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Gun Honey #1-4
Gun Honey, Vol. 1
Award winning Charles Ardai, co-founder of Hard Case Crime, brings his noir expertise to the fore in his debut graphic novel about a sexy weapons smuggler.
She’ll get you the weapon you need, when you need it, where you need it -- no matter how impossible.
But when a gun smuggled into a high-security prison leads to the death of dozens and the escape of a brutal criminal, Joanna Tan is suddenly forced by the U.S. government to do a job for them: find the man she set loose and bring him down.
She’ll get you the weapon you need, when you need it, where you need it -- no matter how impossible.
But when a gun smuggled into a high-security prison leads to the death of dozens and the escape of a brutal criminal, Joanna Tan is suddenly forced by the U.S. government to do a job for them: find the man she set loose and bring him down.
112 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2022
About the author
Charles Ardai
67 books104 followersCharles Ardai is a founder of Hard Case Crime, a pulp crime novel publisher, as well as an editor and author. In 1991 he received the Pearlman Prize for his fiction. He also writes under the pen name Richard Aleas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 11, 2022
Gun Honey can be hired to get a gun into any place asked, including prison. She doesn't kill people herself, but she'll put a gun in place, no questions asked. When things go horribly wrong on a job, she has to go after an escaped convict. This has got all the elements you want in a pulp story. Action, betrayal, sex, death. BTW, there is an explicit sex scene within and lots of nudity.
Ang Hor Kheng art has this classic flare to it. Graw Morrow mixed with Mike Deodato Jr. I really enjoyed it. I've never come across their art before and it is really polished.
Ang Hor Kheng art has this classic flare to it. Graw Morrow mixed with Mike Deodato Jr. I really enjoyed it. I've never come across their art before and it is really polished.
July 4, 2023
Gun Honey is a graphic novel (don’t call them comic books) featuring a slinky Julie Newmarket cat woman type of rogue who specializes in getting weapons where they need to go. Flipped by law enforcement, Joanna Tan now plays for the hood guys -albeit reluctantly. The point it seems is for our overly endowed comic book princess to cavort around in a bikini and often less in between taking on bad guys all by herself. Great artwork and enough of a storyline to follow.
May 10, 2022
A cheesy, cheesecake spy drama where the twists are incredibly predictable and the heroine is empowered to walk around topless just as much as she wants. So much empowerment!
May 6, 2022
Got to love a "clothing optional" old school noir, this was fun and I wouldn't mind reading a continuation of Joanna's misadventures.
July 4, 2022
This was a pleasant surprise. I gambled on this because I saw a few friends had gave high marks and they had an awesome variant cover. Who makes variant covers for trade paperbacks? Had to get it. Anyway, awesome story. We follow Joanna Tan who is the Gun Honey. She gets her nickname because she is the honey you seek if you need a gun. She is not a gun runner but someone who can sneak into anywhere and place a gun for someone else to use. Charles Ardai and company do some cool stuff with that concept. She has a tragic background as her father and brothers were killed when someone blew up their place. She is so good at her job that the government has approached her to work for them. Lots of cool action in this one, a lot of nudity, a graphic sex scene and a few great plot twists that I didn’t see coming. Plus it was great to find out after reading the blurb in the back of this book that this series will be continuing. Had a blast with this one and will be checking out the next volume when it arrives.
July 9, 2024
Gun Honey may not be high art, but it is a lot of fun. And I mean a lot. This is hard core pulp noir at it's best. The art is gritty, sexy and dark and reflects the tone of the writing perfectly.
Expect violence, trench coats, cleavage, murder, boobs, prison breaks, massacres, bondage, gratuitous violence, gratuitous nudity, explosions, vigilante justice, etc., etc. . Essentially, everything the comics code tried to eradicate is in this book and it is marvelous!
Expect violence, trench coats, cleavage, murder, boobs, prison breaks, massacres, bondage, gratuitous violence, gratuitous nudity, explosions, vigilante justice, etc., etc. . Essentially, everything the comics code tried to eradicate is in this book and it is marvelous!
