In this review of Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1, readers get a comic about kick-ass women, brought to life by three awesome creative teams.
WOMEN OF MARVEL: SHE-DEVILS #1
Writers: ANGÉLIQUE ROCHÉ, STEPHANIE PHILLIPS, ALISON SAMPSON, CHERIE DIMALINE
Artists: ALISON SAMPSON, KELSEY RAMSAY, & FEDERICA MUZZO
Main Cover: NINA VAKUEVA
Variant Covers: ROSE BESCH, PEACH MOMOKO
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 26, 2025
Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1 begins with an introduction by one Angelique Roche, about 1) how women have always been involved in comics in some way or another, and 2) the nature of the Women of Marvel series itself. We also learn that this issue is broken into three chapters, each handled by a different creative team.
Chapter 1 of Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1 takes place in the Savage Land, following Shanna and her saber-toothed tiger companion Zabu. The two notice odd symbols, an eerie quiet, a strange mist… It all points to an entity that wishes for a ticket back to the mortal realm. It takes control of the land itself, intent on using Shanna as a vessel to achieve his goal. She refuses flat-out. Realizing how important the symbols are, she destroys those and sends the entity packing. But that’s not the end of it…
Chapter 2 moves to Avengers Academy, with a training session between Elektra and Bloodline, with Laura watches nearby. She soon takes her turn with training Bloodline, proving to be an even tougher opponent than Elektra and handily beating the less-experienced woman.
That night, though, Elektra is visited by the entity from chapter 1, which possesses her. Bloodline, having been confiding in her cat Walpurgis about her insecurities, notices Elektra out at night. She follows, is attacked, and Laura comes to intervene. The good news: Laura manages to punch the entity right out of her. The bad news: the entity takes over the plant life in the area and attacks the group (Laura outright getting impaled), until Walpurgis teleports Bloodline and Laura somewhere safe.
The final installment of Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1 picks up somewhere in Ireland. But the entity has come along with them, and now rather than being impaled by possessed vines, Laura’s been run through with tendrils of lava. She’s trying everything she can to get rid of this, as it’s suppressing her healing factor. Meanwhile, Bloodline/Brielle is trying to catch up to her teammate to attempt to help her, also wanting to figure out just what in the hell is going on with the whole situation.
Turns out, this entity had died in that part of Ireland during the Viking era. He’d wanted to be a farmer, but was pressured to be a raider like his father. He’s given the opportunity to go through with being a farmer now, and ultimately pulls his influence out of both the land and Laura. From there, Brielle and Laura drive to the latter’s father’s, and the story ends there.
The fact that this was part of an anthology series definitely grabbed my attention. I have a fondness for anthologies in general, because each story is its own thing. The other thing that stuck out to me right there on the introduction page was it being a multiverse-related sort of thing. Some may feel a bit burnt out on that concept by now, but it is always fun to see how different creative teams handle it. I’m already looking forward to future installments of this run to see how things go.
The artwork for Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1 is handled by a different team for each chapter, giving each one a unique flair. Chapter 1’s linework is a bit smoother than that of the others, providing a good lead-in for the reader. Chapter 2’s inks look a bit sketchier, giving it some great energy (especially for the training session). Chapter 3’s artists definitely had some fun with the visuals (lava tendrils, for one…add to that the part where these tendrils seem to have hands, and it definitely looks like something that might appear in one’s nightmares and I’m here for it). This chapter is also a bit more detailed than its predecessors (particularly noticeable with Brielle’s hair).
If there’s one issue I’ve had with anything art-wise, it may be the way the panels for parts of chapter 3 were set up. If I’d read this the same way one would read a print copy, with the spreads right there, it all would have read clearly for me on the first go-through. But I saw them one page at a time and got a little lost at first.
Story-wise, I’d say it was a pretty solid showcase for these characters. This land-possessing, vessel-seeking entity was fairly interesting, particularly when his origins were revealed. He wasn’t out for full-on world domination so much as he was just lashing out over centuries of post-death pain and wanting to get to the mortal realm. Now, is possessing people to achieve that goal really the best course of action? Probably not, but that kind of pain and “great decision making” don’t always go hand in hand.
Final Thoughts
An enjoyable first installment in a new run of one-shots. It may be best enjoyed in print form due to a series of spreads, though.
