I had happened upon the Tumblr of Noelle Stevenson when searching for illustrators one day and saw her post on her new comic. I liked the concept, a bunch of girls at camp who go on mysterious adventures. I figured it would be a great one for the girls to enjoy. I have a tendency to get overly excited about anything that is female-centric that places girls in powerful roles.
Although the art is fun and solid, the story itself was disappointing. It felt like we missed the first issue or that there was a prequel that we should have already read. The characters weren't clearly defined and the story was a little convoluted. I didn't mind the oddness or quirkiness of the story, including the multiple-eyed wolves or the ominous chant of "Holy Kitten," but I did think it was sad that I only could name one character in the comic after reading it. That one character was the reluctant cabin counselor, Jen, who made a brief appearance at the end, but that appearance revolved around her being called the wrong name by the camp director (which is the only reason I knew her name).
I'm apprehensive to give the comic another try since it didn't really resonate with the girls. Maybe I had set my expectations too high, but I don't think it delivered on being the right comic for them. The next batch of buttons will be released in a couple of weeks, so we'll see if issue #2 works better.
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| Lumberjanes #1, with Atlanta Artist Buttons |