May 26, 2023
Charles Ardai simply knows what I like and what I want out of a book (even if I don't even know). From the beautifully painted covers to the stories themselves, he always has me hook, line and sinker from start to finish, whether it's his own books or another author's. For Gun Honey, he turns his sights to comics, and just like his novels, he's got me here. It was sexy, action-packed and pure fun.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.
May 5, 2022
Gun Honey collects issues 1-4 of the Titan Comics/Hard Case Crime series written by Charles Ardai and art by Ang Hor Kheng.
Joanna Tan is the Gun Honey, a gun smuggler who gets her clients the weapons they need into places where and when they need it. After accepting a gun plant to kill a prisoner, the weapon is used to start a prison riot and Joanna is forced to work for the government to bring the killer back to justice.
This was a fun, sexy, and violent pulp noir story but I wish their was a bit more depth to it. Everything is a bit skimmed over when the author could have easily gone into more detail to flesh out these characters and this world. It was strange seeing the main protagonist nude half the book (usually for no reason), but it is great art thought the book from an up and coming artist. The book is already scheduled for a sequel so I am excited to see the follow-up.
Joanna Tan is the Gun Honey, a gun smuggler who gets her clients the weapons they need into places where and when they need it. After accepting a gun plant to kill a prisoner, the weapon is used to start a prison riot and Joanna is forced to work for the government to bring the killer back to justice.
This was a fun, sexy, and violent pulp noir story but I wish their was a bit more depth to it. Everything is a bit skimmed over when the author could have easily gone into more detail to flesh out these characters and this world. It was strange seeing the main protagonist nude half the book (usually for no reason), but it is great art thought the book from an up and coming artist. The book is already scheduled for a sequel so I am excited to see the follow-up.
January 1, 2022
Stephen King's pulp imprint is starting to venture into comics, and "Gun Honey" is as pulpy as it comes. This could be a Tarantino/Rodriguez team-up a la "Grindhouse:" guns, hard-boiled dialogue, insane action, guts, cheesecake nudity and lots of nods to pulp fiction past and present. Is it derivative at times? Yes. Does it stick the landing? Absolutely.
March 26, 2024
Fun little pulp crime story. A plus if you like seeing scantily clad and nude women drawn, which works for me.
Although the art is well done, it smacks of an older style that is just fine to me. Not bad by any means but like slightly above average.
Not much depth here but enjoyable.
Although the art is well done, it smacks of an older style that is just fine to me. Not bad by any means but like slightly above average.
Not much depth here but enjoyable.
August 2, 2022
A quite entertaining and sexy action graphic novel. Gun Honey is the alias of the strong and sassy female protagonist, an arm's dealer who can import guns wherever they are needed, even in the most heavily guarded places. Obviously the story isn't of Shakespearean quality. However, it's a perfect excuse for some well-drawn, almost cinematic, action scenes with gun fights.
The art is very beautiful and, at times, pretty daring. There are a lot of details especially in the depiction of violence. There's some nudity, too . The colorist has also done a pretty good job.
The art is very beautiful and, at times, pretty daring. There are a lot of details especially in the depiction of violence. There's some nudity, too . The colorist has also done a pretty good job.
July 25, 2024
Pretty much the essence of formulaic mediocrity, which is consistent with the state of American comics at the moment
June 28, 2023
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
Writer Charles Ardai delivers a pulpy noir thriller where he introduces readers to Joanna Tan, a professional weapons smuggler known to many as Gun Honey who gets tangled with the U.S. government and is sent on a mission to find a dangerous target before countless lives are lost. Thrilling, fast-paced, and light on words, the core revenge narrative is mostly weak yet addictively fast-paced as it allows its protagonist to utilize her sexual energy quite ostentatiously on readers. At the same time, she employs her deceptive sleight-of-hands tricks to survive her cruel world.
Not your typical weapons smuggler, Joanna Tan can get you the gun you need in the most hard-to-reach places for the right price. When things go awry after effortlessly smuggling a firearm into a high-security prison that leads to mass casualties, she finds herself trapped and forced by the U.S. government. Unwilling to simply let her rot away in prison, she is given an independent contract, more like an obligation honestly, to bring down the very man she innocently helped out. Assigned to her case is Agent Borrow, following her along on this mission, making sure that she fulfills the most minor requirements of her contract but what follows leads them to risky encounters where no life is safe.
