With this TPB, I continued to get into stories I’m not as familiar with but that make the best of this goofy series.

I think my favorite issue in this collection is the “zine,” which presents itself as an in-universe comic put together by the characters in the series. It is a great example of how North and the other have fun with this medium instead of just phoning the comics in.

The zine also shows one of the things I like most about North’s work—he takes Marvel continuity and characters as seriously as he has to but now more. His version of well-known heroes like Iron Man and Spider-Man are exaggerated and eccentric. Even his own characters like the eponymous Squirrel Girl is very bad at keeping a secret identity, and so much of the stories are played for laughs. It’s great.

• Ryan North
• Erica Henderson
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
• Iron Man
• Spider-Man