Molly Danger: Book One: Mighty

by Jamal Igle

Molly Danger is the story of the world’s most powerful ten-year-old girl. A seemingly immortal, superstrong hero, Molly has protected the city of Coopersville for the last twenty years. Kept in constant isolation and watched closely by D.A.R.T. (The Danger Action Response Team), an organization created to assist in her heroic deeds and monitor her movements, Molly battles the Supermechs. Molly longs for a real life with a real family. Her life changes when D.A.R.T. recruits a new pilot, Austin Briggs. Briggs has his own motivations for joining the team; newly remarried, Austin is having trouble forming a relationship with his new stepson, Brian. Austin wants to use his connections to impress Brian, an avid Molly Danger fan. However, things change when Molly and Brian form a friendship of their own. She believes she’s an alien whose family died when their ship crash-landed on Earth and before the atmosphere could fully alter them. She also believes that she’s alone, the last of her kind. Everything she believes is wrong.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult

48 pages, Hardcover

First published July 24, 2013

About the author

Starting at the tender age of 17, Jamal Yaseem Igle has worked his way up the ranks from Intern at D.C. Comics to a successful penciling career. Over the years Jamal has been editor, art director and animation storyboard artist for numerous companies such as Sony Animation and Scholastic inc. He is currently an Exclusive Artist for DC Comics.

Jamal is the Co- creator of the comic book series VENTURE, along with writer Jay Faerber, published by Image Comics. Jamal's detailed pencils have graced books such as Countdown: The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society, Nightwing, and Firestorm The Nuclear Man. In addition Jamal is an active volunteer with the Museum of Comic and Cartoon art, as well as a guest lecturer on the subject of comics and animation. A former instructor of Comics and Sequential art at the Art Students league of New York., Jamal is working on issues of Countdown #21, Green lantern Corps # 18 and Teen Titans #52, as well as the maxi-series Tangent: Superman's Reign. His next project for DC will be announced very soon.


Jamal is married to his beautiful and far more intelligent wife , Karine and father to a beautiful baby girl, Catherine.

Photo by Luigi Novi.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamal Igle and Action Lab Kickstarter project with a kick-ass girl main character. Nothing really to recommend it vs. other similar titles. It's not really a kid comic; it's more all ages than even YA. Molly is ten, she’s smart and invulnerable. Okay, she’s BEEN 10 for like 2o years, wherein she has been protecting the town of Coopersville from the evil Supermechs. Okay. . .. Molly is actually an ET turned super-hero who is watched warily by The Government for fear she'll go off the rails ("She's not a person, she's a weapon!"). I think it is okay, splashy art, but pretty vanilla story so far.

[Lissibith · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first- don't be thrown off by its appearance. This isn't a book for young kids, despite that only books for young kids have ever been sold to me in this tall, thin, hardcover format. that expectation made the overly technical and rote opening all the more surprising, and not in a good way.

Once I got past expectations and into the book itself, it was okay. The art is cute and I love the premise, but the pacing is really weird and the dialogue never really grabbed me, making this feel a LOT longer than it should.

The pacing may be the bigger sin though. The opening is a fight scene which, with more engaging characters and dialogue, might have been solid, but in this case just felt like I'd seen it before. The character I liked best was one who's probably not even in later issues of the series. Instead we have Molly, who's basically Superman if he were stuck looking like a little girl and were surrounded by sociopaths, and Austin, her new pilot who breaks all the rules and is every hotshot character ever.

Having read through this book twice (it's short) I still don't entirely know if I understand what's going on. Austin is a hotdog and the book pays lip service to that being a bad thing, but it seems no REAL consequences have ever been handed out for his behavior, and for most of the time, he gets rewarded. In the book, despite being told not to get familiar with Molly and not to make friends, he absolutely does and no one seems to notice. So, there's a couple options, and I'm leaning toward his intentionally being given latitude with Molly in an effort to give her an emotional connection, since this is apparently something they felt she needed after 20 years on Earth.

I have a feeling a lot of my issues with this book would have been eradicated if this were a collection with multiple issues of the story. But with the odd motivations, the strange pacing and the overly technical dialogue at times, I just couldn't get into this one.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough so far, though I'll be curious to see where it goes.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5/5 – Jamal Igle and Action Lab team up to bring you the best book of the year

Reese’s Cups. Two great tastes that go great together. Chocolate and peanut butter blending so perfectly into a candied confection so good you’re drooling right now just thinking about it. It’s particularly helpful that they put two in the packs you buy at the store, because while you’re indulging in the first one, you’re also dreaming about how good that second one is going to taste.

Now that I’ve set up the bad analogy, let me tell you about the Reese’s Cup of comic books – Jamal Igle and Action Lab. Two great creative forces that go great together. They’ve created this amazing story about a pint-sized powerhouse called Molly Danger, and it just might be the best comic you’ll read this year.

First off, if you don’t know who Jamal Igle is; over the past decade he’s done work for many companies, but he might be best known for the work he did, along with writer Sterling Gates, helping redefine a certain Maid of Might (Supergirl) for DC. I’m not a mind reader, but I have to imagine it was his work on Supergirl that influenced his desire to tell a story about a different super-powered girl. More to the point, his desire to tell the story his way and maintain creative control over it. When his contract with DC Comics ended in 2012, he took the story and pitched it to the hardest audience out there – the comic buying public at large. No matter how much fame or recognition you have in the industry, going out on your own can be a scary and risky venture, but apparently a lot of people agreed with Jamal that his story was one they’d like to read. One successful Kickstarter venture later, and Molly Danger was born.
Read more: http://comicspectrum.wordpress.com/20...