Now, I totally understand that award-winning writer Charles Ardai, also the co-founder of the imprint Hard Case Crime, wanted to produce a new line of comic books encapsulating the very heart of pulp noir crime fiction and that’s what he does with the solid penciling by artist Ang Hor Kheng and colours by Asifur Rahman. This does require loads of suspension of disbelief, but once you’re set and ready to believe in anything, things move quickly and smoothly. You will, however, quickly notice that a lot of the story’s success lies upon the insane curves of our female protagonist. Notwithstanding the blatant no-top-on-the-busty-femme-fatale rule that was clearly achieved from the beginning until the very end, never really explaining why she liked to showcase her frontal assets so much too, the revenge thriller isn’t unfortunately as voluptuous as the main character, quickly rushing to a resolution that felt unwarranted. There was an attempt to give her character more edge than the usual temptress who can handle her guns, but this reads more like a pervy guilty pleasure comic book than anything else.
Gun Honey (Vol. 1) is an unexceptional pulp noir thriller introducing the world to Joanna Tan and her valuable and pronounced assets.
May 4, 2022
I’ll start with the positive; truly incredible artwork and some really nice boobs.
The negative? A lot. The premise is pretty dumb. She sneaks guns into places? Ok. I guess we can make that a cool outlaw job… but it comes across as really silly. Not to mention the fact that the plot was incomprehensible.
The worst thing about this was the actual nuts and bolts of the sequential storytelling. It’s like the pages didn’t connect. You’d turn a page and find out that there was a development in the otherworldly off panel abyss. It just didn’t flow. I had to play catchup and try to use the context clues to put this picture together, and I don’t think that was on purpose.
Also, our hot and sexy lead with the huge tits had almost no distinctive personality traits beyond some very general archetypes. I still don’t know her.
I fucking love big titty pulp stuff, but I still need it to be a good comic book, and this wasn’t.
The negative? A lot. The premise is pretty dumb. She sneaks guns into places? Ok. I guess we can make that a cool outlaw job… but it comes across as really silly. Not to mention the fact that the plot was incomprehensible.
The worst thing about this was the actual nuts and bolts of the sequential storytelling. It’s like the pages didn’t connect. You’d turn a page and find out that there was a development in the otherworldly off panel abyss. It just didn’t flow. I had to play catchup and try to use the context clues to put this picture together, and I don’t think that was on purpose.
Also, our hot and sexy lead with the huge tits had almost no distinctive personality traits beyond some very general archetypes. I still don’t know her.
I fucking love big titty pulp stuff, but I still need it to be a good comic book, and this wasn’t.
December 15, 2022
I started reading this series out of respect for Charles Ardai, the great work with Hard Case Crime. I finished the series, enjoyed the issues i read because the artist Ang Hor Kheng has great potential with noir comics.
July 7, 2024
Short and sweet, don’t really have anything more to say about it. It’s a typical spy? crime? book like James Bond but she doesn’t kill people and barely wears clothes
June 23, 2022
3.5 stars
Action-packed, fast paced, and a page-turner. Joanna Tan is the titular “Gun Honey” who can get a gun anywhere, no matter the security. After what was supposed to be a simple job turns into a bloodbath, Joanna is forced to cooperate with the government to uncover the mysterious scarred man who massacred countless people to escape.
This is the start of a pulp noir comic series that doesn’t pull any punches. But while I had hopes for this book in terms of not being from the male gaze, that hope died just as quickly as the first casualty in this comic. It’s very obvious that a man wrote this but I will say this, the art is spectacular. Maybe it was the fifth nipple shot but at a certain point the nudity does nothing for the plot. I found the plot and the twists to be highly predictable and there was nil complexity in the characterization or backstory. This wasn’t particularly unique but it was a fairly entertaining read.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Action-packed, fast paced, and a page-turner. Joanna Tan is the titular “Gun Honey” who can get a gun anywhere, no matter the security. After what was supposed to be a simple job turns into a bloodbath, Joanna is forced to cooperate with the government to uncover the mysterious scarred man who massacred countless people to escape.
