Dark Horse Comics 2016
Written & Illustrated by Joelle Jones
Coloured by Michelle Madsen
Lettered by Crank!
Josie’s back and this time she and the family have moved to Cocoa Beach Florida. A world away from where they were and starting new, well Josie is anyway. No longer with the Agency after the last arc she needs to make a new name for herself and learn to do what others did. Joelle wastes no time in letting us know that Josie’s needs her extra curricular activities to stay sane, or for enjoyment i’m not sure which at this point.
I love the opening here. Doing her Tupperware gig while snooty bitches run amok at some point you begin to wonder is this really her life now and then Joelle brings us back to reality and it couldn’t be any more pleasing. It’s kind of fun revisiting a character who's as stylish and determined as Josie is and then see her having to learn a whole new way of doing things. You kind of cheer through the madness of what’s happening and that’s just because Joelle really has you so in love with this character.
After what happened in Seattle it’s fun to see Josie and Mother Schuller finally talk about it. Oh my goodness I have been waiting for this little outburst between them though I was hoping it would be longer and meaner on both parts. However before they can get into it it’s time to switch gears a little. I have to say the characterization that Joelle brings to these characters really is fantastic. How she’s able to juggle the story at home with her husband, kids and mother-in-law and then with her startup business is impeccably done.
One of the most creative and enigmatic characters is back and it seems she can’t leave her past behind. What’s this going to mean for her and her family and will the organization just let her up and leave and set up solo shop elsewhere? Those questions and more will be answered right here as Josie’s life once again comes under the microscope.
While the story is incredible it’s really the interior artwork that Joelle and Michelle bring to the table that seals the deal here. The attention to detail on each page and in each panel is so beautifully done. I mean just the opening alone with that wallpaper and the faces, clothes and style that this era has you can’t beat that. Her eye for storytelling here the way the book flows and the just the faces and the expressions on them this is the stuff as reader we live for. It’s beautifully done and so incredibly gross at times that you can’t just help but fall under it’s spell.