Shanna The She-Devil Trade Paperback Review

Shanna The She-Devil
Marvel Comics
Softcover Trade Paperback
168 pages
$16.99 (2006)
$24.99 (2005) Hardcover
ISBN 9780785110385

Contributors: Frank Cho, Jason Keith, Dave Stewart, and Rob Steen

Reprints: Shanna The She-Devil #1-7 (of 7)

Synopsis: An army unit crash lands on a mysterious island filled with prehistoric creatures.  Near the end of their fourth year of surviving on the island they discover an abandoned Nazi bunker filled with genetic experiments.  Only one of the experiments is alive - a blonde, blue-eyed superstrong woman they name Shanna.  Doc is the medic of the group and takes Shanna under his wing to educate her in the ways of humanity - language and behavior.  She possesses incredible physical prowess and an innate killer instinct. 

One of the soldiers picks up what he thinks is a packet of medical supplies, but is really a deadly virus created by the Nazis.  Now the entire camp is infected and only Shanna, with the help of Doc and two other brave soldiers, can return to the bunker (the place of her "birth") to get the antidote and save the day.  The only thing standing in their way is a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a bad attitude and a legion of hungry velociraptors!

Pros: Frank Cho draws incredibly sensuous women and his version of Shanna is A-mazing!, she has huge boobs and Cho renders them to perfection (they even obey gravity when she runs/fights/etc), Cho's art is fantastic and he really put a lot of effort/detail into this story

Wow...just...wow.

Cons: Cho's writing on the other hand - not so great, the Doc keeps saying "Holy buckets!" and the novelty wears off immediately, this version of Shanna is not the official version, but an alternate universe version (too bad, she's a lot cooler and less complicated), originally planned to be a MAX series (for mature readers) with nudity, but changed to a PG rating instead (we missed out on Shanna naked!), lightning fast read with excessive double-page spreads near the end

Mike Tells It Straight: Cho reinvents Shanna in this action-packed story with his signature art style and phenomenal attention to detail (he literally draws a double-page spread with one hundred velociraptors in it).  The story is a vague mess, but his art makes this book worth checking out.  No one draws women like Cho - they're voluptuous and natural (i.e. Shanna ain't no waif throwing cars around - she's got muscle to back up that grin).  If you like beautiful women then you'll dig Cho's art and this is an easy recommendation.

TO BUY and Recommendations: