spike Jarrell

Lady Freedom #2 - Second Sight Publishing

LADY FREEDOM No. 2, June 2021

Introducing a ton more “super beings from the Freedomverse” Art Bellfield’s narrative for Issue Two of “Lady Freedom” could certainly have baffled and bewildered some within this comic’s audience with its flurry of new faces, names and surplus of special abilities. But whilst the odd passage within this twenty-seven page periodical might require a second read, such as when Dread Devil suddenly transforms into his impish green costume so as to tackle a robot training simulation, the vast majority of this publication romps along just fine with its highly entertaining mixture of pulse-pounding pugilism, interdepartmental politics and time-travelling trickeries.

In fact, straight from its action-packed opening depicting Scarlett sparring off against Ultra Lass, this book barely allows any bibliophile a moment to pause for breath, and arguably even quickens its intense pace once the ever-arrogant Black Valkyrie has abducted Camille Arboghast during the villain’s sense-shattering escape from Tesla Prison; “Now, let’s have a chit chat between us girls an’ discuss those parents of yours and why out of thousands of failed attempts at replicating my powers your DNA seemed perfect for it. An’ then we can discuss how I am going to kill you for that very reason!” 

Equally as enthralling as all this publication’s plentiful punch-ups has to be the intriguing notion of “a nexus to all realities”, and that certain characters are actually able to teleport between the past, present and future. This captivating concept eventually leads to “the mysterious liaison between Lady Freedom and The Government of the United States” essentially becoming a younger version of “the ultimate Nazi weapon against America”, as well as shockingly cause the often referenced Tomorrow Man to finally materialise within the storyline’s modern-day timeline as nothing more than a seemingly powerless, gurgling baby boy.

Imbuing this comic with even more ‘bang for its buck’ are the clean-looking layouts of creator Larry ‘Spike’ Jarrell, which really help add some extra bone-breaking crunch to every blow, kick, throw and explosion. The artist’s somewhat short sequence illustrating the Headliners working together in order to rid Black Valkyrie of her prized possession from the past is particularly impressive, and quickly establishes that despite the occasional squabble, the team’s myriad of members can still operate together as a truly impressive, well-oiled machine.

Creator/Penciler/Writer/Plot: Larry Spike Jarrell, Script: Arthur Bellfield, and Finishes: Bill Marimo

Lady Freedom #1 - Second Sight Publishing

LADY FREEDOM No. 1, March 2021

Wasting absolutely no time in throwing its readers straight into an action-packed furore inside a secret American military base, Arthur Bellfield’s script for Issue One of “Lady Freedom” undoubtedly provides Sergeant Natalie Cloudrider with a truly sense-shattering “Second Sight Publishing” debut. Indeed, even when this comic’s plot momentarily pauses to provide its audience with a bit of backstory to the Machiavellian motivations of its central antagonist, “the villainous Black Valkyrie”, the dialogue is so ‘straight to the point’ that mere moments later the action has already whisked their attention back to the criminal’s evil plans for those hapless tourists unlucky enough to have sought inspiration from Liberty Island; “Find out which one of them is wearing that ridiculous perfume and kill them first.”

Enjoyably however, this comic doesn’t simply deliver an endless series of frantic fisticuffs between the titular character and her very evident arch-nemesis. But also raises several intriguing questions as to just what the mysterious Freedom Fighter Program is all about, and why, after hundreds of men and women volunteered, just the native American and Camille Abhorghast survived to see active duty..?

These disconcerting conundrums are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ too, as in between bouts of panicky punch-ups, bone-breaking batterings and telekinetic trickery, it is additionally revealed that the Government doesn’t yet trust the other super-powered “freelancers” who populate this publication’s world, or seemingly believe that “the only other successful experiment in our little hero maker programme” is genuinely ready for combat. In addition, this book intriguingly never actually explains just why Black Valkyrie is so bitterly opposed to the values of the United States of America, and merely hints at the darkly deep history between the silver-haired strongwoman and Lady Freedom, rather than somewhat lackadaisically ‘spelling it out’.

Ultimately though, the considerable success of this twenty-three page periodical rests upon the shoulders of creator Larry Spike Jarrell’s layouts, and his prodigious ability to imbue some serious smackdowns with plenty of “Thud” and “Ker-plank”. In fact, one of this comic’s highlights is arguably the artist’s ability to depict its quite sizeable cast performing plenty of athletic acrobatics, laying down some eye-winching beatings and surviving the odd eardrum-bursting explosion.

Creator/Pencils: Larry Spike Jarrell, Writer: Arthur Bellfield, and Inks: Bill Marimon