It's hard to review this book without at least mentioning that it is one of Oni's few late books. So it's late, and I think we can all agree that's bad. Getting past that, how's the story itself? Well, it's actually more enjoyable than the first one, a successful blend of comedy, action and social commentary with a sense of humor that is frank and even vulgar, and yet sophisticated at the same time. Simone writes a smart book about dumb women, and Hernandez provides artwork that makes the comedy really come to life.
Though this book is about a somewhat silly concept, the idea of sorority girl assassins, Simone has grounded the whole thing in the more serious questions of why the world needs assassins and how they work. The opening page is an interesting story that sets the stage for how the girls work, and the girls tackle their job with an enthusiasm that borders on maniacal and a blase disregard for the violence they do that borders on sociopathic. Their job is one that is frightening enough when someone is dispassionate or detached, as assassins in fiction tend to be, but it's possibly even more frightening when they love their job.
Of course, it's also hilarious. The splash page of X-Rays from the informant along with Faith's "I Love My Job!" was priceless, and the "disgruntled" running gag was a lot of fun, even as it revealed something about the intelligence and naivete of the girls. Simone also isn't all about the guns and assassinations, as she does some fairly convincing work on sorority politics, including the two-faced reaction the girls have to the new pledge (well, except for Charity) and the banter they have between themselves. These girls are dangerous and scary, but at the same time you have to love them, and get a genuine feeling for the bonds that they have, especially given the surprisingly serious ending of the issue.
Lea Hernandez's artwork mixes the serious and the comedy with the same skill that Simone does. Hernandez uses some nifty devices that remind me of Impulse's "picture thought balloons" before they became overused in that book and other places. The page of X-Rays is one example, another is the use of Charity's journal as some exposition and insight into the character and another is the "wetness meter" when Mitchell and Charity meet, which was more outrageous than I expected and had me laughing out loud. Hernandez also handles the action sequences very well, with the gun (and gravy boat) fight and the explosion in the high rise matching up to the best Hollywood blockbusters.
It's relatively easy to do a book about sorority girl assassins that is a little funny, because the concept itself is likely to give most readers a chuckle or two. It's not so easy to do one that is laugh-out-loud funny, and has a serious undercurrent based on strong characterization and an almost sad dichotomy between a lack of common sense and a frightening amount of knowledge about how to kill and maim. Simone and Hernandez take a fun concept and elevate it above that, keeping it fun but also making it more interesting than just a book that you laugh at and then put down and forget.
