Here’s an interesting title from Action Lab Comics. It’s a humor comic, with a dynamic duo that are analogs of Batman and Robin from the 1960s Adam West/Burt Ward TV show. Except imagine that Batman is a Black woman.

So Minerva Manx is a millionaire, living in a mansion in the city of Megaville where she fights crime as Cougar. Billy Bobtail is an 18-year-old college student who joins her as her sidekick, Cub. Cougar’s secret HQ, “The Cat Hole,” is underneath the mansion, and she and Billy reach it by sliding down a pole, during which their civilian clothes turn into their costumes. No origin story for either character is shared in this issue, but Cougar has been fighting crime for a while, she has a slew of costumed villains as her rogues, and we learn that Billy is not the first person to be her sidekick.

The main story in this comic is called GOING DOWN, it’s 21 pages long and it’s written by Nick Marino and drawn by Daniel Arruda Massa. It begins with Minerva and Billy changing into their costumes and heading out to patrol the city in Cougar’s fancy car which is called “The Car.” But there’s not much crime in the city, all we see is Cougar brutally beating a man who ran a red light, in which it’s shown that she has quite a violent streak in her. Later they hear a woman screaming for help, but it’s just a couple having sex.

While city on a building rooftop, taking a “break,” Cub starts to complain to Cougar about being a virgin, and how no girls at his school are interested in him. So she tries to cheer him up, assuring him that he’s a handsome young man, and one thing leads to another and they start making out. But Cougar doesn’t want to do it on the roof, so she they decide to rush back to the Cat Hole. Unbeknownst to them, a supervillain called The Roach happens to see them from across the roof, and she secretly follows them on her motorcycle, which leads her to Minerva’s mansion.

When Cougar and Cub get back, they rip each other’s clothes off as in they’re in the elevator up to the mansion. The next day they’re both a bit shocked when they wake up in bed together, and things are awkward between them, with neither of them sure how to act. Meanwhile, The Roach has gone to a meeting with the other supervillains in Megaville, who make up Cougar’s rogues gallery, to tell them what she’s found out, ending on a humorous cliffhanger.

It’s a fun and entertaining tale. Marino narrates the story with overly dramatic captions. Like: “Dashing across dark rooftops, Cougar and Cub hurtle headlong towards danger and excitement!”  

And Massa’s exaggerated cartoonish artwork fits the tone of the story.

There’s also a 3-page backup story called WIND THE CLOCK: COUGAR AND CUB THROUGH THE AGES. This one is written by Rosie Knight, with Marino credited as the letterer, and Massa once again providing the art.

It’s presented as a young boy getting old of some old discarded Cougar and Cub comics. Cougar finds out that Cub, who in this story is a teenage boy named Simon, has gone on a solo patrol (against her orders) and found himself captured by one of her enemies, a villain named Snake Eyes, who is literally a talking snake. She manages to track Simon down, rescue him, and then gives him a spanking for disobeying her.

It’s another funny story, and Massa impressively changes his art style to resemble more of a traditional comic from the Silver Age. Seriously, if I didn’t see the credits I’d never have guessed that it was drawn by the same artist who drew the main story.

CHACEBOOK RATING: FOUR STARS

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