Exploitation films are about transcendence.
(They’re also about women, guns, violence, and hokey dialogue, but that’s a given.)
Patrick Kindlon and EPHK didn’t just talk the talk, and they’ve put in the prerequisite work across the first two issues of Tigress Island. What we’ve gotten, then, is an exploitation story made for 2026, where the creators were utterly unafraid to tackle very real subject matter (sex trafficking) and try and tell a story that explores the social, moral, emotional, etc. implications while also being a super fun read. It’s a book very much of the “genre” because it understands the framework and context and moves ahead with sheer gusto.
But with Tigress Island #3, that theme of transcendence is even more clear, and this title is even better of thanks to this very important development.
Main cover by EPHK. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Heading into this issue, our dysfunctional squad (Bridget, Lonni, Yulia, Hema, Delight, and Vanessa) had escaped their confines and were heading into the inner workings of their island prison. And for as much skill as EPHK brings to depicting the overt sex and violence across Tigress Island, I also have to take my hat off for his Soviet-era-esque infrastructure. That includes one really compelling instance of the girls moving through some plumbing/pipes that felt like a massive pop of fun and energy. But this issue wasn’t a chance to understand how drainage works; it was very much about fostering a kind of grounding effect.
Sensationalism and the extreme are par for the course for these exploitation stories. But after Tigress Island #3, things feel a smidge different. Getting to see behind the scenes of the island has, in some way, shown us the depths of this world and just what we might be dealing with overall. And that’s expertly married with the development of the squad’s dynamic, as they encounter the Mistress and learn just how much power they actually have. All of it’s done seemingly to shift the tone and feel of this story. There’s even more humorous comments sprinkled throughout, which offer a different kind of irreverence (that’s more silly than cynical). There’s also even more wonderful in-story flashbacks, and these further present the squad members as being skilled in several vital ways (including knowledge of how dams work).
In short, it’s real efforts by the creative team to make good on their promises of endlessly pushing toward this book’s truer scope.
Variant cover by Ben Newman. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Is Tigress Island still very much an exploitation story? God yes! Their escape into the island’s tunnels includes a nasty shoot-out that feels understated but brutal and ruthless in all the right ways. The run-in with the Mistress is maybe one of my fave action scenes in some time, and proof that EPHK brings a style and attention to detail that maximizes the narrative heft of the ass-kicking that’s handed down. And, of course, the emotionality and general core of this story remains untouched. In fact, it takes just one quick-but-devastating slaying of another island resident to make even more real the power imbalance and social violence that this book continues to explore with endless depth and precision.
But, as I’d mentioned, Tigress Island #3 still feels quite different, and I’d go so far as to say it’s a more “straight up” action-adventure story (at least across this chapter). Yes, it’s one that involves some very real observations and dissections, but in an issue spent where the girls fight crocodiles and crack wise along the way, it’s easy to forget this story’s razor-sharp edge. And I think that’s a deliberate move via Kindlon’s script. It’s a way to perhaps slide some of this messaging and thematic exploration under the radar; to “trick” people into coming into this story one way only to be shocked as it truly unfolds.
So, then, what’s the point of just such an approach?
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Well, I think if it’s like my own experience with issue #3, it’s that you appreciate the heft and edge of this story once you realize what you’re actually smiling at. That you can let out a hearty chuckle only to realize that, yo, someone died two pages ago. That, and the group’s story is painfully, unwaveringly real in every conceivable way (just exaggerated). And that story, to an extent, is that society has actively mitigated and re-framed the suffering of women everywhere. We have collectively dismissed the claims of women who went on to experience real suffering at the hands of men — all for the continuation of our own ignorant comfort.
And this issue really felt like the creators were saying, “If you really want to feel good, here it is” before they really rubbed our face in it like some misbehaving puppy. Now, is their effort quite as obvious across Tigress Island? God no; Kindlon and EPHK are genuine pros, and they’ve opted to let us discover their real work in this third issue (where we’ve cultivated a sense of security before we realize the trap has been sprung). Is it also an attempt to “punish” the readers somehow? Also no. Rather, if we’re to grow as “consumers,” they need to be able to grapple with us, and to use the story structure/trappings in a way to really make the exploitation angle truly pop. It’s less about manipulation and more about letting us experience what these women have for most of their lives.
Still, I could easily see someone else missing this “turn,” or even dismissing it’s existence outright. (Even I can attest that it may just be my own visceral reaction.) And rightfully so: The book hasn’t so much changed as it’s just created a framework for our sustained engagement. The fact that mine took this turn might speak less of the story’s path and perhaps more to my own feelings about these many huge, important issues (i.e., that we’re terrible as a whole and don’t realize it nearly enough). Maybe issue #3 feels the same tonally to you, and that’s cool. What matters is that I’m in this story even more than I was before, and I’m moving from being excited at the intro to feeling like this book is growing and extending with both an intellect and sense of adventure.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Because the creators’ own transcendence has less to do with specific story angles and more about engagement and connection. They’ve truly done their job because they’ve reached the promise of any worthwhile exploitation story: Poke holes, reveal fault lines, and generally show people (through extreme exaggeration and dramatization) the true face of society. It’s an uncomfortable but essential power, and one that reminds us that the best stories should always tickle the heart and spin-kick the solar plexus in equal measure. These exploitation stories work in a way that few stories can ever achieve because they make use of truth, perception, and reality in a way to slide the knife of understanding in with the greatest of ease.
Thankfully, Tigress Island’s transcendence isn’t done just yet. The ending hints at some other, slightly more bizarre developments that might involve the supernatural (or supernatural adjacent) as well as the island’s true history/nature. (Something that the Mistress expertly hints at in one brilliant, blink-and-ya-miss-it moment early on in #3.) It’s just more proof that Tigress Island isn’t done messing with us in one of several ways, and that this book’s arc toward its finale is one that emphasizes an efficient path of development alongside maximum emotional firepower.
Whatever phase or configuration it takes next, Tigress Island has already transcended into damn fine comics storytelling.
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