RETRO REVIEW: Dakota North #1

Marvel Comics; 75¢

Even for a Marvel series and even during a strong period for indy titles, Dakota North #1 arrived in a sea of superheroes. The June 1986 cover-dated debut issue saw private investigator Dakota North hired to protect a fashion designer who had been targeted to prevent the release of his new clothing line. Not a supervillain in sight.

The series sank after five issues. Considering everything stacked against it, it’s sort of amazing that many of today’s creators remember it so fondly.

But they do.

Creator-writer Martha Thomases and artist Tony Salmons delivered a quirky, dynamic, and definitely stylish world and populated it with compelling characters, not the least of which was Dakota North herself. Although different than anything else Marvel was putting out at the time, it wasn’t alien to other Marvel titles. The storytelling, a credit to Thomases, Salmons, and perhaps editor Larry Hama, was strong and the time and holds up brilliantly.

After the five-issue run, North appeared sparingly (Web of Spider-Man #37, Power Pack #46, Marvel Super-Heroes #3) until she was dropped into an Ed Brubaker-era arc in Daredevil.

There’s a trade paperback collecting all of her appearances through that Daredevil arc, but it’s really not expensive at all to track down and acquire all of them individually. Start with this one and enjoy the ride.

– J.C. Vaughn