Book: Lumberjanes volume #1: Beware The Kitten Holy (issues #1-4) by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrations by Brooke Allen, colors by Maarta Laiho and letters by Aubrey Aiese
Cover by Noelle Stevenson
Edition: Trade Paperback
Description:
FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX!
At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for hardcore 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.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Lumberjanes volume #1 was a fun read. The first issue finds April, Mal, Molly, Jo and Ripley in the woods at night where they end up fighting a group of supernatural foxes. Before the foxes left, one of them sort of disintegrated (due to Ripley hitting it) leaving behind some type of metal disc that Jo found. While the other foxes howled out this strange message "Beware The Kitten Holy".
The girls had to hurry up and get back to their cabin before their Camp Counselor Jen woke up. Too bad Jen was already awake and was not in the mood to hear the girls elaborate excuses as to why they were out in the woods in the middle of the night. Jen didn't want to hear about a bearwoman or magical foxes so she took them to speak with the Camp Director Rosie where they could explain themselves to her.
While Jen may not realize there is something supernatural happening around the camp, the Camp Director does. After Rosie cleverly got rid of Jen, she was eager to hear what the girls had to say about their adventure in the woods and most especially about the bearwoman.
The second issue has Jen and the girls going rafting but they end up getting caught in the currents with the girls being separated from Jen. While Mal, Molly, Jo, Ripley and April were trying to keep their rafts from going over the falls they were attacked by a sea monster. But the girls outsmarted the creature and made it to land but with a complication. Mal was unconscious and needed help, Molly tried CPR but thanks to an ill advised move by Ripley, Mal regain consciousness. With that emergency taken care of, the girls were trying to find their way back to camp when they found a cave. It's interesting how they found it but I'll let you read it to see how.
Going into the cave led to an amazing adventure in the third issue where they found themselves in a sort of obstacle course. From arm wrestling an animated statue to escaping from another wielding a scythe, the girls also had to avoid numerous obstacles and solve a few mind games in order to find their way out of the cave. This was an unbelievable adventure for the girls and I really like that they stuck together to figure everything out. They even solved the meaning of "Beware The Kitten Holy" which ended up leading them to yet another mystery.
The fourth issue had Jen leading the girls on a nature hike and while her nose was in her guide book and she was enthralled by everything she was seeing, the girls spotted a strange footprint. They also ran into a mean yeti who scared the girls and had them run into Jen where they all rolled off a cliff into poison ivy.
They were surprised by another group of campers, The Scouting Lads who took them back to the boys' camp to help the girls deal with their itchy reaction from the poison ivy. Jo was suspicious, she thought it was a little too convenient that The Scouting Lads showed up at that exact moment. But going to the camp made it easier for the girls to figure out the mystery of "Beware The Kitten Holy" where they found a most intriguing item.
However, while the girls had slipped away to follow clues of the message, Jen was still at The Scouting Lads camp when something strange happened. The guys transformed and they appeared to be in a trance and were foaming at the mouth and were going after Jen. Due to some quick thinking she was able to escape and she ran into the girls where they all had to make a run for it. This entire ordeal had Jen finally realizing that all the girls' crazy and zany stories were true and they were happy to know that she believed them. Which is a good thing since her help most likely will be needed because it looks like things were only getting started.
I really enjoyed reading this, it had a great group of issues coupled with fun illustration. This kind of reminds me of the animated series Gravity Falls but it still felt like Lumberjanes had an original concept with these campers stumbling upon various strange and weird mysteries and supernatural creatures. I also really like the characters, Ripley, Mal, April, Jo and Molly had their own unique personality, style and skills. I think Molly and Mal may be questioning whether they are more than just friends, especially given Molly's reaction to Mal being unconscious following their rafting adventure. It will be interesting to see if they figure it out in future issues. I like Jen, she's a total science geek and it will be interesting to read the next volume to see if she will help them in solving these incredible mysteries and how she will continue to deal with the knowledge now that she knows about the supernatural.
This was an absolutely fun read and I can't wait to read what happens next for these campers in volume #2.
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