Best friends Amber, Tiffany, Michelle and Courtney perform as princesses at their local theme park, The Enchanted Park (which has seen better days) and are looking forward to their futures. However, as obstacles keep them from their perceived dreams, our heroines in Monica Gallagher‘s Part-Time Princesses (Oni Press, 2015), realize they can use their strengths and abilities to save their park from those who want to destroy it.

It’s refreshing to read a comic about teenage girls that’s not focused on them being misfits. Although our heroines are popular, they’re more Clueless than Mean Girls — they can be a bit self-involved but they’re well-meaning and each has her own motivations and interests, from the ambitious, smart Michelle to the dramatic Tiffany

Gallagher has a wonderful eye for fashion and the way teen girls actually interact. Each girl looks unique — down to her body type and style (Courtney is athletic and sporty, wannabe model Amber is tall and graceful). While Gallagher’s backgrounds are sparse, they focus the attention on her strong ability to convey personality and emotions through body language and facial expressions. The girls not only feel like friends to each other — they feel like girls you know.

While the story mostly proceeds with the expected beats as each girl finds her true abilities, there are a few curves — an unexpected romance, a hidden conspiracy — that keep the plot from feeling too obvious. Gallagher’s gift for the playful rhythms of life keep her storytelling strong and fresh.

As much as I love comics about girls and women in extraordinary circumstances (whether it’s real life or fantastic), it’s refreshing to read a graphic novel that’s about normal girls doing mostly normal things. I would love to see more comics like Part-Time Princesses in the world.

Digital review copy provided by Oni Press.

News/interviews/reviews:

• Comic Books Are No Laughing Matter: E.G. Comics in Vienna features thousands of titles, from vintage to current, Donna Manz, Connection Newspapers

Event reports:

• Super Art Fight 2/22 Black Cat Results: Sold Out Crowd Sees Us Crown the ‘King of the Cat’!

Publications:

• Magic Bullet is accepting submissions and advertisers through March 1.

Events:

• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.

Two outside the area (but close enough!) shows worth noting:

• Monstrous at Telegraph Gallery, Charlottesville, Va. Gallery opens March 1.
• “The Spoils of Saint Hubris” by Sterling Hundley, Ghostprint Gallery, Richmond, Va. Through April 27.

Note: I’ll be at MSU Comics Forum this weekend, and I think this is a good time to remind everyone that if you’re from the area and going to an event somewhere else, let me know! Also, if you’re not from the area but will be for something, let me know that too! Necessary information is all below!

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

Portland-based zinester and artist Nicole J. Georges was told just that during a visit to a psychic. Her graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura (Mariner Books, 2013), deals with the aftermath as she journeys through her family history and her own place in the world. And yes, her story does involve her calling into the Dr. Laura Program.

Georges is pretty frank about herself and her honesty makes her incredibly likeable and fun to follow. She’s sweet and sensitive — a vegan who’s happy to take in abandoned chickens and care for her beloved dogs — but she does show that her caring nature lets people take advantage of her, including a couple of girlfriends. The intimacy works for the story — it feels less like reading a comic and more like listening to a story being told you by a friend.

Georges structures the book beautifully. Scenes that take place in the present feel cinematic with close-ups of faces and complicated ink-washed backgrounds. She renders flashbacks to her childhood in a much more open style. Everything is a bit looser and less detailed, as memories often are. While Georges hops around between present and past, the differing styles make the transitions clear. All the details and memories feel relevant.

As much as Georges’ search for her father drives much of the book, it’s actually her mother that is at the book’s core. Their complicated relationship — from Georges’ chaotic, stressful childhood to the present — seems to inform most of her relationships with other women, from sisters to friends to girlfriends. It’s even important she felt the need to call Dr. Laura for advice rather than a man.

In the end, Georges does find the answers she’s looking for, but she gets a lot more than that. She gets understanding — not only of the other people in her life but also of herself.

It’s almost impossible to finish Calling Dr. Laura and not want Nicole J. Georges to be your new best friend. It’s a beautiful, powerful book by an awesome woman.

Nicole J. Georges, Cassie Sneider, Monica Gallagher and Sally Madden will be at Atomic Books in Baltimore, Md., from 7to 9 p.m. Feb. 21 (tomorrow!).

Contests:

• Win a signed copy of ‘District Comics. See link for details; runs thought the end of the week.

Publications:

• Magic Bullet is accepting submissions and advertisers through March 1.
• The Cartoon Picayune, a comics journalism zine, is now accepting advertisers for the Summer 2013 issue. Inquire at cartoonpicayune@gmail.com.

