Black Mask Studios is a small comics publisher that started out last year, and already has a great portfolio, with We Can Never Go Home, a teenage runaway miniseries with superpowers (sequel starts later this year) as the prime example. This year they already have a Goonies-inspired crime story 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank and last week's magical girl academy delinquents comic Jade Street Protection Services (reviewed by our Elizabeth Ledwell). Now we have a cartoony sci-fi adventure series by a trans woman, Mags Visaggio, and featuring rock'n'roll bounty hunters.
Kimiko Quatro is a pink-haired trans girl with a love of fighting. Kimber Dantzler is a more grounded, but still attitude-filled, bisexual girl of color. Together, they are The Fighting Kims - perpetually broke bounty hunters, traveling the omniverse in their space flight capable car.
As I think it's obvious from the above paragraph (especially the description of the Kims mode of transportation), this isn't a hard sci-fi comic. Instead, it's a rocking, high-flying cartoon (though not rated PG-13), where guitars are valid melee weapons and shape-shifting octopi from Dimension 12 don't raise an eyebrow.
The story starts after the Kims are left without any money for the falsely accused guy they caught (including not covered expenses). Completely broke, the duo is forced to take on a warrant that's already taken by Kimiko's former crew led by her father, Furious Quatro. Their target is a rogue mob courier who worked for a powerful mob boss El Scorcho, until he decided to steal his heroin and kill a bunch of his goons. As they end up finding out, things aren't quite as simple.
The main draw are the characters and their relationship. The Kims clearly love each other, which is obvious even in their discussions, and the creators know how to pace their story and allow them to share a few friendship moments. Thus far, the primary focus is on Kimiko, since it's her dad and former crew they're stealing the warrant from, so Kimber isn't as developed as her buddy. However, it's only the first issue and there's enough time to build upon the foundations already seen (including a seemingly strained relationship with her mother).
Written by Mags Visaggio and drawn cartoonishly by Eva Cabrera and Eva Aguirre, Kim & Kim is a fantastic, fun ride that's only just begun.
Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.