Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte

As regular Scoop readers know, during the disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus, we’ve featured reviews of individual back issues, runs, collected editions, and original graphic novels that captured and held our attention over the long haul. Now that “new comics Wednesday” has returned in some form for many around the country, we’ve decided to continue including great older comics among our features. Remember, once your store is open, checking out their back issue bins or bookshelves is a great way to #BackTheComeback. 

Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte
Benitez Productions; $9.99

Lady Mechanika is a steampunk comic set during the turn of the 20th century. The titular lady survived a serial killer and had several of her body parts replaced by mechanical means. With no memory of her past, Lady Mechanika becomes a private investigator who is always searching for answers to those cases and her own.

In La Dama de la Muerte, she travels to a remote Mexican village to recover after suffering a significant loss. But as the locals try to involve her in their Day of the Dead traditions a bloodthirsty gang interrupts the festivities. It turns out this is a regular occurrence and one which Lady Mechanika wants to end.

Co-written by series creator Joe Benitez with M.M. Chen, La Dama de la Muerte (which translates to The Lady of Death), is beautiful and haunting. It’s a straightforward story of a hero taking on a terrible enemy to protect innocent people and it does not hold back on the cost they face.

The artwork by Benitez and Martin Montiel with colors by Peter Steigerwald, Beth Sotelo, and Mike Garcia is stunning. It blends Mexican culture, the Old West, and mysticism to provide a keen look at the Mexican holiday, as well as the frightening aspect of the villains. Every page is structured differently, and the details are a feast for the eyes.

–Amanda Sheriff