Starring Sonya Devereaux - a Series of Comic Book One-Shots

I'm a sucker for comic books that have a female lead. Now, I don't buy every single female-driving comic on the market (otherwise, I would be broke!), but when I see one that looks interesting in some way, I am willing to give it a try. So when a recent Previews had solicitations for a book called Starring Sonya Devereaux, with covers that parodied other comic book covers (such as Punisher, Tomb of Dracula, Walking Dead, etc.) and is described as a comic about a B-list actress who stars in really bad films, well, I certainly couldn't pass that up, now could I?

This is not an ongoing series, so each book is numbered as Issue 1 - thus, I did not realize until I got my first two copies that I actually had issues two and three - somehow, I missed the real first issue (which I will have to get off of eBay, I suppose, since I'm not finding it for sale on the American Mythology Productions website, other than e-reader version). But, that's okay, because these do not appear to need to be read in any particular order. Each book is a story within itself (which is a nice change of pace from so many 6 to 12 part stories in most comics today), and quite frankly, they are one heck of a lot of fun!

"Vampire Academy 4" opens with Shane, a stereotypical overweight long-haired geek from a website called scaredshitless.com, meeting our star, Sonya Devereaux, at her apartment for an interview. Sonya teases him a bit before sitting down and letting him watch her latest film, Vampire Academy 4. At this point, the comic switches gears, and the readers (like Shane) get to watch Sonya as Elsbeth, a young vampire who is getting ready to start her senior year at Bathory Academy (and if you don't know who Lady Bathory is, I'm not going to explain it to you). The "movie" has everything you'd expect from a less than B-list film: a group of mean girls; a super sexy teacher; a love interest for the main character (who she avoids biting or killing); a baddie who wants to kill the main character (and all of her friends and classmates); some gratuitous sex scenes (although they are tastefully drawn to avoid any actual nudity); a climactic battle; and a twist ending.  It crazy and kooky and will no doubt make you smile and even chuckle as you read it.

"Debutante Desparado" finds Sonya attending a screening of the final cut of her newest film, Debutante Desparado, The film itself - well, let's just say it is so bad, it is good! Four young girls in the old west heading out for spring break (uhm, don't think that was a thing back then). Sonya plays Prudence, a college student studying to be a school marm (really??). The girls' stagecoach is overtaken by bandits who take Prudence's three friends captive (where was Prudence? why, she had to use the outhouse!). Prudence follows them to town, where she meets the town cow hand (not because he tends to the cows, but because he actually was born with a hoof instead of a hand! I told you this was bad....) and gets into an argument with the town baron, Mr. Irving. With the help of cow hand, Prudence rescues her friends and sends them off, staying in town to help the people rid themselves of Mr. Irving's control. Hiding out at the local brothel, Prudence teaches the girls some of the finer things of being a lady, while they teach her ... well, they teach her other things (you can imagine - it is a whorehouse, after all). In true old west style, there is a huge shoot out, a country barn dance, an unexpected return from the dead, and a twist ending (which is apparently going to be a staple for these series of one-shots).

Authors Todd Livingston and Nick Capetanakis are clearly having fun with this series, poking fun at the various genres of films and giving readers a riotous romp through the memory of just how bad those B-films can be.  Artists Brendon and Brian Fraim (brothers? cousins?) provide a clean artistic style, which I find refreshing in a time when so many artists seem to be shying away from having people actually look like people (in other words - the art is not cartoony, it is not manga, and it is not abstract in any way). It is kind of a flashback to the '70s in so many ways, how could I not like it?

A fourth title is solicited (which I've already ordered), and I need to go back and find the first book; and hopefully, Livingston, Capetanakis, and the Fraims will continue creating more of these fun little one-shots for fans like to me to enjoy!

RATING:  9 blood-sucking decapitations out of 10 for keeping the fun in comics, for making parodies so enjoyable, and for creating a titillating character that doesn't have to get naked to sell it!