Jade Street Protection Services Issue #2 Getting Magical Here!



 (I hope this kid doesn't get a flat tire!)
The American wave of Magical Girl genre comics has been a treat these past few years. We’ve seen an influx of Magical Girls who are queer, racially diverse, and with unique body types. Jade Street Protection Services stands out with its inclusion of (to my knowledge) the first ever Autistic Magical Girl—who’s also nonverbal and the lead to boot!

I was in love with the series before it came out, and by the end of issue one I was hooked, with it’s foundation for the world our protagonists live in, and a strong sense of coherent pacing.  Issue #2 lost that clarity and solid structure for a good chunk of the issue. While usually that’s what one would chalk up to bad pacing or poor plotting, here it adds to a sense of what our characters are going through while processing the events of the previous chapter and what’s going to happen next. They're starting to question the adults that were supposed to guide them into the world. Magic is one of the many things that they’ve never thought too much about, but now these characters are starting to see how magic affects those who aren’t able to wield it. The seeds for new friends and foes are spread across the pages, tucked in between quick fight scenes.

(Love is sure to blossom!)
The information for all this comes at us somewhat sporadically and quickly, with many questions still unanswered. Emma the narrator also feels the effects of this near information overload, in a scene that strikes close to home for anyone who's suffered through a panic attack. This issue serves its purpose in building onto the story the previous issue hinted at.

While it wasn’t as dramatic as the first issue, we can’t forget that this is clearly a comic made by people who love the Magical Girl genre as much as there fans. Katy Rex and Fabian Lelay have created and written a magical girl series befitting of the Black Mask Studios punk mindset to comics.

Lelay's illustrations offer a sense of loose and tight art that would befit a magical girl zine, and Mara Jayne Carpenter bring us the color needed to set the mood. Taylor Esposito does a wonderful job at
lettering that allows this book to be an easy read for the eyes.


Elizabeth Ledwell is a witch who has a certificate in graphics communications she doesn't use.