The Pro by Gareth Ennis, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Paul Mounts (graphic novel)
One of the usual things I do is look around for any comicbooks drawn by Amanda Conner that I haven’t come across or finding expensive and now at a reasonable price. This time I came across two and ‘The Pro’ is the first of these. Written by Gareth Ennis, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti and coloured by Paul Mounts came up. This is not a graphic novel that you should leave for your under-18 offspring to look at. It is full of swear words and sexual acts but is also extremely funny.
The unnamed lady at the beginning of the story is a prostitute. Well, at nights anyway. She has a day job but doesn’t pay enough to support herself and her baby son, hence her nightwork. The alien Voyeur…no, Viewer, sees an opportunity to prove anyone could be made into a super-hero and decides upon her. He endows her with super-abilities which look likes flight, speed and strength and alerts to Justice of Honor that they have a potential new member and should introduce themselves. I should point out that I wondered if I missed a page on her realising her own powers. However, if you look again, when she wakes up, she starts levitating and not even realise it. This is very subtle and you really do have to pay attention to all of the panels.
The League explains they are running out of good super-hero names but it’s not difficult to spot who they are based off. They supply her with a costume, taking bits and pieces of clothes from deceased League members. She finds them a bit solid and they don’t really understand her. That’s not to say later that the Saint does explain a confidential matter to her or her solution. If you’ve ever read Larry Niven’s article ‘Man Of Steel, Woman Of Kleenex’, then you might realise the consequence when he sheers off the wing of a passing aeroplane and goes to the rescue with his pants down. Good thing it wasn’t exactly sex they were doing.
I’m not going into the whole plot of the story because so much of it is spoiler but the chain of events all link together. I did wonder why it wasn’t extended into a mini-series, especially as there is another short story at the end, ‘The Pro Meets The Ho!’, which doesn’t fit in continuity per se. However, this story is 10 years old now. I should point out that the art isn’t lurid and safe sex is practiced. Above all else, it is an adult comicbook so you need an adult humour.
GF Willmetts
April 2026
(pub: Image Comics, 2016. 72 page softcover graphic novel. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-60706-555-5)
check out website: www.imagecomics.com
