She purple, climbs trees, dresses in minimal loincloth, carries a spear, and fights aliens. It’s Kyrra, the Alien Jungle Girl. And Scout Comics has Volume 1 available!

When she’s not fighting for her life in the jungle, Kyrra is searching for news about her past. She’s arrived from elsewhere, apparently, and has been adopted by a primitive tribe of demon apes. It’s time for her to join her adoptive grandfather and brother and check out the bigger scene.

This volume collects the first twelve chapters of Rich Woodall and Craig Rousseau’s story, originally from Dark Horse Presents.

The story of Kyrra’s adventures has its strengths: Craig Rousseau’s renderings of Kyrra, her companions, and her environment are simply stunning. He captures her feminine strengths, her physical beauty, her powerful fighting abilities. With colourists Lawrence Basso, Nate Lovett, and Rich Woodall all contributing, the visuals are amazing. The story images are based around a 4-panel grid, with ‘unfinished’ panel edges, punctuated by the occasional full splash page. Awesome art, I’m telling ya!

I feel that the story flow is elongated, playing heavily on character interaction for entertainment value. Which normally is what we look for in a comic, but this one runs a bit thin. Rich Woodall gives us the goods, but dishes it out gradually, slowly. It could be compressed and still maintain its punch.

There are two bonus short stories and an ‘Art Gallery’ of full-page pinups by various artists.

Scout Comics, Kyrra Alien Jungle Girl Volume 1, $17.99 for 158 pages.

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!