Single Issue Showcase: Kim & Kim #1 – “This Glamorous, High Flying, Rock Star Life”

The cover of Kim & Kim #1

The word semi-autobiographical would be probably the last one used to describe a comic about intergalactic queer female bounty hunters, but there is clearly a great deal of personal experience infused in the first issue of Black Mask Studios’ Kim & Kim written by Magdalene “Mags” Visaggio and drawn by Eva Cabrera, with letters by Zakk Saam and colors by Claudia Aguirre. That these elements are in a sci-fi story with clear debts to two very famous animes is a testament to the power of representation in media and genre storytelling.

Originally published July 6, 2016, Kim & Kim #1 proved popular enough to warrant a second printing, and one can see why. This book is fun! Yes, it deals with money troubles, family dynamics, and the internal turmoil of one of the main characters, but it also has that same character beat a man with a bass guitar. Another character sprouts tentacles. More than once in the space of twenty-four pages, a dinner is ruined by a person being slammed into the table. It is the type of art that to speak ill of it is to immediately out oneself as a possibly hopeless killjoy. There’s a reason characters are introduced with exclamation points after their names.

Ms. Visaggio said in an interview that the relationship between Kim Q. and her father, briefly mentioned in this issue, was drawn from personal experience. That personal touch is evident in a touching monologue that character delivers in this issue about how she feels in relation to another bounty hunter. Eva Cabrera’s art is dynamic and fluid, perfectly capturing the tone of the book while leaving room for these quieter moments. Most of the action takes place on a planet with a variety of cultures (and why does that not happen more often in science fiction?), providing ample opportunity to create atmospheres that are familiar and alien. The colors by Claudia Aguirre establish the mood of each environment, particularly in the high contrast of the first dinner fight scene. Zak Saam’s lettering has fun with the sound effects, employing standards of onomatopoeia but also “KNEE!” There’s a sense of joy that permeates all aspects of this issue.

Kim & Kim has been praised by Gail Simone, Steve Orlando, and Sophie Campbell. The first issue is available at the publisher’swebsite and at comiXology. The first four issues were collected in Volume 1, which is available from these same sources and Amazon. If you can, I would ask any readers also to donate to Ms. Visaggio’s YouCaring page. Artists need to be supported.