You should check out this comic if:
- You like it when confrontations are solved with a talk rather than a punch.
- You believe in the power of friendship — and befriending powerful heroes AND villains.
- You like it when the comic book medium gets creative.
- You’re interested in young adult/college-age heroes.
- You’re a fan of computer science (no, really!).
You should avoid this comic if:
- You prefer superhero comics stick with cool battles — stop trying to talk villains out of fight!
- You prefer darker and grittier stories.
- You find weird storytelling techniques to be too gimmicky.
- You find superheroes attending class and fighting crime at the same time to be overdone.
- You find Millennial-age heroes too trite and twee.
The 2015-2020 run of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is funny, smart, charming, and most of all, kind. Written by Ryan North with artists Erica Henderson and Derek Charm, the Eisner Award-winning series is an excellent choice for those looking to start reading Marvel comics, or even old hats just looking for a good comic book. It uses tongue-in-cheek humour to devastating effect, yet never loses sight of the emotional core of the series: Squirrel Girl and her friends.
Squirrel Girl, or Doreen Green, is a young woman getting her degree in Computer Science. She also happens to have the powers of a squirrel, including superstrength, squirrel agility, a big fluffy squirrel tail, and the ability to talk to squirrels.
She is accompanied by her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe, and over the first few issues, Doreen builds her main friend group: new roommate Nancy Whitehead (powerless); Chipmunk Hunk/Tomas Lara-Parez (powers of a chipmunk, also a hunk); and Koi Boi/Ken Shiga (powers of a fish). All are computer science students in the same classes, and all quickly join forces to fight crime and occasionally save the world.
The comic series begins as Doreen Green enters her first year of college, which puts her and her friends firmly at the age of a Millennial or Gen Z. The college setting and adult characters means that parents and teachers don’t play a large role, and the atmosphere is more relaxed than the drama that embroils teen heroes. For example, secret identities are done away with after the heroes’ first few meetings; romance is present but rarely the focus, and even more rarely do characters angst over their love lives.
Instead, the great “love” of the series is between Doreen’s main friend group. New characters get added every now and again, like the hilariously dry Brain Drain (brain in a jar, robot body), and the possible future supervillain Mary Mahajan (powerless mad scientist). Each receives their own spotlight from time to time, and their relationships build naturally and in surprising ways across the 50+ comics. However, the real heart always lies with Doreen and Nancy, whose friendship blossoms throughout the series as Nancy becomes intrinsic to Doreen’s life — more a life partner than just a friend.
Because Squirrel Girl is “unbeatable,” the stories rarely rely on a straight-forward fist fight. Instead, the stories contain clever ways for Squirrel Girl and her friends to beat or befriend the various villains. Battles are innovative and creative, with Doreen finding a unique solution that doesn’t always require violence. In fact, Doreen will defeat villains with empathy as much as with her fists — or tail. The empathy is a refreshing take on the superhero genre, where punching is usually the go-to solution for all problems.
Squirrel Girl befriends villains from Kraven the Hunter to Galactus; Nancy befriends Loki through the power of her Cat Thor fan fiction, and Squirrel Girl befriends Ratatosk through the power of squirrels (and kindness).
But never fear, there’s still battles a-plenty for you readers who want to see some action. Squirrel Girl most certainly does not befriend Dr. Doom, and in fact uses time travel to kick his ass at every point along her timeline. She attempts to befriend Mole Man, but it backfires and instead it becomes a lesson in consent and the misogyny of the friendzone (while still including a fight with a dragon).
Doreen and her friends do also use language often used by Millennials. If that kind of lingo bothers you (along with the phrase “Cat Thor fan fiction”) this may not be the comic for you.
The art is bright and cheery, if overall uninventive compared to the story it supports as North, Henderson, and Charm push the boundaries of the comic book medium. There’s a choose-your-own adventure book that had me flipping back and forth to choose every option, and panels of Doreen crossing the Canadian wilderness set to Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” in a beautiful sequence that almost brought me to tears. There’s a handy crash course in using your fingers to count with binary, which I must admit flew entirely over my head — much like the other computer science references sprinkled in every few issues.
The art also manages to avoid the sexualization of the female form so common to superhero comics — Doreen isn’t supermodel slim, her breasts aren’t emphasized, and her costume doesn’t look like it was painted on a mannequin. It gives the feel of a cartoon for kids, rather than full realism.
Watch out for the footnotes on each page too! They provide fun facts, cute stories, humorous asides, witty puns, and are overall a joy to read. But that also means the comic may not be as quick reading material if you’re a completionist. If you’re looking for something shorter to keep you occupied between novels, you might want to wait until you have a bit more free time.
Despite the heroes’ ages, the comic is perfect for everyone from young kids to computer science nerds, as the letters pages make abundantly clear — there are 40 year olds and 5 year olds writing in to gush about Squirrel Girl and the creators that made her their new favourite superhero. If you love Squirrel Girl’s fresh take on superheroism and friendly take on supervillainy, you might end up counting yourself among them.
Continuity Corner:
The series is incredibly accessible for new comic book readers, or new readers to the Marvel Universe. You don’t need to know too much about Doreen’s comic book past to get into this run. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl’s college setting is a fresh start for Doreen and the canon.
Squirrel Girl was first introduced to the Marvel Universe in Marvel Superheroes Vol 2. Issue 8 in 1991, where she was discovered by Iron Man as a plucky teen. Iron Man was subsequently kidnapped by Dr. Doom, then soon rescued by Squirrel, who proceeded to kick Dr. Doom’s ass using…squirrels (as you may have noticed, “kicking Dr. Doom’s ass” is one of Squirrel Girl’s hobbies).
Since then, Doreen has been a side character in a few comic series, namely the Great Lake Avengers and the New Avengers. But The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is her first solo series, so Doreen doesn’t come with the same continuity baggage that plagues the main heroes of the universe.
Doreen tends to run into a new Avenger every few issues, she has a strong friendship with Tony Stark, and the world is filled with references to superhero media (there are extended jokes using the 1960s Spider-Man theme song). However, all you need to get by is a passing familiarity with the Marvel Universe; if you’ve seen any Marvel film, you’re set. And don’t worry if you don’t recognize any of the villains: Doreen owns “Deadpool’s Guide to Super Villains” cards, giving her and readers a quick run-down on who’s who. When confronted with a new villain, she pulls one out for those unfamiliar with villains, big and small.
My Two Cents:
I absolutely love The Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl. It’s one of my all-time favourite comic series, and I found it a delight to read from beginning to end. It’s my first rec on this website because I believe it’s a comic anyone can read and enjoy. If you’re just getting started reading superhero comics, then this is the comic for you.
How Can I Find It?
The series covers 12 volumes, starting with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1: Squirrel Power, which you can find online here at Marvel.com. The series also includes one special issue graphic novel titled. “The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe” which occurs between Volumes 1 and 2.
Don’t forget to check it out at your local library too!
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Images Cited From: Henderson, Erica. Cover Artist for The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Marvel, Vol 1, 2015.
North, Ryan and Erica Henderson. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Marvel, Vol. 1, Issue 1, 2015, and Vol. 8 Issue 31, 2018.
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