If the title alone doesn’t do it for you, then I almost don’t
know what else to say. Having been a major fan of the blaxploitation film genre
for some time, Return of the Super Pimps was a no brainier for me to pick up and
read. The first issue sets up a super team, the aforementioned Super Pimps, that rides in a pimpmobile (with the golden license plate BITCHSLAP) and is made up of characters like Ghetto Blaster, a technical genius whose super suit uses the power of funky 8-tracks to wipe the floor with his opponents, or the Lupine Lady of the Night herself Foxy Mama, and team leader Blackbeard who relies on his sentient Alan Mooreqsue beard to fight the forces of evil.
The first half of this book is camp in the best meaning of the word. Like Black Dynamite meets the Adam West Batman TV show, the tone is Silver Age in nature and blends real well with the media of the 70's when this was set. This in many ways feels like a book that could have existed alongside Heroes for Hire or Master of Kung Fu.
What blew me away though, was how the tone seemed to almost do a complete 180. After a fight with their arch-nemesis Darquefire, an event happens that changes to fate of the Super Pimps. Torn apart and no longer a team, the narrative skips forward to present day. This is where the story becomes less campy Batman and more Frank Miller's Batman, as we see how things have changed since the Super Pimps' retirement. Gone from the city is the hope and belief that the inhabitants have the tools to change their environment for the better. Ulises Carpintero's art really helps hammer that point home by showing graffiti tagged all over landmarks, and the abundance of liquor and porn stors that now inhabit the former thriving neighborhood. Things end on a cliffhanger with the return of a foe that only one team can hope to stop.
With a mix of crazy, camp, serious, and silly, you need check out the first issue of this series.
Rating:
5 out of 5
Review by Matt Johnson
