Turn Back the Pages is a biweekly feature where I spotlight a comic that is not fresh and new. It may have come out a few months ago or even a few years ago. Maybe it was hyped and popular, or maybe it was an underappreciated gem. Whatever the case, it’ll be a great comic that’s well worth a read.
Life is rough.
I get it. There are bills piling up, work deadlines to meet, and God only knows what’s going on in politics. Sometimes, you just need a break. Sometimes, you need something silly and fun to distract you. Sometimes, you need Squirrel Girl.
I feel like if Marvel had tried to make Squirrel Girl relevant a decade ago, they would have given her a grim and gritty reboot complete with a traumatic backstory and skimpy costume. But that’s not the case with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson. It doesn’t just take the silliness of her premise and run with it—it straps on rocket-powered boots and blasts off with it at supersonic speeds.
This is one of my go-to books when I’m feeling down. Every page is packed with a quirky sense of humor, and the plots are over-the-top ridiculous. In the first story arc, Squirrel Girl has to fight Galactus. She knows he’s coming to devour Earth because she can talk to squirrels, you see, and squirrels are serious astronomers who spotted him coming. She has to go to the moon to fight him, and to do that, she has to “borrow” one of Iron Man’s suits of armor, but then—
You know what? I can’t do the zaniness of this series justice. You really just have to read it.
On top of saving the world with her squirrel powers, Squirrel Girl is starting college in her secret identity of Doreen Green. She finds friendship and romance, and her supporting cast is super fun. I want to stress that this book isn’t dumb comedy. It has heart, and it’s been putting out consistently good issues for years now, which is probably a result of keeping the same writer/artist team throughout the run.
So dive in and read about Squirrel Girl getting into crazy time-travel shenanigans with her nemesis, Dr. Doom, or teaming up with Thor and Loki to fight the giant mythological squirrel monster that lives in the world tree. You can find the first collection on Kindle or in paperback and escape the real world for a while.
Really, you deserve a break.
What are your favorite comics when you need a break from reality? What would you do if you had the strength and agility of a squirrel? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Kristen Brand 