Still on the Shelf #9 - Gold Digger

Originally published May 20th, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

Overview

In the modern world of the major publisher's "Creative-Staff's Rotating Door," often times it is easy to overlook the longevity that can often be found in a small-press title. Fred Perry, writer and artist for Antarctic Press's Gold Digger, is just such an example.

Antarctic Press first published Perry's Gold Digger in 1991, in Mangazine (#11-14). From there, Gold Digger spawned 1 miniseries, 2 ongoing series, 5 swimsuit issues, and several annuals and crossovers totaling over 100 issues of creator written and drawn content. Quite impressive by today's standards, to be sure!

Gold Digger is essentially a "female Indiana Jones" story with a fantasy twist, which was introduced a full 5 years before the first Tomb Raider video game. Aside from actually hunting artifacts, the main characters often find themselves encountering a much more rich supernatural world than you will ever find in Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, full of were-people, dragons, and more.

While I am not personally a fan of Manga-style art, it definitely lends itself to this title, giving it a "fun" feel, which I am certain is what Fred Perry intended. The characters of course are exaggerated, which can only serve to enhance a good comedy.

The Story So Far

Gina Diggers is our "Archeologist Extraordinaire," who is something of a bookworm with a newly discovered sex appeal. The premise of this title is a simple one- Gina Diggers is an archaeologist on the lookout for rare artifacts and adventure. Gina is usually accompanied by her adopted sister Britanny, a were-cheetah (often called simply Cheetah), or Brianna, who in an earlier issue was created by melding the genetic material from both Gina and Britanny. Each of the three girls have their own unique traits- Gina is certainly the most intellectual of the three, while Britanny tend to a more physical, brute strength oriented personality. Brianna, as a melding of the two, possesses great intelligence but little patience for intellect and study, and tends towards a love for high tech armor and weaponry. Essentially, blowing stuff up is her bag.

In a recent issue, #41, Gina and Brianna return to "Dreadwing's Lair," a Dragon Lair Gina had visited some five years ago, in search of the link between Dragons and the ancient "Evolved Dinosaurs," the Saurians. Having cleaned out the site years ago, Gina is not expecting to find anything- let alone Fauntleroy: a dragon trapped in the form of a human (along with two of his wives) who are searching for the key to return Fauntleroy to his dragon form. Nor do they expect the giant octopus creature who she thought they had killed the last time they were at the site. Of course, throw the three together and "hilarity ensues."

Thoughts

My personal distaste for all things Manga aside, this really was a fun comic. Issue #41 was clearly in the middle of a story arc, but with a little research at Cheetaholics.net, the official Gold Digger homepage, it was pretty easy to get a grip on who the characters are. Not that it was necessary. Though Gold Digger boasts a fairly complex history, with an intricate cast of characters, it was not at all difficult to follow what was going on.

Gold Digger is a well written, fun comic. There is just something about the "questing archeologist" theme that works so well, no matter if it is in Indiana Jones, the Tomb Raider comic, or Gold Digger. This story is considerably less serious than the former two, but it works nonetheless.

Bottom Line

Gold Digger has developed something of a cult following. Aside from the Cheetaholics website (and fan forum), there are several other fan-sites in the "Gold Digger Webring," as well as an IRC channel devoted to this off-the-wall comic. Even if you have never heard of this title before today, it is clear that there are a great many people who avidly follow Gold Digger, and finding information to get you up to speed will be no trouble at all.

The first ongoing series (Black and White) can be found in its entirety in the form of trade paperbacks and hardcovers, if you are looking to get some background on this great title. Antarctic Press has also been releasing Gold Digger Trade Paperbacks in a "Pocket Manga" format; the most recent collecting issues #32-35. More recently, the Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #5, and Gold Digger #42 have hit the shelves in the last week.

At $3.50 per issue, the price may seem steep, but I feel that 25+, uninterrupted, full color, high quality pages are well worth the price. And, since Antarctic is marketing the "Pocket-Mangas" at very reasonable prices, it should not be too difficult at all to get caught up on back issues. If anything, the Pocket-Mangas are the way to go.