This is the start of a pulp noir comic series that doesn’t pull any punches. But while I had hopes for this book in terms of not being from the male gaze, that hope died just as quickly as the first casualty in this comic. It’s very obvious that a man wrote this but I will say this, the art is spectacular. Maybe it was the fifth nipple shot but at a certain point the nudity does nothing for the plot. I found the plot and the twists to be highly predictable and there was nil complexity in the characterization or backstory. This wasn’t particularly unique but it was a fairly entertaining read.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 8, 2022
This was a fairly fun ride until Ardai stretched the plot beyond reasonable believability. For example: the cops catch a notorious criminal but tell her "We won't put you in prison because you'll just escape anyway" (yeah, that's not how the law works) and then they make her do their job by catching a notorious bad guy instead of actually having police officers catch him (again, not at all how the law actually works).
June 24, 2022
This volume collects issues 1-4 of a comic following the adventures of Joanna Tan, the arms dealer and smuggler to whom the title refers.
The story occupies a murky territory between espionage, thriller and crime: Tan is actively supplying weapons for nefarious purposes (whether or not she has any scruples about what she does is one of the central questions here - one which for me wasn't, quite, answered in this volume). That brings her into touch with criminal gangs, terrorists and corrupt politicians and indeed these blend into one another in a manner familiar in pulp.
As was the central premise here - when a law enforcement agency reaches out for help, it seems to be making an offer Joanna can't refuse. So the story gets darker, moving from the daring set up of the opening pages, where she poses on a beach to catch the eye of a tycoon as part of a job, to an attempted infiltration of a crime syndicate.
Through all this we're introduced to Joanna's past, and (perhaps) to the events which still motivate her now. It seems the world she's moving in now isn't so far from where she grew up, and she has motives which may mean that consequences and ethics take second place.
Or she may not. As I said, there is an atmosphere of amorality here which feels as though it fits a world of super yachts, remote island dens of pleasure and general lawlessness.
This uncertainty, and the twists and turns of the plot, keep the story readable throughout and the atmospheric drawings - using both a clear realist style a degree of grainy murk - contribute to that, especially when capturing the seedier locations and events. In relation to the latter, I would warn that there are some very explicit scenes here - both of killings, and also of Tan, as she picks her way through an exploitative, male-dominated world (or at least, it was till she took a stand).
Further episodes of Gun Honey are promised, so if you missed the originals, this would be a good place to catch up on the story so far.
The story occupies a murky territory between espionage, thriller and crime: Tan is actively supplying weapons for nefarious purposes (whether or not she has any scruples about what she does is one of the central questions here - one which for me wasn't, quite, answered in this volume). That brings her into touch with criminal gangs, terrorists and corrupt politicians and indeed these blend into one another in a manner familiar in pulp.
As was the central premise here - when a law enforcement agency reaches out for help, it seems to be making an offer Joanna can't refuse. So the story gets darker, moving from the daring set up of the opening pages, where she poses on a beach to catch the eye of a tycoon as part of a job, to an attempted infiltration of a crime syndicate.
Through all this we're introduced to Joanna's past, and (perhaps) to the events which still motivate her now. It seems the world she's moving in now isn't so far from where she grew up, and she has motives which may mean that consequences and ethics take second place.
Or she may not. As I said, there is an atmosphere of amorality here which feels as though it fits a world of super yachts, remote island dens of pleasure and general lawlessness.
This uncertainty, and the twists and turns of the plot, keep the story readable throughout and the atmospheric drawings - using both a clear realist style a degree of grainy murk - contribute to that, especially when capturing the seedier locations and events. In relation to the latter, I would warn that there are some very explicit scenes here - both of killings, and also of Tan, as she picks her way through an exploitative, male-dominated world (or at least, it was till she took a stand).
Further episodes of Gun Honey are promised, so if you missed the originals, this would be a good place to catch up on the story so far.
