The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | Vol. 1: January 2015 - August 2015 Vol. 2: October 2015 |
| No. of issues | Vol. 1: 8 Vol. 2: 12 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Ryan North Erica Henderson |
| Written by | Ryan North |
| Artist(s) | Erica Henderson |
| Colorist(s) | Rico Renzi |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is an ongoing American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The solo series initially debuted in January 2015 and ran for 8 issues, and was rebooted in October 2015 as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel branding. The initial and reboot series are written by Ryan North with art by Erica Henderson, based on the Squirrel Girl character created by Will Murray and Steve Ditko. Critics have praised its comedy as well as the empowering portrayal of Squirrel Girl.
Plot
Doreen Green, known as Squirrel Girl, is a human superhero with the proportional strength and speed of a squirrel, as well as the ability to speak with squirrels, like her sidekick, Tippy-Toe. While originally introduced as a mutant, she was later retconned to be "medically and legally distinct from being a mutant."[1] She can also command an army of squirrels, which she typically uses to overwhelm her foes. As The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl begins, Squirrel Girl has left her home in the Avengers mansion to major in computer science at Empire State University. While moving in to her dormitory, she fights the villain Kraven the Hunter and convinces him to go after more dangerous prey. Entertainment Weekly has said that Squirrel Girl will soon be "defending Earth from threats most cosmic".[2] Later issues had Squirrel Girl facing Whiplash and Galactus.[3]
History
Squirrel Girl was originally created by writer Will Murray and artist Steve Ditko as a light-hearted, fun character typical of early comic books. She first appeared in the January 1992 issue of Marvel Super-Heroes, where she defeated Doctor Doom with her army of squirrels.[4][5] The character appeared intermittently for the next decade, earning a reputation for being unbeatable after having bested Deadpool, Wolverine, and even Thanos.[2]
In 2005, Squirrel Girl became a member of the comic relief Great Lakes Avengers in her longest-running string of appearances. She later appeared as the super-powered nanny for the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones in New Avengers.[2] The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the first series starring the character.
Development
Marvel registered a trademark for Squirrel Girl in July 2014, leading to speculation that the character would appear in a future film or television series, such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Jessica Jones.[4][6] In October, Entertainment Weekly revealed that Squirrel Girl would star in a solo series by writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson.[2] Entertainment Weekly called it a "quietly bold move for Marvel", publishing "a female-centric comic that’s intended to appeal equally to canon-heads and newcomers".[2]
Starting in May 2015, the Secret Wars crossover storyline affected a number of Marvel comics and character. Marvel announced in June 2015 that, after Secret Wars was complete, they would reboot their entire line as part of a All-New, All-Different Marvel rebranding.[7] Though The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was not part of the Secret Wars storyline, the series was set to be rebooted with Squirrel Girl joining an Avengers team.[8] Marvel later named this team the Avengers Idea Mechanics.[9]
Reception
Issue #1 was published on January 7, 2015 to positive reviews. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was praised for its comedy, and the character of Squirrel Girl was seen as empowering for being likable, smart, and having an average appearance unlike that of typical superheroes.[10][11] The Guardian in particular applauded the cartoon-like artwork by Erica Henderson as unique in Marvel's publications.[12] IGN regarded the series as "one of the best new debuts of recent memory".[10] Reviews of issue #2 were positive, with PopMatters calling it a "breath of fresh air: funny, charming, quirky, strong, brave, unbeatable".[3] Comic Book Resources write that issue #1 of the reboot was "silly as ever" and "consistently fun".[13]
Collected Editions
The series has been collected into trade paperbacks:
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1: Squirrel Power (128 pages) |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 1, #1-5 | August 2015 (SC) | 0785197028 |
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It's True (112 pages) |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 1, #5-8 | November 2015 (SC) | 9781302483012 |
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now (128 pages) |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2, #1-6 & Howard the Duck #5 | May 2016 (SC) | 9781302486334 |
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 4: I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked it (120 pages) |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2, #7-11 | December 2016 (SC) | 9780785196273 |
| The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 5: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the World (112 pages) |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2, #12-16 | April 2017 (SC) | 9781302903282 |
References
- ^ North, Ryan (2015). Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #1.
- ^ a b c d e Franich, Darren (6 October 2014). "Student becomes superhero: See images from Marvel's 'Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ a b Reece, Gregory L. (10 February 2015). "I'm Nuts for Squirrel Girl: "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #2"". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ a b Barsanti, Sam (31 July 2014). "Marvel might be doing something with Squirrel Girl, proving that no superhero is too small". AV Club. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ "Marvel Super-Heroes #8". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (30 July 2014). "Marvel Trademarks Squirrel Girl – Cartoon, TV Or Film Appearance On The Way?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Dickey, Josh (3 June 2015). "Marvel Comics' reboot will bring all-new characters, No. 1s across the board". Mashable. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Polo, Susana (1 July 2015). "Marvel Comics Officially Reveals 45 Titles That Will Start After Secret Wars". Polygon. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Sandoval, Gerardo (18 September 2015). "Welcome to Avengers Idea Mechanics With New Avengers". Marvel Comics. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ a b Lake, Jeff (7 January 2015). "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 Review: This Squirrel is Nuts". IGN. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Diaz, Eric (8 January 2015). "Review: Marvel Comics' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1". Nerdist. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Virtue, Graeme (10 January 2015). "Lady Killer, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, COPRA: the month in comics". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ McElhatton, Greg (27 October 2015). "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 23 December 2015.