 Sure, there's a great history in the cinema of buddy action/comedies, but not in comics. You know the ‘genre' - a mismatched pair of do-gooders are forced together and besides dispensing justice they must also learn to get along despite their wildly different approaches to life, and shooting people. Cover Girl is just that, in comics form. And it's not bad. More akin to the fluff of Rush Hour than the more gritty Lethal Weapon, this adventure is full of attractive people running, shooting, jumping and screaming. There's a few jokes and no real blood and gore. Nor is there any foul language. Trust me, this is worth noting in today's comics market. Cover Girl would be an ideal entry level book for someone who is just starting to get in to sequential art. Sure, you could throw them something with an X, a Super or a Spider in it, but Cover Girl is 130 pages of complete story. It's an easy read, with no cast of hundreds to follow, with confusing names and even more confusing origins. There's no issues with continuity or making sure you grab every issue of a x-over here. More...mature fans may expect more from their comics, but BOOM!'s Cover Girl is a nice change of pace from the sometimes brain straining tales of the spandex set.
Written by Andrew Crosby, creator of TV's Eureka series with art by Kevin Church (Cthulhu Tales) Cover Girl centres on struggling actor Alex Martin who saves a stranger form a car accident on his way home from an audition. This deed brings him more exposure, to the glee of his hippy agent. As Alex's star begins to rise so do the number of threats on his life. Typical stocky men in dark suits and sunglasses try to kill him on a few occasions, so the studio he's just signed with assign him a bodyguard. And she's a chick! Rachel Dodd looks great and can kick butt. So as not to dent Alex's new manly image she pretends to be his girlfriend. Now this would be where all manner of awkward social situations and hi-jinks would ordinarily ensue in any tale similar to this one, but it doesn't happen here. In fact there are surprisingly few laughs in this odd couple adventure. Sure, Alex and Rachel argue, but arguing isn't necessarily funny. Each issue focuses more on action than comedy as the pair attempt to weave all the pieces together about the men in SUVs constantly trying to off them. It turns out the woman Alex rescued is the ‘slave woman' of the villain of the piece, a British arms dealer called David Harrington. He assumes Alex knows of his plot to sell his Dromedary device (a portable EMP machine that can kill a city's electronics) and so sends waves of inept henchmen to do his bidding.
 It's not entirely original, but it is a pleasant, light adventure. It does wrap up perhaps a bit too neatly towards the end, kind of like those old 80s cartoons where all the heroes would wink at the camera and laugh together, but if Crosby continues his work and focuses more on exact characterisation, his skills would certainly develop as a comics writer. It is great to see BOOM! publishing a wide range of books. They really do have something for everyone, and though Cover Girl may not be for the die hard superhero fan it's harmless enough and is easy to get in to. Church's art is simple, without being too sketchy or cartoony, but his work on facial expressions and page design needs to be strengthened at places, particularly towards the last two issues.
Cover Girl is for those of you who are looking for something a little different, without being committed to a story that demands years of reading dedication. Like the buddy films it emulates it's entertaining enough to fill a lazy afternoon inside.
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