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was one of Jamal Igle's Kickstarter backers, and I read this with as an objective a view as possible (and I like to think I succeeded). My sound bite review of Molly Danger is standard super hero origin story with foreshadowing to come for the ongoing series.

This is far from a poor outing. Igle is a professional, and unlike some samples of web comics and other Kickstarter projects this looks as professional a product as you will see from any of the major publishers (including DC for whom Igle has worked).

There are good story points here. Austin Briggs makes a good pov character as he is new to Molly's D.A.R.T. Team. Briggs' family is unusual for the comic medium. An interracial family, and Briggs is dealing with a stepson (a term I personally despise having a stepdaughter she is my daughter and not a step anything) who is having trouble adjusting to major upheavals in his life. So moving to a small city in New York state from where Brian's (the son) father was a Chicago firefighter who died in the line of duty is a lot to deal with. There are families like this in real life and I enjoyed seeing one here.

The story points that are established are necessary as I presume Igle intends to publish more Molly stories going forward. Is Molly really a living being or an alien (who can fly, doesn't age, is just about impervious to harm and super-strong)? Why do the protocols exist about no personal interaction with her? Why have the villains targeted Molly and this city (see the first question in this paragraph for what I think is the answer).

I do hope to see more installments, and I think the story is best served in these larger chunks (50+ pages versus a standard monthly floppy's 22).

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this and am hoping that there will be a book 2, 3, 4 and so on.

Molly is an original: a lonely 10 year old blessed with invulnerability and brains, but cursed to not only not grow up physically, but to not mature emotionally--she has been 10 years old for twenty or more years--also the same amount of time she has been protecting the people of Coopersville from the deadly intentions of the evil Supermechs.

The story is basic:

She is a government weapon and therefore not allowed to have friends, a normal life or any of the little things that might go along with that.

Fortunately, hotshot pilot Austin Briggs might change all that the night he brings Molly home to meet his wife and stepson. Suddenly, Molly has broken down a wall between herself and her fans.

Basic story but with nice little embellishments and dialogue, fun illustrations and writing, too. One of my favorite scenes bits (spoiler!) refers to supermech villain Medulla whose head is nothing more than his brain encased in a large glass cylinder. One of the soldiers guarding him says to his coworker "WHY would anyone do that to themselves? Wouldn't it hurt? Doesn't it cost a lot of cash?" Which is more than anyone asked in various old (I mean really old) Superman comics where strange looking villains existed but everyone was so busy contesting their evil deeds no one stopped to wonder "How do you get yourself a suit/robot/space dog that can DO that?

Can't wait until Jamie Igle answers that questionl.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book holds the record for longest time between kickstarter and project in hand of any I have ever backed. Still, it made good on its promise and is a great all ages piece.

Molly Danger starts out as a kid superhero homage, but it quickly develops into something more. Molly's backstory and the realities of the setting are revealed slowly, and it quickly becomes obvious that there is more to the tale than Powerpuff Girls. The language is challenging for kids, but in a way that hopefully will give them exposure to large words without them losing out on any of the content. Jamal Igle's illustration are classic and his sense of humor will read equally well to kids and adults.

I plan on putting this one in my classroom, and I'm glad I'll be able to do so. Not only do we have a female superhero but also an unconventional family to which I think my students can easily relate. It's a perfect option for people who love superheroes but are done with gritty reboots.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful comic that feels retro (in that it's go interesting people who aren't completely dark and gritty) yet very modern at the same time, it's a great introduction to the world of Molly Danger. There's some really neat ideas here and although I wish the book had provided more of a complete story (it unfortunately kind of ends without a clear resolution....it feels more like the first part of an epic series and less like a complete adventure in and of itself) I am interested in what happens next.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful introduction to the lead character and the world she inhabits. There is plenty of plot to carry this concept for a couple of decades.

I found it's size (the size of European comic albums ala Tin Tin) to help set it apart from the standard fare and made it feel more spectacular.

It is s fun read for all ages, however I think persons 12 years of age and under should find this an engrossing read.

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superhero comic that has all-age appeal. Molly may look young, but she's actually in her 30's. She's an extra-stong, extra-powerful, extraterrestrial who must be carefully monitored so, even if she looks like a little girl, and acts like a little girl, she's treated like a dangerous weapon. Appealing characters and a story that sucks you right in. Great start!

[Jonathan H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I backed this one on Kickstarter because I liked the artwork and the idea of a girl superhero—though her actual nature is a little different. Fun book, but it was over so soon! I hope there's more to come.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and fun Supergirl riff. Ten-year-old Molly is an ET turned super-hero, but watched warily by the government for fear she'll go off the rails ("She's not a person, she's a weapon."). Nicely done.

[Joshua Unruh · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/comic...

[Michelle Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant & entertaining all-ages comic

[Emmaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun. Good set up.. Gives you just enough info to want to read the next episode to find out more.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my full review at The Comics Alternative:

http://comicsalternative.com/2013/11/...

[Amy Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. Molly is an interesting superhero with a great supporting group of characters. I can't wait to read more!