Review by Frank Plowright

Santos Sisters is a very knowing nod to fans who grew up reading superhero comics in the 1980s, drawn in the style of Archie. At face value it’s standard superhero action of the time, with the sisters working through problems or having conversations as they beat up the bad guys. Perhaps they’re not the bad guys, though. We never really know, as that’s of no value.

What is of value is the ridiculous conversations and situations. An early strip has a crook shouting at the sisters to eat their own assholes, and as they’re a minimal threat, while dealing with the crook the discussion is about whether they would or not. The usual trappings of superhero comics are irrelevant here, with the origin story, such a genre staple, relegated to the back cover blurb.

In or out of costume Alana and Ambar are depicted as standard teenage girls having the conversations girls would, and because they don’t have to be as wholesome as the Archie-type characters they’re drawn as, those conversations constantly entertain. There’s a pretend coyness where secondary swear words are given nonsense alternatives like “chit” and “got-damn”, but anything stronger isn’t substituted. The priorities of teenage girls are also emphasised. An alert about a crook arrives when Alana’s just done her nails, which will take fifteen minutes to dry, so putting the costumes on will have to wait.

Deliberately anonymised primary creators Greg and Fake sound like a 1990s DJ act, but effortlessly highlight the ridiculous aspects of superhero comics in a succession of shorts. Their version of Archie’s art is line perfect, and when it’s not featuring daft situations it can pass for the real article. Other credited writers are thanked at the back, but such is the meta nature of the entire project they may be Greg and Fake’s real names, or they may not. It doesn’t greatly matter.

As the strips continue, more characters are added. The hapless Todd is seen moving from one dead end job to another, while Ambar is unfeasibly attracted to the bulky and none too bright Dirk. While the Santos Sisters subvert one form of comics storytelling, we also have strips starring the Boozy Bees, a pair of friendly looking cartoon bees, with the joke being their dysfunctional relationship is punctuated by violence and substance abuse.

Under other creators Santos Sisters might be a one-note joke, but there’s a constant freshness about the situations and dialogue preventing it. All in all, a very satisfying and consistently funny package that doesn’t outstay its welcome.