By: Frank Cho By: Frank Cho Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 168 Publication Date: December 06, 2006
Product Description: She's bold, she's beautiful, and she's your best hope of escaping the raptors nipping at your heels. She's Shanna, the She Devil! Award-winning creator Frank Cho brings you Marvel's bodacious jungle girl as you've never seen her before: Reborn from Nazi science gone mad to battle her genetic destiny on an island full of prehistoric horrors. Shanna has never looked this good... or acted this bad. Collects Shanna, The She-Devil #1-7; Steranko covers.
Shanna review This book was a guilty pleasure. It should actually come with every page laminated, the book is drawn so well. I look forward very fondly to more work by Frank Cho.
Frank Cho Draws Women the Way Women Should be Drawn "Frank Cho draws women the way women should be drawn." Yes. I said that, and a truer statement -- be it sexist -- has never been uttered. Nor will it. Ever. Cho has taped into the male mind, identified the perfectly voluptuous comic book heroine from those neutrons, and presents her here -- in vivid color and (thankfully) few clothes -- in SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL.
Now, about the story ...
There are a few a major hiccups here:
A group of military commandos serving an undeclared nation on an unspecified mission [apparently] crash on an unidentified island in the middle of nowhere. On the island, they find a deserted bunker [apparently] set up by the Nazis before the end of World War II where the nefarious scientists were [apparently] interested in recreating various species of dinosaurs AND engineering an Aryan race of blonde, voluptuous super soldiers. Think ABC TV's LOST -- without the pesky character-defining flashback -- coupled with Michael Crichton's JURASSIC PARK and you get the idea.
Ignore the fact that some of the decisions these soldiers make don't make sense. For example: why would you ignore the safety of staying in a secure and deserted Nazi military bunker in favor of setting up camp in the wild of an island virtually overrun with velociraptors? Ignore the fact that no real satisfying explanation for the why, when, how, or where are ever really ponied up -- at least, not satisfyingly -- for the characters, events, and situations. Even ignore the fact that this first installment doesn't really even bring the whole affair to a satisfying conclusion. SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL is about SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL, and nobody -- I mean nobody -- can put a pencil to paper and create a creature more lovely, more inspiring, more adventurous, more vivid, and more primal than Frank Cho.
This book is about the lady, and this lady ain't no tramp.
A Surprisingly Fun Romp I should say up front that I am a big fan of Frank Cho and, as a result, simply had to pick this book up. As a comic book artist, he is probably among the top five or six pencilers/inkers working today, and Shanna The She-Devil proves why: brilliantly illustrated and entertainingly written (also by Cho), it's a worthwhile and energetic read for the more mature comic book fan.
Readers should take note, first off, that this "Shanna" is not the Shanna the She-Devil who is married to Lord Kevin Plunder, better known as Ka-Zar of the Savage Land; nor is this Shanna the sort of "ultimate" re-vamp of the character that Marvel seems to fond of these days. Essentially, this story is totally out of regular Marvel continuity - the only reason the main character is called Shanna is because, as one character, "Doc", notes, she happens to look like a "certain" comic book character.
Here's the story: A group of soldiers, lost for three years on a dangerous island filled with prehistoric horrors, finds a secret Nazi lab harboring a dark experiment in genetic manipulation. The final survivor of this is "Shanna," a clone built to be the perfect killing machine. She is taken in by the soldiers, and educated by the kindly "Doc," in the ways of humanity. However, when a mysterious plague suddenly strikes the soldiers, it is up to Shanna, "Doc," and two other soldiers to set out in search of an antidote, braving a horde of hungry raptors along the way. Can they survive - and make it back to the camp with the antidote in time?
You can tell that Cho had a blast working on this comic - all of the standard elements of his art that you would expect are here: beautiful women, heart-pounding action, and dinos, dinos, dinos. There's also a healthy dose of Cho's trademarked bawdy humor, often at Shanna's expense, as well as plenty of (sometimes excessive) gore - to be sure, this isn't a comic book for children, by any means. This comic is, essentially, a creative take on the standard "10 Little Indians" scenario, with a group of people confronting a stalking horror that knocks them off one by one. However, it's a lot of fun and has a surprise ending. Highly recommended for any fan of Cho, or of a good comic book read. If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy Frank Cho's entertaining comic strip, Liberty Meadows, Vol. 1, or Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank Cho (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) which contains a great, long interview with the master interspersed with excellent artwork and sketches. Enjoy!
Nice Comic You can see the imagination of Frank as he sets out to show the world that Women have there own way of doing things and can still show emotion. Lots of awesome drawings of Shanna as well as the inhabitants of the island the people find themselves on. Dinosaurs galore! Frank has a knack for doing great drawings of more than just the female form.
Marvel's Ultimate Bad Girl! Shanna the She-Devil is quite simply the best Marvel Comics graphic novel I have read in a long time. Frank Cho does a great job writing and penciling the tale of Shanna(who is not the same Shanna from the Ka-Zar series)and a group of American soldiers trapped in a lost world filled with deadly dinosaurs and Shanna must work together with the soldiers to fight their way to survival. Please keep in mind that this book is NOT suitable for children and people with weak stomachs, for it has gory graphic violence, mild language and brief nudity.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
