#CBR13 Book 53: "Lumberjanes, vol 1: Beware the Kitten Holy" by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis

Page count: 128 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR13 Bingo: The Wilds

Official book description:
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.

I’m not outdoorsy in the slightest. Like even a little bit. I pretty much resent having to go outside into the woods, which makes me a very atypical Norwegian. So I was never in any form of Scouts. I know my husband was in the Scouts growing up in the north of England and it sounds like there was a lot of hiking and sleeping outdoors in all sorts of horrible conditions, not to mention extremely ruthless games of Capture the Flag where people may or may not have gotten limbs broken. So I can’t really relate to the five hard-core young lady types that we meet in this book, because spending a summer at a camp in the woods sounds like some sort of special hell for me. 

Nevertheless, this book, which has been on my TBR list since at least 2016 and on my physical bookshelf since mid-2018 was a wonderful portrayal of why some types of outdoorsy adventuresome persuasion (as well as the Lumberjanes, there's a camp of suspiciously friendly guys who may or may not be possessed by something) might enjoy camp life. Each issue is introduced by an excerpt from the Lumberjanes Field Guide, explaining the skills that they are meant to achieve, all at least tangentially relevant to the adventure they go on in the issue.

I wish there were more than four issues collected in this first trade. Thankfully, I have the next two in my collection and can get more volumes at my local library. It's taken me a very long time to start this comic, but I'm looking forward to reading more and getting to know the five young protagonists better.

Judging a Book by its Cover: The cover image is done by Noelle Stevenson herself, and at the back of the trade, there are a number of variant covers that were also really interesting. I like Stevenson's art and the slightly off-beat looks of all the various Lumberjanes. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR7 Book 113: "Nimona" by Noelle Stevenson

Page count: 272 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

Because I have a lot of reviews to catch up on, thanks to my clumsiness which caused my brain to get rattled and shook up, I'm once again resorting to plot summary via Goodreads:

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: to prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realises that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he's willing to admit. 

Unlike a lot of other talented reviewers who have already written about this comic, I haven't read this as a web comic, or read Lumberjanes, the other comic that Noelle Stevenson co-writes and illustrates. My only real association with her was the lovely cover illustration and fan art she did for Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. So many people raved enthusiastically about this comic, though, and I finally decided to treat myself to it during the October 2015 Read-a-thon, when I was mostly forced to resort to audiobooks due to my concussion. I was able to read graphic novels in small doses at a time, though.

Nimona is set in a fantasy kingdom where both Lord Ballister Blackheart and Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin grew up at the Institute. After Lord Blackheart lost his arm in a joust against Sir Goldenloin, he pretty naturally fell into the role of scientific-minded arch-villain and nemesis to his former friend. He's really not looking for a sidekick, but the persistent Nimona won't really take no for an answer, and it's hard to deny that her shapeshifting abilities come in handy in his attempts to uncover the Institute's unethical practices. That she easily loses control of a situation and frequently acts without thinking, causing much more damage than planned is a complication, though.

Nimona's origins and background are unknown and she doesn't take kindly to any attempts to dig into her backstory. It's clear that there are reasons for her impulse control issues and why she has a hard time trusting or forming lasting connections with people.

Both the art and the story is delightful, and I blazed through the whole volume in less than an hour. The only thing keeping me from giving it a full five stars is that I wanted a bit more closure towards the end, which I felt was unsatifyingly open-ended. I can highly recommend it, though, and will look for other things written by Ms. Stevenson in the future.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.