Graphic Novel Review: Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte by Joe Benitez and M. M. Chen

Illustrated by Joe Benitez and Martin Montiel

Pros: gorgeous artwork, touching story

Cons: makes the locals look ignorant

Mourning the death of a friend, Lady Mechanika makes her way to Mexico, where she’s coerced into joining the Day of the Dead festivities.

This graphic novel gathers a 3 issue storyline.

As with the previous volumes the artwork is simply gorgeous. I love the costumes and make-up associated with the festival. There are some beautiful double page spreads.

I enjoyed the story, though it does depend on the ‘superstitious natives are easily duped’ trope and it’s not particularly original. I found the opening beautiful and sad, despite the positive message of the festival. 

I was confused by who Dallas was. He isn’t mentioned in the earlier volumes nor was there a flashback explaining how he died or any explanation of why Mechanika felt responsible for his death.

Despite a few minor issues, I love this series. Each volume stands alone and uses unique new locations and outfits. The artwork really is worth it.

Graphic Novel Review: Lady Mechanika volume 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse by Joe Benitez

(collects Lady Mechanika issues 0-5)

Pros: gorgeous artwork, interesting characters, good story

Cons: 

Issue 0 is a prequel story that takes place about a year before the main comic. It features Lady Mechanika hunting a ‘demon’ that’s been killing children.

Issues 1-5 comprises a story about a young woman, found dead in a train station, who has similar mechanical arms to Lady Mechanika.

I LOVED the artwork. The colours are rich and bold, the backgrounds lush, and the characters vibrant.

Lady Mechanika is portrayed in a sexy fashion without showing much (or sometimes any) skin. I loved her costumes (particularly her Victorian style dresses), and the occasional steampunk elements of it. She’s intelligent, no nonsense, and kickass.

The supporting cast are also well dressed and appropriately quirky. I enjoyed the fact that there’s history between Lady Mechanika and the two lead antagonists.

The story was pretty interesting, though there was one scene where the antagonists had an expository conversation meant for the reader rather than each other.

This volume is self-contained, with a quick mention of what will begin the next volume.