Events:

• Now through Feb. 22: “Splotch/Asterisk” — collaboration between Steve Loya and JJ Cromer, Off-Rhode Studios, Washington, D.C.
• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 21: Nicole Georges (of Invincible Summer), Cassie Sneider, Monica Gallagher, Sally Madden at 7 to 9 p.m. at Atomic Books, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 22: Super Art Fight, doors 9:30 p.m. at Black Cat Backstage, Washington, D.C. Tickets are $12 and on sale now.

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

• Berlin 2013: Lakeshore To Adapt ‘The Sword’ Graphic Novel, Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter
• Warren Bernard’s Citations and Fredric Wertham Documents, The Comics Journal Online
• Reviewing your local shops: Third Eye Comics, Bryan Sinagra, ABC2News.com

Announcements:

• DC Conspiracy opens a centralized online store
• Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis to launch graphic novel trilogy in August
• Metro Washington Mensa’s upcoming gathering will have a superhero them

Publications:

• Magic Bullet is accepting submissions and advertisers through March 1.
• The Cartoon Picayune, a comics journalism zine, is now accepting advertisers for the Summer 2013 issue. Inquire at cartoonpicayune@gmail.com.

Events:

• Now through Feb. 22: “Splotch/Asterisk” — collaboration between Steve Loya and JJ Cromer, Off-Rhode Studios, Washington, D.C.
• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 21: Nicole Georges (of Invincible Summer), Cassie Sneider, Monica Gallagher, Sally Madden at 7 to 9 p.m. at Atomic Books, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 22: Super Art Fight, doors 9:30 p.m. at Black Cat Backstage, Washington, D.C. Tickets are $12 and on sale now.

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

• AN OPEN REQUEST: As convention season kicks off, bring on more live cartoon performance, Michael Cavna, Comic Riffs/Washington Post

Publications:

• Magic Bullet is accepting submissions and advertisers through March 1.
• The Cartoon Picayune, a comics journalism zine, is now accepting advertisers for the Summer 2013 issue. Inquire at cartoonpicayune@gmail.com.

Events:

• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 8: Cupid’s Pre-Party, Art Opening at Studio F, 6 to 9 p.m., 923 F St NW, Studio 301, Washington, D.C. Features art of Josh Kramer of The Cartoon Picayune
• Feb. 21: Nicole Georges (of Invincible Summer), Cassie Sneider, Monica Gallagher, Sally Madden at 7 to 9 p.m. at Atomic Books, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 22: Super Art Fight, doors 9:30 p.m. at Black Cat Backstage, Washington, D.C. Tickets are $12 and on sale now.

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

• ZAP! POW! BAM! Jewish Superheroes?!, David Snyder, Baltimore Jewish Times

Publications:

• Magic Bullet is accepting submissions and advertisers through March 1.
• The Cartoon Picayune, a comics journalism zine, is now accepting advertisers for the Summer 2013 issue. Inquire at cartoonpicayune@gmail.com.

Events:

• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.
• Jan. 30: Barry Kitson signing, 2 to 7 p.m., at Cards Comics and Collectibles, Reisterstown, Md.
• Feb. 21: Nicole Georges (of Invincible Summer), Cassie Sneider, Monica Gallagher, Sally Madden at 7 to 9 p.m. at Atomic Books, Baltimore, Md.
• Feb. 22: Super Art Fight, doors 9:30 p.m. at Black Cat Backstage, Washington, D.C. Tickets are $12 and on sale now.

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

That’s basically Tinka’s world when the book starts — her appearance, her attitude are all treated to be for the consumption of boys and not for herself. Welcome to the world of every teenage girl.

Tinka is a typical teenage girl for the most part — Gallagher gives her flowing hair and pouty lips, but she’s not treated to be any particular beauty. Ambrose writes her as average — she’s neither anonymous or overly popular. She’s just one of the girls who filled the hallways of your high school, dealing with harassment from boys while still desiring to be with one.

Once her secret romance with Jason is discovered by his soccer teammates and he cruelly dismisses her, Tinka gets revenge, although accidentally.

Due to a thunderstorm unleashing the high school goth girl’s latent witchy powers and a tube of glittery lip gloss, Tinka gains the ability to give these boys a taste of their own medicine. She turns them into girls.

Jason manipulates Tinka into kissing him one last time and he wakes up as a girl. Tinka receeds into the background for a bit as Jason tries to make sense of his new reality. The book turns out to be nearly as much about him as it is about her.

