Book Review: Lumberjanes [Vol. 1]; Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis & Brooke Allen.

Another graphic novel created by the famed Noelle Stevenson, this time a series! I was quite excited by how much attention this book had received and came away feeling a little disappointed as a result.

SOURCE: Web-Comic
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Lumberjanes [Vol. 1]
AUTHOR: Noelle Stevenson
SERIES: Lumberjanes (#1 - #4)
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Box
PAGES: 128
GENRE: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, LGBTQ+, Fantasy

RATING: 3/5 Stars

Blurb:
Lumberjanes is the hit series from the BOOM! Box imprint that features five rad ladies who fight monster baddies with the power of friendship! Written by Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Adventure Time) and newcomer Grace Ellis, and illustrated by Brooke Allen (A Home for Mr. Easter), this new series has taken comics by storm and placed on many Best-of-the-Year lists, including Comics Alliance, Entertainment Weekly, and Comic Book Resources.

At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams! Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.

What I Liked:

• This book was certainly a lot of fun. There's a lot of action and antics to follow, and many humorous situations! I like a bit of comedy, and I recognised Stevenson's distinct style from 'Nimona' here.
• I came into this comic hoping for a lot of inclusion and I certainly got it! And plenty of girl power too! I can really see the diversity in this one and how things could be developed in future issues, and I like that a lot.

What I Disliked:

• Being completely thrown into the middle of a plot, spending ten minutes researching to see if I'd missed an issue, then going back to it and finding that they later explain in just a few panels what happened earlier. It wasn't fun and I didn't really see why.
• This is a series of mini adventures with very limited cohesive plot-line to tie it all together. I'd have liked more focus on the overriding arc.

Overall Conclusion:

Hmm...this was a likeable read with plenty of character and potential. It just lacked the punch I'd been hoping for that would draw me into the world. I'm interested to continue and see if things improve, but right now I'm even struggling to remember character names and everything feels bitty. Hopefully it will get better!