My Thoughts About Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson (Book Review #102)

So onto the second graphic novel that I read this year! I read the first volume of Lumberjanes and I must say that this is a gem! 🙂

The first volume, Beware the Kitten Holy, which collects the first four issues, takes place at a summer camp in the middle of the woods – Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Girls Hardcore Lady-Types. The book follows the adventures of five girls living in one cabin, the Roanoke cabin, who always seems to find themselves in trouble. This volume features how their physical and mental abilites and wits were tested against their adventures fighting three-eyed foxes, yetis and possessed boy scouts in the forest, a dragon-like serpent in the river and moving statues in an underground cave. Behind all these adventures is a much more bigger mystery that they are still to solve.

This book is very charming. It didn’t have to push itself too far to be funny. I like how everything becomes so natural. It has this right amount of wit and charm that I, as a reader, felt that it was not overly done. I believe that what makes the storytelling effective was how the flow of the story was handled. The story’s quirkiness was controlled in a way not for it to become annoying. It has this perfectly timed quips. It did a good job of setting up the right tone all throughout the story.

I like how the story showcased each and every character. The story features five distinct characters, a lot to flesh out for a first volume. I will understand if some of the characters will not stand out compared to others but, on this one, I like how each were given the spotlight making me to be even more invested in the story. I was already able to get to know their personalities, their strengths and their weaknesses. There’s Mal, Jo, Ripley, Molly and Ripley – a mixture of personalities thrown together. There’s the anxious, the logical, the cautious, the hyper-active and the risk taker. They have different shapes, sizes, and colors and unique personalities as well. I like how they blend with each other. It’s not hard to connect to any of them.

One of the best things that I enjoyed about this graphic novel is the artwork although the panels overlap and might look a little cluttered to some. On every page, the colors scream. The colors speak well with the details of the drawings. Every page provides total eye-gasm. The artwork really provided more to my reading experience. It gives direction to the story’s atmosphere and it works weel with the graphic novel’s consistent and lively writing. It can be furiously hilarious at one point and then totally intriguing the next.

Another thing that I enjoyed about the story is the friendship. This is a graphic that does not disguise itself as a friendship story with hidden messages on its background. It’s simply a plain story about friendship and I like the book for it. The story features five unique and diverse teenage female characters that genuinely care for each other. I like how each treats one another with respect. Their rallying cry, “Friendship to the max!”, really fits them well.

Aside from Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters and Brooke A. Allen also contributed immensely to this graphic novel.

Overall, it’s well executed.

4 stars out of 5.

BOOK SPECIFICATIONS:

Author: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke A. Allen (Illustrator)
Format: Paperback
Part of a Series: Yes (Volume #1)
Release Year: April 2015
Publisher: BOOM! Box
No. of Pages: 128 pages

About the Author

Noelle Stevenson is a comic artist and freelance illustrator residing in Los Angeles, California. Her first comic, NIMONA, published by HarperCollins as a young adult graphic novel was published in the spring of 2015. She has been nominated for a Harvey Award, and was awarded the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Webcomic in 2012. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and has done published work for BOOM! Studios, Random House, MacMillan Press, and What Pumpkin Studios, among others. She is the co-writer of LUMBERJANES, a comic series from BOOM! Box, and has done writing work for Frederator’s BRAVEST WARRIORS as well. (Photo courtesy of pastemagazine.com)