Titan Comics’ hit series Gun Honey is back with a brand new series and a new mission that poses the biggest challenge Joanna Tan has faced to date, and it all happens within the pages of Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1. The mission’s difficulty creates a showcase for Joanna’s varied skill set, and when the action really hits the gas, it’s absolutely thrilling. The classic pulp vibes are also well accounted for, and even when the book gets a bit carried away in exploring those elements, the issue successfully gets its hooks in you and sets the stage for an electrifying adventure.
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Gun Honey follows the adventures of smuggler Joanna Tan, and while the first few stories in the series dealt directly with Joanna’s family and more personal stories, Gun Honey: Doubles Down leans more into the James Bond and Mission: Impossible style of adventure, especially the iconic From Russia With Love. There’s a bit of espionage to get things started, but the issue really hits its stride with a fantastic escape sequence after the mission goes awry, and all of it is viewed through a pulp lens that fans of the genre will love.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Amazing Action Sequences | Takes A Bit To Pick Up Speed |
| Great Mission Premise That Conveys Just How Skilled And Unstoppable Joanna Is | Some Scenes Go A Bit Overboard |
Gun Honey: Doubles Down Raises The Stakes With Three Targets and High Octane Action
The premise of Gun Honey: Doubles Down is one of its biggest strengths, as writer Charles Ardai creates a challenging yet compelling mission for one of the best in the business. After a mission goes wrong through no fault of Joanna’s, it’s up to her to go back in and fix it. That would be challenging enough, but things get more difficult when the target has two decoys, and no one knows who the real one actually is.
Throw in that all of this takes place across Russia, and you’ve got yourself quite the feat. Luckily, Joanna is up for the challenge, even when things turn into absolute chaos. There’s a point in this book where every planned element completely falls apart, and from that point on the issue never steps off the gas. The result is a pulse-pounding escape sequence that really embraces those Mission: Impossible elements, and her escape would make even Ethan Hunt jealous.
That sequence and the rest of the issue are brought to life by the stellar team of Ang Hor Kheng and Asifur Rahman, and when your final few pages involve nose-diving down the center of a building, a motorcycle chase, and a helicopter, you know you’re on to a thrilling and captivating adventure.
Gun Honey: Doubles Down Could Reign In One Specific Element
Since Joanna has to get close to targets to figure out if they are the real deal, it creates scenarios for the series to lean into more risqué and sexually charged moments. Some of these sequences find the perfect balance of those elements and visuals, and Joanna is no doubt stunning throughout the issue.
That said, other scenarios push things into more gratuitous territory, and while one in particular does convey that nothing is off limits regarding Joanna completing a mission, it still feels unnecessary. A few tweaks to that scene and not only would the point still have landed, but we could have gotten to the amazing action sequence that follows even sooner. There are also several shots of Joanna early on that couldn’t help but take me out of the story and action at hand.
Despite those flaws, I genuinely enjoyed the adventure and stylish action sequences throughout Gun Honey: Doubles Down, and things should only get more frenetic and action-packed from here if the ending is anything to go by. If you’re a fan of slick spy action with a hearty dose of pulp thrills, Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1 might just be the book you’ve been waiting for.
- Published By: Titan Comics
- Written By: Charles Ardai
- Art By: Ang Hor Kheng
- Colors By: Asifur Rahman
- Lettering By: David Leach
Gun Honey: Doubles Down #1 is in comic stores now.