There’s a party where people play spin the bottle and Tinka kisses a few more boys, all before realizing what’s going on.

And the boys get to learn exactly how their behavior affects girls when they face it themselves. (Ambrose doesn’t shy away from showing the cruelty of other girls, too, though.)

Gallagher has fun with the boys being perplexed by their different bodies. She plays with posture — when the boys stood tall and strong, they hunch as if trying to hide themselves as girls. Movement and facial expressions are exaggerated (Jason’s mom, who is not nearly as confused by her son’s transformation as she should be, dresses him in a ridiculous outfit for a party). While most of her characters are attractive with their manga-inspired big eyes, she draws a wide variety of body types. Her world feels inclusive beneath the glamor of her art.

Ambrose’s writing is snappy and funny and always unexpected. Her dialogue is smart but feels natural and scenes transition easily between slapstick and heartfelt. There’s a definite playfulness to what she’s doing here and her message never drags it down. I love watching these fictional boys transform — both literally and figuratively — in their understanding of women. She also allows Tinka to learn how to be comfortable with herself, as a girl, and the conclusion to her story (and Jason’s) feels appropriate and satisfying.

Maybe something of a strange complaint, but with its title, all-female creative team and pink cover, this book won’t get into the hands of the people who would probably get the most out of it — teenage boys. While it’s a delightful story for teenage girls (and people who once were teenage girls), I do wish more teenage boys could be taught that girls are people too.

Still, I have some hope some smart teenage girls will leave this lying around where their brothers may pick it up. Even without that happening, it’s still an intelligent and witty glimpse into the pressures all teenagers face in trying to relate to each other.

Starfish — Marguerite Dabaie

In this beautiful, wordless comic about a sailor who meets a mermaid who saves his ship, Dabaie plays with the form of mini-comics. It’s horizontal with two fold-out pages in the middle. Her art here has a simple, anime-inspired feel and she definitely knows how to express a story through images alone. This is one of the comics from MoCCA that surprised me the most.

Click — Sara Ryan & Dylan Meconis

Ryan’s and Meconis’ simple tale of a confusing friendship between two high school seniors is well done but fairly standard slice-of-life mini-comics stuff. Ryan’s story does capture the emotions nicely, but Meconis’ art makes the characters look a little too old. While I enjoyed it while I was reading it, its poignancy was pretty temporary.

Lipstick & Malice #1: So Hot Right Now — Monica Gallagher

I loved this. Honestly, though, what’s not to like about a supermodel who is also (more or less) a deadly assassin. Gallagher’s art is sexy and gorgeous and she has a good ear for the gossip of the beautiful people. The tall format of the comic is a lot of fun and compliments our heroine’s stature. This is definitely one of those “should’ve bought the other two issues while they were in front of you” cases. I really look forward to where the rest of this story is going.

Gang of Fools: Paper Trailer — James Smith III

This is, in case you were wondering, where my last $2 went. This is meant to be a preview of the Web comic and I’m suitably intrigued by the futurist urban paranoia that’s presented here. The art very dark — mostly black with only our character’s faces emerging from the gloom. It definitely provides the right feel for where the story seems to be going. Sadly, at least right now, the Gang of Fools web site doesn’t seem to be working. I’m looking forward to when it’s back up.

Jin & Jam No. 1 — Hellen Jo

I believe I first encountered Hellen Jo’s work on the back page of Giant Robot and I’ve been crazy about it every since then. She has a dangerous and quirky sense of humor and awesomely bad attitude to spare. Jin & Jam is full of angry girls badmouthing each other and getting into hilarious fights. It is sometimes intentionally off-putting, but it always feels playful. Jo’s artwork is amazingly detailed and expressive and her style is like a mix between manga and Robert Crumb while being absolutely distinctive. Jo is a creator to watch.

Green Blooded — Cathy Leamy

Subtitled “An Introduction to Eco-Friendly Feminine Hygiene,” this is an informational pamphlet done in a comic style. The subject matter isn’t for everyone (I can kind of imagine that half of the population isn’t going to be too interested) but it’s done in a fun way while still being educational. She lists the pros and cons of different “green” products and includes drawings of how to use each. I think that this subject is something a lot of women haven’t thought about and I actually learned a few things. Even if the subject isn’t appealing to you, this does show how comics can be utilized to inform people in a quick, easy and fun way.

That’s it for the mini-comics. I have some less-than-mini comics that might go up tomorrow. I’m still reading so there will be more reviews. Oh yes.