The Pro, you might remember, is the book that Jim Steranko singled out as an example of everything wrong with modern comics, a conclusion he was miraculously able to draw merely from reading the solicitation.  He said it was a celebration of evil.

The Pro is dedicated to Jim Steranko.  He'll love that.

It's a superhero parody, basically.  A cosmic entity gives a hooker superhuman powers on a bet.  She is drafted against her will into the unbearably retro League of Honor, a thinly disguised version of the JLA.  When this book was originally announced, there was talk of her meeting all manner of superheroes, but in fact the story sticks firmly with the JLA.

Bearing in mind that Garth Ennis wrote the gloriously stupid Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe, you probably won't be surprised to learn that most of this book consists of the traditional superhero parody gags mixed in with a whole load of hooker jokes.  And they're funny, because Ennis has the style to get away with being that puerile, while Amanda Conner's art is suitably over the top.

And then halfway through it turns into a fairly aggressive broadside on everything the JLA stands for, as our heroine namechecks the World Trade Center and delivers a lengthy rant about why the traditional moral values of classic superhero comics are utterly irrelevant to the real world.  It is a bit of a grinding gear change.  Mind you, she has a point.

The glaring lecturing may sit a little uneasily alongside the comedy, but it doesn't change the fact that you probably already knew whether you would love or hate this book the moment you heard the premise.  Personally, I love it.

Rating: A

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