Miss Meow #1: Retail Edition is a comic written by Murphey with Aaron Sparrow and art by Victor Serra & Fernando Malek. At an afterparty for a mercenary convention old beefs are reheated and things get dicey. This story is a sort of intro to Merc Publishing’s thick cast of curmudgeons. The title character is Miss Meow, a woman with many cat-themed gadgets and a team of ladies with names like Kit and Kat. Her arch nemesis is Katfight, a woman with a similar theme but way more anger and a dark color scheme as opposed to Miss Meow’s hot pink ensembles. We also have Deathrage(has his own series), Deathspawn(his daughter), and Leonidas(leader of the Spartans). The plot has quite a few elements but the main vibe is some reality show-style mess. Improper mentions of family members, unknown relationships revealed, and straight up fighting. And the fights here involve those with powers and high-tech weaponry so it is full of theatrics. The dialogue is very cutting and full of snark with an overall atmosphere of anger. There are a few pages that get a bit heavy on the words but they read smoothly so you won’t feel slowed down. This is great first issue that gives us a wide look at this new comic universe we’ll be exploring.

            This comic is drawn in a more modern style with the art equivalent of cinematic lighting. There is an above-average range of colors here but due it to the bulk of  the story taking place at a “high class” afterparty most of the men are wearing solid color dark suits so the palette had to be reigned in a bit; there are splashes of other hues during the more exciting moments though. The main location is a gold-colored grand hall but we will traverse to a college laboratory and a convention stage. The main expressions on display here are disgust and anger but that’s just because everyone hates each other. We do get a wider range of emotions from the less hostile characters. Faces have good detail and though some share similarities face sameness is not an issue here. Most of the bodies here are modelesque and all the dudes are probably ripped. Most of the combat outfits are skintight and high-tech. Besides the revealing dresses at the afterparty there isn’t much sexualization going on here.

            Now you might be wondering why I’m reviewing Miss Meow #1 a second time. The last review was for the Kickstarter Edition, and this is the Retail Edition. What’s the difference? Think of this Retail Edition as a remaster of the original. The art is different, there is improved world building, and even the story is thicker! We get a better look at why Miss Meow and Katfight have animosity and we get a look at how these Mercs are viewed by the world. I thought these new versions were only considered different because of their covers but they really went in-depth with the upgrades and I think the story will benefit. If you thought Miss Meow was good before you’ll think it is great now.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like action stories starring two women with beef and a background cast of superfolk with some powers being explained by science and others unknown then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. Lots of foul language.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“You know how long I’ve waited to knock that thieving slag off her high horse?”

 

Purchase Link: https://mercpublishing.com/collections/retail-editions/products/miss-meow-1

Unboxing Link 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKNu19yR-OY

Unboxing Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09BtikvJjwY

 

***** I received this review copy for free. *****

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 32

Violent Pages: 9, for 28% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 1

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”