Jenny Zero #4: The Rabbit-Hole Is Kaiju-Shaped (Spoilery Comic Book Review)

Just when you thought you had the plot figured out, Jenny Zero #4 somehow manages to toss you down a very weird rabbit-hole right at the end.

Brockton McKinney and Dave Dwonch are the writers for Jenny Zero #4, as they have been for the previous issues. Magenta King is the artist for this comic book, with DAM as the colorist. Magenta King is also the cover artist, as you can see above. And as before, Dark Horse Comics is the publisher for this entire comic book series, including this issue.

Jenny Zero #4 went on sale on August 4, 2021. You can purchase print copies at your local comic book store. Or if you’re fine with the digital version, you can purchase it directly from Dark Horse Comics’ own website here, or purchase it from digital outlets like ComiXology.

Warning: spoilers for Jenny Zero #4 below. If you want to find out for yourself how far this rabbit-hole of a plot takes you, stop here and come back once the kaiju action is over and done with.

Jenny Zero #4: Plot Summary

Jenny Zero #4 picks up where the last issue left off, with Jenny’s mentor and her army of fighting monks battling against an army of Action Science Police. The battle is surprisingly even despite the ASP possessing modern technology and equipment, which shows off just how incompetent they are. That all changes when Jenny changes into her kaiju form, and makes use of her new martial arts training. This shifts the balance firmly in favor of the monks, and Jenny too. Seriously, someone who can toss tanks at high-flying helicopters like she’s playing basketball is someone you want on your side. Even the idiot ASP leader revealing that he has superpowers proves to be useless against Jenny.

So naturally, the ASP bring out their big guns: a giant robot. Yes, you heard that right. The ASP have gone full-on Pacific Rim here. Only, they’re using their giant robot on Jenny instead of the kaiju. Right. Anyways, the giant robot is surprisingly effective, and proceeds to attempt to beat Jenny to death. It almost succeeds, but then a certain very good boy who appeared in the previous issue of Jenny Zero comes to the rescue. As it turns out, Dean Martin the wonder dog can grow to gigantic proportions, probably out of love. This super pooch then tears off one of the giant robot’s arms, which gives Jenny the opening (and weapon) she needs to beat the snot out of said giant robot.

Unfortunately, even with the giant robot’s destruction, Jenny has already lost the war. The ASP finally decided to stop fooling around, and they pull out the guns, holding Jenny’s mentor and her monks as hostages to force Jenny to surrender. After some convincing by her mentor, Jenny finally surrenders to the ASP, and is led away in irons. That is not the end of the story though, for Director Santos reveals a twist at the end. Apparently, she has been working for the kaijus’ leader the whole time. That means that the ASP aren’t actually incompetent (mostly), but are actively malicious. What does this mean for Jenny? Well, tune in to the next issue of Jenny Zero to find out.

Jenny Zero #4: The Good

The story. My god, the story of Jenny Zero #4 instantly made up for the story of the previous 3 issues. It wasn’t that the previous issues had a bad story. It’s just that seeing these supposed anti-kaiju officers behave so idiotically, especially the command staff, grated on the nerves after a while. Now though, the plot is actually starting to make sense. Never attribute to incompetence what can be attributed to malice. At least, not entirely. That one ASP idiot officer still seems much more of an idiot than a malicious actor.

Which brings me to my 2nd point: the characters of Jenny Zero #4 are primarily why this is a good comic book for me. Jenny’s mentor, Aiko, is still one of my favorite characters in this comic book. She’s the only one who can calm Jenny down, and is hopefully teaching Jenny the value of wisdom. And moderation. Jenny really needs that in spades.

Jenny Zero #4: The Bad

The one thing I’d complain about in Jenny Zero #4, and the entire series as a whole, is the art. The art feels a bit inconsistent at time. In some places, the art is amazing, like that ASP Jaeger that looks like something straight out of Pacific Rim. In other places, it feels like doodles drawn by a middle-schooler. It’s a bit weird and jarring, really. It never really throws you off from the story, but it does mar it a bit.

Conclusion

Jenny Zero #4 just sent us down a kaiju-shaped rabbit-hole with that plot twist at the end of this comic book. Where will this rabbit-hole lead? What does Santos really want with Jenny? Tune in to the next issue of the Jenny Zero comic book series from Dark Horse Comics to find out.

Source: Dark Horse Comics