Great Warrior doesn’t really want to fight demons- she just wants to hang out with her buds and eat junk food. Writer/Illustrator Madeleine Flores has established this very clearly in the first few issues of Help Us! Great Warrior. However, Great Warrior also has a SECRET PAST that is coming back to find her.
Great Warrior, her friend Leo, and High Chancellor Hadiyah have been fighting the demons who are trying to invade the land from a parallel dimension. However, Great Warrior accidentally allowed the King of Demons to pass through to the land, by fighting the demons with her weapons from Demonside, the dimension of demons.
Great Warrior has revealed that the King of Demons is actually Great Warrior’s mother, meaning that Great Warrior is at least part demon!
However, there is only a small bit of SECRET PAST REVELATION in this issue and a whole lot of action!
Flores creates pacing that makes the story feel like it’s moving incredibly fast- the issues are always action-packed even though the plot doesn’t seem to be moving forward at the same pace as the action. And yet, the story does feel really solid – the little bits of backstory and world-building are so well placed that readers are truly invested in finding out more and seeing how things turn out.
The way she utilizes all the space in each panel, combined with her minimalist style is distinctive and works incredibly well for this series. Most notable is the way Great Warrior expresses herself and interacts with the space and the other characters; this can be hilarious in one panel and incredibly emotional in the next.
Help Us! Great Warrior is a fantastic series; it gives us a female action hero that is so far removed from any problematic male gaze or sexualization other series struggle with. It allows her to be silly in a relatable way, loving sleeping in and pizza, while still being a dedicated protector and an awesome fighter. The amazing cover art by Victoria Grace Elliott encapsulates the sentiment perfectly: we just want to be awesome at swords and also have buff guys bring us pizza.
