The Bionic Woman #3
Written by Paul Tobin
Art by Leno Carvalho
Colors by Mark Roberts
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover by Paul Renaud
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Comics don’t come more action packed then The Bionic Woman #3. From start to finish, you don’t really get a chance to catch your breath. I’ll be honest, I’m a mark for Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers, but I can’t get over how GREAT this comic is. It’s very far removed from your average licensed spin-off.

Writer Paul Tobin makes you forget that this is a licensed comic. He turns in the latest chapter in a fantastic story that takes Jaime all over the globe, in search of a team of people who are stealing body parts to sell to the highest bidder. And now, they want to go after Jaime and her bionic limbs. The action is fast and furious and Tobin does some GREAT characterization this issue. Even though Jaime’s lost most, if not all, of her memory, Tobin really gives us a sense of just who she is and what she wants and what she’s fighting for.

There’s little supporting cast for Jaime, OK, there’s just ONE supporting cast member, but he’s able to flesh her out as well in this issue, and it sets a whole different tone for the book. Nothing too jarring, just an added dimension to the character. This issue takes Jaime all over the place, yet it’s never confusing or misleading, the plot is always clear and the goal is never forgotten or dismissed. A truly fantastic issue, that proves that Tobin is the man for the job on this title.

Art wise, Leno Carvalho is just as good a match for this book is Tobin is. He know how to draw very good looking women without making them look top heavy or anatomically impossible. There’s no over the top cleavage or butt shots, and the way he renders these ladies, they actually look like women that you’d see on the street. OK, you’d snap your neck trying to sneak a peek, but you get my meaning. As I said before, this book takes Jaime and company to some very exotic locals, all of which are rendered beautifully by Carvalho. I get the feeling he’s either a world traveler, so has some great reference books. His action panels are fast and furious, but never too hectic to follow, just good, clean, crisp art.

THIS is how to do a license comic. It’s so good that you forget that these are characters crossed over from a different medium. If you watched The Bionic Woman TV series from a few years back, fear not, this is NOTHING like that show at all. I have to say again, this is one fantastic comic book. It’s got action, story, character and heart. I highly recommend that you pick up not only this issue, but this series as well. It’s a perfect companion to Dynamite’s Bionic Man comic, but if you don’t read that, you’ll totally enjoy this comic on its own merits.