Book: Jem and the Holograms volume #1: Showtime by Kelly Thompson with illustrations by Ross Campbell
Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review
Publication: Available now
Description:
Meet Jerrica Benton - a girl with a secret. She and her sister Kimber team with two friends to become... JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS! But what does it mean to be JEM today? Fashion, art, action, and style collide in Jem and the Holograms: Showtime!
Rating: 1 star
Review:
I'm thankful that I had a chance to have read this but after giving it a read I'm definitely not going to purchase it. As a Jem and the Holograms fan this should have been the best year ever in regards to that iconic cartoon series getting both a movie and a comic book series.
After seeing that trailer I wasn't wasting my money on going to see the movie. Meanwhile, reading this comic book felt like I was seeing everything through a warped carnival mirror. I certainly was not expecting this to be anything like the 80s cartoon but I was hoping it would be a fun read.
This was really boring and although the story kept some elements of the cartoon (but not all of them where was Eric Raymond?), it was the writing that was weak, the characters that were shallow and unlikeable and the artwork hideous that made this a poor read. So many of the characters look like they were the walking dead.
In this book, Jerrica, Kimber, Aja and Shana had plans to enter The Misfits contest where bands are chosen to go up against the group. They had been trying to film a music video but something was stopping their progress, Jerrica's stage fright. After getting an ultimatum from Kimber and later overhearing Aja, Shana and Kimber talking about her, Jerrica left and went back home.
At home a storm knocked out the power which somehow rebooted Synergy, the advanced computer system that was built by Jerrica's father. The computer has the ability to create holographic images. Unexpectedly, Synergy appeared to Jerrica and showed her where to find the earrings her father had made for her. The earrings will allow her to contact Synergy and to project the holograms.
As Synergy was talking to Jerrica, the other three returned home and that's when Synergy informed them about another secret their father left for them. Jerrica had an idea to use a hologram to over come her stage fright and thus created Jem.
The Misfits are introduced to the reader through a performance but you really get to see their personalities after an interview with Lin-Z. While the ladies were finding out about the latest entry into their contest Jem and the Holograms, they were surprised by writer Rio Pacheco who was currently writing an article about The Misfits.
After getting put out by The Misfits, Rio then went in search of Jem and the Holograms, well more specifically Jerrica. As Jem and the Holograms relish in their new popularity they were also getting ready to go to the Starlight Community Center where they volunteer by helping the Starlight Girls. While there Ms. Bailey asked Jerrica if Jem and the Holograms could perform at the fundraiser since one of the acts dropped out. While Kimber was sneaking out of the community center to go to The Misfits album signing in hopes of meeting Stormer (who she has a crush on), Jerrica was not only meeting Rio but found herself being asked out on a date by him.
Kimber and Stormer's moment was ruined when the rest of The Mistfits showed up making a huge scene which also resulted in The Misfits getting more bad publicity. Jerrica and Rio were enjoying their first date while Kimber was all down about her ruined moment with her crush. At that point she hasn't told the rest of the group who she was with. Influenced by her band, Stormer decides not to see Kimber but it doesn't look like it's going according to plan not with Kimber giving her a kiss. Meanwhile, Clash who is part of The Misfits entourage has a plan to ruin Jem and the Holograms' performance at the fundraiser.
However, Clash's plan backfired and made Jem and the Holograms even more popular. The extra attention Jem and the Holograms were getting was making Pizzazz even angrier. As both groups prepare for the contest, the relationships between Jerrica and Rio and Kimber and Stormer were starting to deepen. But when Kimber realized the truth about the accident that happened at the fundraiser, a huge food fight broke out between the two groups leaving Jem and the Holograms disqualified from the contest. But not willing to accept the responsibility for starting the fight instead Jem and the Holograms decided to upstage The Misfits by performing at a nearby location.
I was disappointed with this for so many reasons. It's not a fun read for all ages like the cartoon was especially not with all the cursing. I found that many of the characters were out of character, I can't believe how petty, mean and shallow Kimber was while Jerrica was very insecure and wimpy. Shana and Aja didn't really seem to have been given much of a personality and certainly didn't get as much attention in this as Kimber and Jerrica. I can't believe they made Pizzazz a paranoid psychopath, Roxy an idiot and Stormer mean. Jetta's personality is the only one that's pretty much the same.
Reading this just didn't feel like Jem and the Holograms, it was far from empowering and there was a lot of childish antics and negativity surprisingly on the part of the titular group. It's understandable that The Misfits are going to be jerks but I wasn't expecting that Jem and the Holograms would stoop to their level.
There was a lot of unnecessary drama in this slow moving group of issues. I can't believe the only reason the writer could come up with for Jerrica becoming Jem is because Jerrica experiences extreme stage fright. And what was with Kimber issuing out an ultimatum to Jerrica that if she doesn't hurry up and deal with her stage fright and get the band's video ready then Kimber was going to leave the band. This version of Kimber was so self-centered and egotistical.
The romance portions of this story seemed so force for both Jerrica and Rio and Kimber and Stormer. It's more on the lines of insta-love instead of really building up a connection between the couples.
I don't think I will be continuing on with this series, it's outrageous but not in a good way.
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