Rocket Girl #2

Impulsive, witty, and captivating, Rocket Girl #2 is a jetpack-powered thrill ride through time.

Dayoung Johansson is a freckle-faced teenage cop on a mission to prevent our future (her present) from ever happening. She survived the time travel back to 1986, and she just might succeed in changing the future—if she can get the grown-ups of her past to respect her authority. The day after Dayoung arrives, Annie and Ryder are more interested in telling her what to do than listening to her, but the mayhem she causes in their company while preventing a hold up just might be enough to get their attention. At the book’s end, Dayoung certainly has the attention of the NYPD.

Writer Brandon Montclare splits the story so that readers follow the events that led Dayoung to make the risky journey back in time and also follow her “present” activities in 1986. And the more Montclare reveals about the hot-headed Dayoung, the more questions he raises. Why is she so willing to believe her faceless informant? Why is she so bent on a solo mission to the past when her partner is willing to come along and help? And why don’t the teenage cops trust adults? It all combines to make Rocket Girl a compelling story full of depth, humor, mystery, and plenty of property damage.

The artistic style Amy Reeder created for the title is the ideal blend of manga, cartoon, and something all her own that flawlessly expresses the emotion, humor, and urgency in Dayoung’s mission to bring Quintum Mechanics to justice. Keeping the faces of the board meeting members in the dark reveals much about where this title is going, and it adds not only to the general mystery but conveys sense that Dayoung’s mission is more perilous than she understands. Reeder smoothly handles the 27-year difference between settings from gritty New York streets to the sterile environments of the future like flipping a switch. It’s a fun book to read, and isn’t that the whole point?

Brandon Montclare (W), Amy Reeder (A) • Image Comics, $3.50, November 13, 2013