August 3, 2023
Gun Honey, Vol. 1 is the first volume in the Gun Honey (Joanna Tan) Hard Case graphic novel series by Charles Ardai. Ardai is a pseudonym for Richard Aleas who wrote hard boiled mysteries like Little Girl Lost.
Joanna Tan sells weapons. She knows how to get a weapon into a place so that it can then be used for a killing. She got into this business when, as a child, her family was killed in a bombing in Malaysia. Now an expert, while she also tries to find the people who killed her father, she supplies guns.
In one case, a gun is used to kill many people, both in prison and outside. A secret government organization brings her in to try to get her to work for them. She is assigned a handler, Brook Barrow, and they try to find out who was the man in prison who received her most recent gun.
Suffice it to say, there is lots and lots of action, lots of shooting as Joanna and Brook run down the killer. There will be a surprise as well as Joanna ultimately discovers who was behind the bombing.
The characters are drawn larger than life in this graphic novel, especially Joanna who is, let's just say, buxom. There is some nudity, one sex scene. The colors are bright, rich. It fits into the Hard Case mold and is pure comic book entertainment. (Warning: There is violence) 3.0 stars.
Joanna Tan sells weapons. She knows how to get a weapon into a place so that it can then be used for a killing. She got into this business when, as a child, her family was killed in a bombing in Malaysia. Now an expert, while she also tries to find the people who killed her father, she supplies guns.
In one case, a gun is used to kill many people, both in prison and outside. A secret government organization brings her in to try to get her to work for them. She is assigned a handler, Brook Barrow, and they try to find out who was the man in prison who received her most recent gun.
Suffice it to say, there is lots and lots of action, lots of shooting as Joanna and Brook run down the killer. There will be a surprise as well as Joanna ultimately discovers who was behind the bombing.
The characters are drawn larger than life in this graphic novel, especially Joanna who is, let's just say, buxom. There is some nudity, one sex scene. The colors are bright, rich. It fits into the Hard Case mold and is pure comic book entertainment. (Warning: There is violence) 3.0 stars.
August 2, 2022
It's a classic pulp noir tale with an original character. It was a very good Vol. 1, it hits all the marks it's setting out to do. The art definitely enhances the experience. It feels like a breath of fresh air amongst the current state of Comic Book art. Gun Honey is a very likable character that is also very badass, tough and easy to root for. She's definitely very easy on the eyes but it's her character that excels this classic trop. Looking forward to more stories with her. One thing I hope to see in the future is a detailed visual representation of how she does what she's good at. It doesn't need to be explained everytime, there's a charm to that mystery but I'd love to see a scene where we get to see the full walkthrough and her thought process. Overall, a very satisfying book.
March 20, 2024
Sam nie wiem. W polecance okładkowej Ed Brubaker napisał, że to kryminał noir najwyższej próby. On akurat coś o tym wie. Ale chyba przesadził. Nie jestem ekspertem, co najwyżej oglądam regularnie kryminały noir, te klasyczne i te z tzw. neo noir. Z doskoku czytam teraz książkę poświęconą temu gatunkowi. Ale ekspertem nie jestem. Mimo to nie zgadzam się z tym marketingowym tekstem Brubakera. To raczej przygodowa, trochę szpiegowska, akcyjna fabuła. I to wszystko. Zgrabna, ale niezbyt skomplikowana fabuła. Pierwsza część to dobry pilot tej krótkiej serii. Graficznie bez zarzutu, pieści oczy. Jednak ta szybka i przez to trochę po łebkach fabuła… Fakt, dzięki temu akcja jest dynamiczna a dużo się dzieje jak na skromną objętość. Ale dla mnie trochę za szybko. Fajna rozrywka.
December 4, 2022
Sexy femme-fatale protagonist, lots of crime and violence, nice story, decent artwork.
Not a lot to say about this one, it is not challenging but a lot of fun to read. Characters with a bit more depth and backstory than one often sees in the big-tit-and-big-guns type crime stories.
That artwork by Ang Hor Khengreally is pretty good; it fits the story perfectly and tells it's own story very competently. I will probably come back to this one for the artwork alone.
Not a lot to say about this one, it is not challenging but a lot of fun to read. Characters with a bit more depth and backstory than one often sees in the big-tit-and-big-guns type crime stories.
