DANGER AND OTHER UNKNOWN RISKS

The creators of the original Squirrel Girl comic series pitch an intrepid young adventurer and her talking dog into a fragmented multiverse.

Trusting readers to go with the flow, North and Henderson leave much of their scenario unexplained or hanging in this setup episode. Raised on tales of how electricity stopped at the turn of the millennium and magic started to work—but with different, reality-shattering results in different places—Marguerite de Pruitt has spent years being trained by her Uncle Bernard to fetch three totems that will, he claims, allow him to cast a spell that will vanquish the “bad magic” that is gradually destroying the Earth. The authors drop a hint at the outset that all this is not as it seems and add climactic revelations that prove it, but they kick-start the action on the first page and don’t let up until a close that leaves Marguerite; her shaggy and voluble chow chow sidekick, Daisy; and Jacin, a new friend from this era, kicked up in a time loop, ready for further thrilling adventures. The human cast is small and racially diverse and effortlessly includes queer characters. Brown-skinned Marguerite, who wears her long black hair in a single braid, develops a crush on a boy from a multiracial family with two moms; pale, blond Jacin presents as a butch girl.

A fine romp setting up for further worldbuilding in future entries.