There are a few things that are always true of Charles Ardai’s Gun Honey: it’s always good for crime thriller action, and it’s always sexy. After reading an advance copy of Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1, it’s safe to say there’s plenty of male-gaze aesthetics, but it balances that out with female empowerment as well. Can it take things too far? It depends on the reader, but it certainly keeps you invested in its espionage premise at a time when such stories are few and far between in any medium.
Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1 opens with Joanna Tan on a beach at the Black Sea. She asks a guard to take a picture of her, and they learn quickly that the phone was just a ploy to gas them. The spy thriller is immediately present, with Tan breaking out gadgets and going through underwater grates to infiltrate.
Mixed in with Tan’s action is a flashback to her getting the mission. The mission involves killing a very bad man, but the problem is that he has body doubles, which are impossible to tell apart from the real deal, so a DNA test must be taken. This leads to Tan getting a face-to-face with the target and needing some DNA to prove it’s him.
Not good!
Credit: Titan
The way she retrieves said DNA is downright pornographic, and certainly, Ethan Hunt wouldn’t do such a thing to get DNA. You could argue it’s certainly unique to the genre, but is it pushing things too far? Tan doesn’t seem to mind, but it does feel extreme.
Artistically, Ang Hor Kheng goes all out with the visuals, with a highly detailed style that is quite pretty. Layouts are creative too, keeping the story moving and the visuals interesting. Fair warning, Tan is topless for a chunk of the comic, and the DNA retrieval certainly pushes things into adult-only areas. It’s also fair to say Kheng draws Tan for the male gaze in a few panels, emphasizing breasts in an unrealistic way.
The last third of the issue is a chase sequence with close calls and exciting moments. Tan is very good at what she does, making death-defying choices that keep your pulse up.
Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1 knows exactly what kind of comic it wants to be and commits fully to its blend of espionage, action, and pulp sensibilities. Joanna Tan continues to be a compelling protagonist, balancing confidence, intelligence, and resourcefulness throughout a mission that quickly escalates into danger. While the book’s approach to sexuality and visual presentation won’t work for every reader, the strong artwork, clever spy-thriller setup, and energetic action sequences make for an entertaining start to a new adventure.
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