That artwork by Ang Hor Khengreally is pretty good; it fits the story perfectly and tells it's own story very competently. I will probably come back to this one for the artwork alone.
May 15, 2023
2.5 stars
October 4, 2023
Very nice mix of noir and spy genre. With lot of fanservice, but it also has decent story, so together it makes it quite good read. Overall art, coloring and paneling is nice. 3.5*
May 2, 2023
This was a crazy ride.
Our protagonist, Joanna Tan aka Gun Honey, is a specialist in the way that she is capable of infiltrating any area and conceal the gun so it can be used by the person hiring her to execute their own mission.
I have to admit, very interesting concept, something I came across only in one novel where specialist (again woman) helps an interested party to infiltrate a prison to reach his target.
Considering this is pulp fiction, it delivered exactly what I was expecting - story worthy of good old action movies. You have everything here, origin story and tragedy, years spent working with guns and infiltrating highly secured areas and of course nefarious crime syndicates and government organizations trying to use Joanna for their own purposes.
Joanna is one busty lady, maybe little bit too busty :), I mean, I thunk that her proportions would be somewhat an obstacle for her line of business when it comes to execution of operations but OK, again this is pulp fiction and Joanna is 100 percent femme fatale, for females and for males :)
Again, comic sticks to its roots and does not try to be what is not. Accent is on the story, action, and whole bunch of twists and turns taking place that will keep the reader interested to the very end.
I am little bit mixed on art side - it is not bad but sometimes perspective and panels seem a little bit disorganized. Art style reminds me of old 70's action comics popular in Europe (Johhny Nero, Barracuda, Steel Claw etc) and I think it would be much, much better in black and white mode than colorized. But again this is my opinion, I generally prefer black and white comics than those in color.
Very interesting story and interesting new heroine to follow.
Recommended to all fans of good old action adventure stories.
Our protagonist, Joanna Tan aka Gun Honey, is a specialist in the way that she is capable of infiltrating any area and conceal the gun so it can be used by the person hiring her to execute their own mission.
I have to admit, very interesting concept, something I came across only in one novel where specialist (again woman) helps an interested party to infiltrate a prison to reach his target.
Considering this is pulp fiction, it delivered exactly what I was expecting - story worthy of good old action movies. You have everything here, origin story and tragedy, years spent working with guns and infiltrating highly secured areas and of course nefarious crime syndicates and government organizations trying to use Joanna for their own purposes.
Joanna is one busty lady, maybe little bit too busty :), I mean, I thunk that her proportions would be somewhat an obstacle for her line of business when it comes to execution of operations but OK, again this is pulp fiction and Joanna is 100 percent femme fatale, for females and for males :)
Again, comic sticks to its roots and does not try to be what is not. Accent is on the story, action, and whole bunch of twists and turns taking place that will keep the reader interested to the very end.
I am little bit mixed on art side - it is not bad but sometimes perspective and panels seem a little bit disorganized. Art style reminds me of old 70's action comics popular in Europe (Johhny Nero, Barracuda, Steel Claw etc) and I think it would be much, much better in black and white mode than colorized. But again this is my opinion, I generally prefer black and white comics than those in color.
Very interesting story and interesting new heroine to follow.
Recommended to all fans of good old action adventure stories.
April 18, 2022
A review for issues #1-4.
I originally read Gun Honey #1 in monthly form but read it when the run was already done so rather then dig up the other 3 issues I waited for the release of the trade paperback.
This series danced between a 4 and 5 star review for me.
The art is detailed yet simple, everyone looks great and Joanna "Gun Honey" Tan is consistently drawn beautiful both in various outfits and frequently with nothing at all.
I could see this being adapted as a Netflix or HBO type spy series, it's that good.
The plot is mostly straight forward with a clever ending.
Gun Honey plants guns in impossible to smuggle places which then allows an assassin or murder access to a gun in said impossible place.
Eventually the story gets more complicated involving a relative but this was when it nearly went off rails for me.
Ultimately Gun Honey plants the landing by the final pages and readers get what amounts to a twisted Jane Bond type story.
