CHEETAH AND CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #1: Dinner for Two

Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #1: We’ve all been there, right? Down and out, longing for more and knowing we could be more. Well, Cheetah finds herself in this exact scenario; however, instead of a sports car, she has something more in mind.

This is a review by both Matt of the weekly pop-culture podcast Hops ‘Geek’ News and Megan of the weekly non-toxic Marvel podcast Vigilante Vibes!

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Creative Team:

Greg Rucka: WRITER

Nicola Scott: ART and COVER

Annette Kwok: COLORS and COVER

Troy Peteri: LETTERS

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Story:

Matt: This story intrigued me from the start. It is two characters I have never spent a lot of time with truthfully. Kicking it off with Cheetah having an identity crisis was a sure fire way for Greg to pull me however, because if there is anything I can relate to it is this.

There is a lot of narratively driven character work and development in this issue as well. Greg shows these two sharing a moment and having what would amount to basic catching up chatter.

It is a wonderful break from the normal plain narration villains tend to give us. There is more to these two and Greg delivers layers of depth to them two even as they make a choice to rob the Watchtower of all places.

Megan: Seeing these two powerhouses work together is what initially made me excited, but reading the comic and seeing their plan is what got me hooked. The two characters start off showing that they have their own lives, Cheetah with her struggles with her hunger and Cheshire showing she’s juggling quite a few things in her life.

When they meet on a job, it’s instantly obvious how close of a bond the two share, and that shines brightly throughout Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #1. After the job, the women go to get a bite to eat when Cheetah has a proposal for Cheshire that even she knows is absolutely chaotic. After some pleasantries, Cheetah tells Cheshire her plan; she wants to rob the Watchtower. Cheshire is flabbergasted, understandably so. However, it seems Cheetah has thought through this plan and has high hopes for its success. Time will tell!

The Art:

Matt: Starting with the cover, there is a realness and vividness to this style of art that jumped out to me. The inner panels and pages were much the same as Nicola lines up these characters with immense detail. Cheetah’s face is almost drawn as though it is a mask, which to me seems to land as her character is going through a bit of a crisis of identity.

Annette follows up the detailing with rich shadings that blend in the mask-like feature and bring out the realism in the action sequences or the tenderness of these two having food in a diner.

Megan: The amount of realistic detail that went into every panel is absolutely extraordinary, thanks to Nicola Scott. You can see each tiny muscle of doubt show on Cheshire’s face, and every bit of pain that Cheetah is experiencing. Annette Kwok handles the colors of the comic, and really nailed making it dark and gritty, which only elevated the art as a whole.

Final Thoughts: 9.3/10

Matt: 9.5/10 Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #1 hits surprisingly close to home and is a narrative-driven character story that will pull you into this world immediately. I left this issue hoping they would succeed in robbing the League, and that is a testament to the work done!

Megan: 9.1/10 I absolutely loved Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #1! I was hooked by the first page, and my eyes didn’t want to leave the pages. Can’t wait to see what’s next!