Image Description: the book cover of Lumberjanes – Volume 1: Beware The Kitten Holy. The cover consists of the five main characters Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley, standing outside of a red-wooden cabin that one might find in an USA-style summer camp. On the left side of the large wooden door is a stuffed and mounted head of a stag-deer and on the right is the stuffed and mounted head of a large fox with large buffalo-style horns coming out both sides of its head.
Title: Lumberjanes – Volume 1: Beware The Kitten Holy (Book #1 of The Lumberjane Collections)
Author: by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Brooke A. Allen
Social Media: Goodreads
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Format and Price: Paperback from my local library
Rating: 5 out of 5
About The Book:
FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX!
At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hard-core 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. Collects Lumberjanes No. 1-4.
General Observation:
~Artwork: I really like the artwork of this series, it’s very unique but detailed, and all of the characters have appropriately animated facial expressions. A lot of thought and effort has gone into the visual design of this series.
~Story Structure and Plot: While the tendency with graphic novels is to build plot elements up slowly and gradually over time, I really like the story structure and plot elements I’ve seen thus far.
The collections open each issue with an extract from the Lumberjanes Guidebook, they detail the relevant badge that features in the current chapter (naturally my favourite badge thus far is The Pungeon Master’s badge – badge for making excellent puns).
The plot elements, while still mostly unclear at this point, involve an eccentric summer-camp type scenario, with a five-woman band, in a world that resembles Gravity Falls. These are all perfect combinations for me, especially since the graphic novel also has great comedic timing as well.
~Characters: The narrative centres around Jo, April, Mal, Molly, Ripley, and Jenny (their cabin leader). At first, I thought Jenny was getting a bit a rough deal, but it works out alright in end. I really like most of the female characters thus far. Even I will acknowledge that Camp Director Rosie is pretty awesome, in an eccentric way, and definitely knows more than she’s telling.
I like how the main group actually does get along (Yay for female friendship), and value each other’s different skills, everybody is good at something and everybody contributes to the narrative. “To Grandmother’s house we go!” is a pretty cool battle cry.
Although I’m not sure what to make of the character Ripley, I don’t know if she’s just supposed to be comic relief or an example of a young lady with ADHD (hyperactive type).
All in all, an intriguing first volume to a funny yet bizarre graphic novel series that places a strong emphasis on the positive benefits of friendship, I’m looking forward to volume 2.
Available for Purchase: Amazon
Ambiguous Pieces 