Recommend!
I originally read Gun Honey #1 in monthly form but read it when the run was already done so rather then dig up the other 3 issues I waited for the release of the trade paperback.
This series danced between a 4 and 5 star review for me.
The art is detailed yet simple, everyone looks great and Joanna "Gun Honey" Tan is consistently drawn beautiful both in various outfits and frequently with nothing at all.
I could see this being adapted as a Netflix or HBO type spy series, it's that good.
The plot is mostly straight forward with a clever ending.
Gun Honey plants guns in impossible to smuggle places which then allows an assassin or murder access to a gun in said impossible place.
Eventually the story gets more complicated involving a relative but this was when it nearly went off rails for me.
Ultimately Gun Honey plants the landing by the final pages and readers get what amounts to a twisted Jane Bond type story.
Recommend!
April 13, 2023
(Zero spoiler review)
If you're going to switch your brain off and read something (as well as look at some pretty tasty artwork), then this is certainly the place I'd like to go to do just that. This isn't some high brow, hoity toity intellectual espionage thriller, although I would have precisely zero problem with it if it was. This is just some dumb, sexy, bloody fun. That said, the writing, whilst far from revolutionary, was nowhere near as amateurish as I was expecting. If a book is going to get the blood flowing, there's not reason at least a little bit of it can't be flowing to the brain. But yeah, you're not going to be stopping every few pages, attempting to decipher the most cryptic of plots. It's a story of a sexy femme fatale, who likes to wear tight fitting, revealing clothing, almost as much as she likes flying around the world and getting up to all sorts of violent shenanigans. It might not be for everyone, but it sure is for me. 4/5
OmniBen.
If you're going to switch your brain off and read something (as well as look at some pretty tasty artwork), then this is certainly the place I'd like to go to do just that. This isn't some high brow, hoity toity intellectual espionage thriller, although I would have precisely zero problem with it if it was. This is just some dumb, sexy, bloody fun. That said, the writing, whilst far from revolutionary, was nowhere near as amateurish as I was expecting. If a book is going to get the blood flowing, there's not reason at least a little bit of it can't be flowing to the brain. But yeah, you're not going to be stopping every few pages, attempting to decipher the most cryptic of plots. It's a story of a sexy femme fatale, who likes to wear tight fitting, revealing clothing, almost as much as she likes flying around the world and getting up to all sorts of violent shenanigans. It might not be for everyone, but it sure is for me. 4/5
OmniBen.
March 21, 2023
I don’t think I’ve ever had to use the term “male gaze” before in a book/comic review, but c’mon mannnn. Was there a quota on pointless nudity that had nothing to do with the story whatsoever? I keep seeing the phrase “classic noir” thrown around but for the sake of comparison, maybe just say exploitation. Just call it a B movie comic: decent story, decent action, and titties titties titties. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bible study to get to.
June 6, 2022
"She's the best at what she does. She gets her client the weapon they need, where they need it, when they need it. They call her Gun Honey."
Joanna Tan is not an arms dealer, at least not in the usual sense. Using her extraordinary beauty and covert ops training, her job is to smuggle a single weapon--usually a gun--into impossible locations, such as a billionaire's yacht or a maximum security prison. Then, an assassin can later retrieve the gun in order to carry through a successful hit that was previously imagined to be impossible.
"You don't pull the trigger. That's not your job, but someone's got to provide the trigger."
This graphic novel has been receiving nearly unanimous praise from reviewers. My contrary opinion: This book wants to be John Wick, but it's really just Tango & Cash. It lacks the imagination of plot or the interesting support cast to elevate itself.
Joanna is a modern-day oversexed female version of James Bond. She's a rogue killer with an internal sense of justice. She globe trots to exotic destinations. She is willing to seduce both men and women to accomplish her mission. She is your basic male wish fulfillment fantasy. There's also a murky family backstory that provides a bit of mystery.
The covers are fun and titillating. The interior artwork by Ang Hor Kheng is clean, colorful, bright and easy to follow. Every panel is imbued with a sense of frenetic action. All the males are sculpted like Fabio. All the females have an identical body type somewhere between Pamela Anderson circa 1995 and Scarlett Johansson in her Black Widow latex suit.
