Josie and the Pussycats #4 Review

Josie and the Pussycats #4

Writer: Marguerite Bennett & Cameron Deordio
Artist: Aubrey Mok
Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Publisher: Archie Comics

A review by Insha Fitzpatrick

The tour continues with minor spoilers ahead!

In Josie and the Pussycats #4 the girls are in Rome partaking in photoshoots and dress-up, but not doing a lot of practising for their big Colosseum show. Valerie notices this, claiming that the image of a band is important, but practising the music is more important than that. Alan M, the girls’ manager, is very much about the image of the girls and Josie, smitten with Alan M, basically takes his side in the matter. The girls dawn fancy jewellery, sparkle in nothing but diamonds, but at the end of the day, they are still a band and Valerie wants their cat image to stay “more Michelle Pfeiffer and less Andrew Lloyd Webber.” Meanwhile, Josie and Alan M get a little bit closer, Melody goes super badass and Valerie’s just wants to play music guys. This issue is filled with love, heartbreak, shiny things, a fantastic Sailor Moon panel, beating up robbers with guns and the sites of Rome!

Josie and the Pussycats #4 is another issue that is really episodic in the best possible ways. I still love that we’re following the girls as a travelling band because it really makes you feel like you’re on tour with them. That’s what I want out of my Josie and the Pussycats and Marguerite and Cameron deliver that to me on a silver platter. The girls continue to Rome, which after their Cancun adventures is a really great change of scenery for better or worse.

There’s some cool subtle character developments going on in this issue that are more or less grounded in reality. Alan’s character has yet to be developed into something we particularly care about and oh man, this issue isn’t doing him any justice. It’s always known that Josie would fall for Alan M at some point. In this issue, Josie’s falling for him takes a turn for the absolute worse. In the scenario, he acts a bit like Archie in respect, juggling more than one girl on his belt without exclusively dating them. Josie thought they would be on the same page, but they weren’t and that was the downfall in the end.

One thing I admire is the fact that Marguerite and Cameron focus more on the girls pulling Josie together than anything. Female friendship is critical to this comic. The way that these writers are going creates a really strong dynamic that can’t be denied. Val and Melody have Josie’s back no matter what happens. Josie’s head and heart are bigger than her sometimes, she even acknowledges it, but she has Valerie to keep her grounded and Melody to make her smile. The talk with the girls after the heartbreak of Alan M is really great in the way it’s written. They exploit Alan M’s nice guy syndrome and call him out on his bull. Valerie makes some interesting points. She saw that Alan M wanted to create pretty things. She made Josie realize that she would be another pretty thing to Alan M saying, “You’re a work of art to him. But you’re a friend to us.” It’s not gonna always be a thing that she wants to hear, especially when it comes to her love life, but Valerie reminds her that this is apart of growing up.

While Marguerite and Cameron deliver us female friendship mixed with kicking some robbers with guns asses, Audrey Mok and Kelly Fitzpatrick are killing it with visuals! They’re bringing this wonderful story to life! Fitzpatrick’s colors continue to be one of the coolest things about the comic as well. I always admire Mok’s art when she does this, she gets everything just right and delivers art that is just out of this world. One page that really stands out is of Josie and Alan M as they start their brief but beautiful love affair. The page is designed beautifully. Josie and Alan M stare deeply into each other’s eyes, hair in the wind. Above is the first kiss they share, below is what comes after when they’re in bed. It’s a perfect way to show how “in lust” they are with each other and the passage of time. The roses all around them really set into affect of how Josie feels around Alan M, it’s kind of brilliantly perfect.

The Verdict
Buy It! I adore Josie and the Pussycats for it’s everything, and Josie and the Pussycats #4 is no different! I get that sometimes it can feel a bit rushed around, but I think the continued development of their female friendship makes up for that. The episodic journey of them being on tour is purely perfect and really enriches the story. Every place they land, a new adventure awaits them and a new situation occurs. That’s what makes a tour dope.