The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

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I wouldn't have chosen to read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl myself. I mean, it's a Marvel comic about a girl with squirrel powers. What even are "squirrel powers"? Why would a superhero have them??

But I got a copy for Christmas, and I'm so glad I did. This comic is amazing. And hilarious. And amazing.

Doreen Green is the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl -- unbeatable, because, through sheer skill (or ridiculous luck), she's never been beaten in battle, not even by the Avengers' most nefarious enemies. And Squirrel Girl because, well, she's a squirrel girl. She has a tail. She can command a tiny squirrel army. It's a whole big mutant-y thing. She and her best friend Tippy Toe the Adorable Squirrel have been living secretly in the attic of the Avengers Mansion, but now it's time for her to improve her superhero-ing skills by going to college.

She composes and sings her own theme tune. She talks to squirrels. She's a TOTALLY NORMAL COLLEGE STUDENT, you guys. It's a shame her flawless secret identity is threatened by all those villainous villains showing up. And that Iron Man's ignoring her despite totally saying she could be his fighting partner or whatever that one time. Guess she'll have to save the world by herself.

Watch her face off against famous Marvel nemeses! Learn their weak points through her handy-dandy set of Deadpool-approved supervillain trading cards! See how she manages to steal Iron Man's suit, cos she needs it right now and it's not like he's using it, jeez!

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is so incredibly funny. It's self-referential and genre aware, and it is absolutely unafraid to have some fun with the Marvel universe. The joke is never on Squirrel Girl or her powers -- she's just a really fun character in an innately hilarious world. And despite its references to Marvel canon, it's also a great comic for "I'm not really that into comics" people like myself. I might have missed a couple of the jokes, but it was still laugh-out-loud funny and enjoyable from the first page. A little bit of Marvel Movie Universe knowledge helps, but otherwise, you can just pick it up and go, thanks, in part, to those super handy supervillain cards, courtesy of Deadpool, telling you everything you need to know.

And the characters themselves are fantastic. The incredibly confident, adorable, nigh-unfazeable Doreen Green. Her blunt, badass, cat-obsessed roommate Nancy. The cute if rather perplexed Resident Love Interest, Tomas. And, like, Iron Man and Galactus and stuff.

Plus there are tiny comments from the writers at the bottom of every page. And the art is really cute. And even the fight scenes are hilarious. And. And. And.It's honestly great. If you want a lighthearted pick-me-up, go grab a copy.

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