Making Friends

I am taking this month to highlight some of the titles I read for the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards presented earlier this month at the Denver Pop Culture Con. Making Friends was a book I was excited to read because I had read a couple of titles by its author Kristen Gudsnuk in recent years. It takes its title literally, because it is about a teenage girl named Danielle who inherits a sketchbook from her great-aunt. Normally, this is not out of the ordinary, but it turns out the sketchbook is magical and can bring to life anything drawn in its pages. Danielle (Dany for short) is into anime, which takes an unfortunate turn as one of the first things she draws is the head of Prince Neptune, an evil alien overlord. Luckily, it only being a head makes it concealable, but (spoiler) it eventually figures out a way to wreak havoc.

Where this book really takes an intriguing turn is when the isolated Dany uses it to create a popular newcomer to her school, Madison Fontaine, to be her best friend and change her social status. Dany's plan has lots of unexpected wrinkles, biggest of which is that Madison becomes cognizant of being a fictional creation with no real family or home. Also, her being under Dany's control brings on some dark overtones. On top of this bunch of strange social dynamics, Dany also has to contend with and foil the evil plans of Prince Neptune, which brings a huge, unexplained catastrophe to town.

I found Making Friends to be a fun book that turned my plot expectations on their heads. It features interesting characters and a good amount of suspense. I was also impressed by how it made this magical premise work with "real world" repercussions. My only gripe would be that I felt that ending seemed a bit rushed in terms of the whole narrative, but overall I felt the book was exceptionally good.

Like I noted before, it is the creation of Kristen Gudsnuk, who has also created a couple of titles Henchgirl and Modern Fantasy I have enjoyed. Her artwork is expressive and features lots of little gags peppered throughout, which I found to be a funny and rewarding bonus. She speaks about her various works in this interview.

Making Friends was published by Scholastic Graphix, and they offer more info about it here. And good news for those who like me who like this book: it's getting a sequel.

The publisher provided a review copy.

Modern Fantasy

Modern Fantasy is a fun book that melds classic fantasy tropes with a contemporary, almost sitcom, sensibility. One one level it's the tale of a motley band (including a ranger, dwarf, elf, cleric, wizard, ogre, and troll) who quest to prevent a cult of religious zealots from summoning a fire demon that will destroy the world. On another level it's a character study of a bunch of 20-something friends as they go through their daily routines, which includes looks into their love lives, their drab work days, and the mundane frustrations of apartment living.

The main character of all this is Sage of the Riverlands, a level 12 ranger who works in a cubicle farm and is frequently bothered/bailed out by her large, oafish co-worker Back-Darr (who I think is supposed to be an ogre). At home she has to deal with her roommates and their significant others, particularly Lizard Wizard whose latest loser boyfriend is a kleptomaniac troll. Early on in the book, this troll steals an amulet from the wrong party and it brings all kinds of drama and misfortune into our heroes' lives.

Aside from the brisk plot, I enjoyed the characterizations in this book. I think that the diverse personalities bounce off each other well, and the dialogue is often clever. In addition, there is also a good amount of meta-humor about the whole set-up, and the book proceeds in jaunty fashion, with tongue firmly in cheek. I was taken by the heart and humor here, but the fact that chapter three is mostly dedicated to a training montage was the icing on the cake. Modern Fantasy was a great entertainment that I could easily see spun out into a regular comics series.

This book was originally published as a four-issue comic book series, and it was written by Rafer Roberts and drawn by Kristen Gudsnuk. Roberts has written a number of comics over the past two decades, but he is most known for his current series Grumble and a funny online collaboration with Justin Jordan called Thanos and Darkseid: Carpool Buddies of Doom. I first became aware of Gudsnuk's work with her webcomic/collection Henchgirl, and she has a relatively new book out for YA readers called Making Friends. I love her art style, which features lots of background gags, and her comic pacing, details, and character designs match up well with Roberts' story beats. Both creators weigh in about their work on Modern Fantasy in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book and series have been pretty positive. Jeremy Schmidt wrote that it "matches every laugh with a great piece of adventure that will leave you wanting more." Joe Grunenwald called it "super-fun and funny. It’s fantasy for people who don’t like fantasy."

Modern Fantasy was published by Dark Horse, and they offer a preview and more here.

Henchgirl

Henchgirl began as a webcomic, and here the entire saga is collected in one volume. The story follows a young woman named Mary Posa, who is physically quite strong and works in the Butterfly Gang run by supervillain Monsieur Butterfly.

Even though she makes much money from crime and is employed by a criminal, she is not really evil, just sort of aimless. She lives with a couple of roommates who know what she does (and do not hold it against her). In the end, this book is less about its superhero trappings and more about personal relationships and observations about trying to get by in the world.

Sure, comic book style action happens: banks get robbed, heroes clash with villains, aliens invade the Earth, but the heart of this book is seeing how the various characters react to various events and bounce off of each other. Many of these scenes are actually played for laughs, and some are hilarious. In addition, this book is also pretty inventive in terms of its plotting and characterization. I cannot say I was overly thrilled with how the story ended, but I very much enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down. If you are looking for a fresh, funny, off-beat, and more feminine look at superheroics, this is the book for you.

This comic was created by Kristen Gudsnuk, who uses a very cartoonish style that is charming but energetic. She also crams her backgrounds with lots of gags and details that highlight the story and add a touch of glee. She speaks about her work on Henchgirl in this interview.

The reviews I have read of this volume have been positive. Dustin Cabeal wrote that "not only is this one of the best superhero comics I’ve read in many years, but it’s one of the best comic books I’ve ever read, period." Publishers Weekly was more measured, stating that the opening chapters "of Henchgirl, drawn in a charming style somewhere between Scott Pilgrim and Steven Universe, have a delightful and spontaneous energy, but as the series progresses, Gudsnuk begins stitching her ideas into a narrative and things slow down a bit from the sparkling opening." Travis Pelkie summed up, "So if you’re looking for a book set in a superhero world where the real story is how a young woman finds her place in life, try Henchgirl."

Henchgirl was published by Dark Horse, and they have a preview and more info about it here.