Comic Review: Mockingbird, vol 1: I Can Explain

Mockingbird, vol 1: I Can Explain by  Chelsea Cain with illustrations by Kate Niemczyk, November 1, 2016. 136 pages. Published by Marvel. Source: Borrowed from Library.

Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Bobbi Morse, the former Avenger known as Mockingbird, goes solo in her own incredible adventures! With a scientific mind and a lethal mastery of martial arts, she's one of the most versatile, in-demand assets at Maria Hill's disposal - that makes her ideal for investigating strange goings-on in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own medical and recovery network. And when Lance Hunter's undercover gig at the London Hellfire Club goes south, Mockingbird sets off, battle staves at the ready, to save him - and the Queen of England! From helping out a teen driven bonkers by her own new powers, to doing a little dog-sitting, Bobbi shows that she's a woman of many talents as bestselling author Chelsea Cain and artist Kate Niemczyk make Mockingbird sing!

Why, yes, I am familiar with the character Mockingbird. Even though I had not read any comics prior to this one that was solely about her, I did know her from the occasional appearance in other series.

• Did I love it 100%? No. Was Mockingbird: I Can Explain entertaining? Fairly. Like all things, it had both its good and bad points. It was far from perfect, but it was a good building block for getting to know Bobbi and her story within the Marvel U. So, let's get down to the good/bad of the bind-up.

• Let's talk about the good points first. It was more humorous than I thought it would be. Humor aside, what I really found most enjoyable about these volumes was Bobbi herself. Especially in the scenes that had to do with all those (required) doctor visits; the sass is strong with this one. I'll admit, her character was not as fun to read about when Lance was involved with the story as he just brought the story down completely (more on that later).

• Though it was pretty enjoyable, there were a few things that kept me from enjoying it half as much as I hoped. For instance, Lance. Every scene that he was in totally brought down the overall story as he did not bring anything to the table. You know how as women we, and rightly so, get angry when in media women are objectified. Well, what we have hear is the reverse; and let me tell you, I am just as much angered that they basically turned this, lame to begin with, male character into a scantily clad piece of 'fanservice'. Let's just remember, if you don't like male creators treating women like objects, than maybe female creators shouldn't sink to their level and do the same thing. Yeah, I have a lot of problems with the whole double-standard that certain creators use within their art. This is also why I didn't love this batch of comics as much as I wanted to.  

• While I mostly enjoyed learning more about Bobbi (aka Mockingbird), at times it felt like they were trying way too hard to make her fill some odd role. It would have been way more interesting if they had just focused on what makes her such an interesting character; that and not pulling in a male character that gave absolutely nothing to the story (their banter wasn't even funny). Where the comic does excel, is when it is just Bobbi taking control of the situation and showing what she's made of. 

• As to the artwork: For the most part I really enjoyed they way the artist brought the Bobbi's world to life. The facial expressions were definitely one of the best parts as it so perfectly captured her attitude. I actually kind of liked how the artwork subtly changed from volume to volume because the small changes helped it to match up with what was going on (from the zombie-ish to kids breaking out with powers).

Final Verdict: Mockingbird: I Can Explain- Good artwork with an okay at times story-line. Definitely looking forward to following more of Mockingbird/Bobbi's story as the next few volumes unfold.

A copy of this book was borrowed from the library. All thoughts are my own.