Grrl Scouts

by Jim Mahfood

Jim Mahfood is one of those artists who I always felt I should read more of. Although not all of his output has grabbed my interest, I really liked his story in Popgun, and have been meaning to give his comics adaptation of the second Felt album another read.

I came across Grrl Scouts recently, and felt it was worth a try. This is a pretty enjoyable story, fitting somewhere on a map around Brian Wood's 'Couriers' graphic novels. The Grrl's, Gwen, Daphne, and Rita are urban warriors, drug kingpins, graffiti queens, comic nerds, and more, all wrapped into three gorgeous packages. They hang out in a place called Freak City, where they deliver their drugs in 'Grrl Scout' cookie boxes, and chill.

Their activities attract the attention of the Brotherhood of the Cracker, a Templar-style organization, who decide to shut them down. Of course, it doesn't work, and the girls go to war. A fairly typical set-up for this type of comic, but one that is effective nonetheless.

Mahfood's art is very cool, and I like the use of gray tones throughout the comic. The story loses a bit of steam around the part where one of the Grrls reunites with her father, but otherwise moves at a good pace. I particularly enjoy the flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter, showing the grrls as young kids. This is a good comic.