But the story… oh my goodness, the execution of this plot is dreadful. The whole thing is like one of those low-budget, late-night, made-for-tv Cinemax movies. Lots of explosions, lots of boobies, and a plot as flimsy as cotton candy.
This is the sort of ridiculousness I am talking about:
A prisoner in a max security prison is so scarred and disfigured that no one knows his identity. How, pray tell, does the US government arrest, convict, and sentence someone to life in prison when they cannot identify who he is? (No fear, however. Readers learn who he is. In fact, the first underworld contact Joanna talks to magically even knows where this baddie likes to hang out every night…)
In another scene, a villain overpowers a prison guard but his exit route appears to be blocked… what should he do? Fortunately, every guard in this prison carries a master swipe card that can be used on any wall lock to instantly unlock every cell door on the floor, thus turning even the most ill-planned escape attempt into an instant full-scale prison riot…
I could probably go on and on. Coincidences, plot holes, and characters who make decisions with no internal logic abound. Bad guys are suddenly revealed to be related to Joanna's past and (miracles of miracles!) they are suddenly good guys after all.
A sequel Gun Honey: Blood for Blood will be forthcoming in a few months. The series has already been optioned for television. Alas, maybe there is chance for improvement. The art is fun and the premise could be made to work. Here's hoping Mr. Ardai will realize he needs to improve the quality of his stories and put some meat into his world building.
Joanna Tan is not an arms dealer, at least not in the usual sense. Using her extraordinary beauty and covert ops training, her job is to smuggle a single weapon--usually a gun--into impossible locations, such as a billionaire's yacht or a maximum security prison. Then, an assassin can later retrieve the gun in order to carry through a successful hit that was previously imagined to be impossible.
"You don't pull the trigger. That's not your job, but someone's got to provide the trigger."
This graphic novel has been receiving nearly unanimous praise from reviewers. My contrary opinion: This book wants to be John Wick, but it's really just Tango & Cash. It lacks the imagination of plot or the interesting support cast to elevate itself.
Joanna is a modern-day oversexed female version of James Bond. She's a rogue killer with an internal sense of justice. She globe trots to exotic destinations. She is willing to seduce both men and women to accomplish her mission. She is your basic male wish fulfillment fantasy. There's also a murky family backstory that provides a bit of mystery.
The covers are fun and titillating. The interior artwork by Ang Hor Kheng is clean, colorful, bright and easy to follow. Every panel is imbued with a sense of frenetic action. All the males are sculpted like Fabio. All the females have an identical body type somewhere between Pamela Anderson circa 1995 and Scarlett Johansson in her Black Widow latex suit.
But the story… oh my goodness, the execution of this plot is dreadful. The whole thing is like one of those low-budget, late-night, made-for-tv Cinemax movies. Lots of explosions, lots of boobies, and a plot as flimsy as cotton candy.
This is the sort of ridiculousness I am talking about:
A prisoner in a max security prison is so scarred and disfigured that no one knows his identity. How, pray tell, does the US government arrest, convict, and sentence someone to life in prison when they cannot identify who he is? (No fear, however. Readers learn who he is. In fact, the first underworld contact Joanna talks to magically even knows where this baddie likes to hang out every night…)
In another scene, a villain overpowers a prison guard but his exit route appears to be blocked… what should he do? Fortunately, every guard in this prison carries a master swipe card that can be used on any wall lock to instantly unlock every cell door on the floor, thus turning even the most ill-planned escape attempt into an instant full-scale prison riot…
I could probably go on and on. Coincidences, plot holes, and characters who make decisions with no internal logic abound. Bad guys are suddenly revealed to be related to Joanna's past and (miracles of miracles!) they are suddenly good guys after all.
A sequel Gun Honey: Blood for Blood will be forthcoming in a few months. The series has already been optioned for television. Alas, maybe there is chance for improvement. The art is fun and the premise could be made to work. Here's hoping Mr. Ardai will realize he needs to improve the quality of his stories and put some meat into his world building.
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