Goldie Vance Vol. 4

Goldie Vance was pure fun to read. It’s a comic series about the titular character, an aspiring gumshoe, and the various shenanigans she and her group of friends consistently get up to. In this particular issue, we follow Goldie on a romp that features a girl rock group, subliminal messages, Russian spies, romantic drama, and one exceedingly debonair record producer. It’s a good time all the way through.

Though Goldie Vance is told with bright, vibrant colors and through a narrative that speaks right to my inner 12-year-old-Nancy Drew-reading heart, those aspects aren’t even the highlight. Instead, the highlight is the lovely and effortless way that the story foregrounds characters of varying races, sexualties, and gender expressions. Goldie herself is a character of color in a romantic relationship with another woman of color. The debonair music executive is an androgynous woman who favors crisply tailored masculine suits. And though these characters defy stubborn cultural norms, the comic never bats an eye–they’re just part of the story, no explanations or apologies needed.

Goldie Vance is among the new generation of comics being produced that feature diverse characters drawn in inclusive, body-positive ways that are making room for readers previously excluded from comic books as a genre. And it’s flat-out fun. I can’t wait for more!