oni press – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com Tue, 24 Mar 2015 23:44:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.comicsgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-EdenMiller2017-1-32x32.jpg oni press – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com 32 32 59683043 Review: Part-Time Princesses by Monica Gallagher https://www.comicsgirl.com/2015/03/24/review-part-time-princesses-by-monica-gallagher/ Tue, 24 Mar 2015 23:42:48 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4229 Part-Time PrincessesSenior year isn’t going as well as they’d hoped.

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.

]]> 4229 Review: Glitter Kiss https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/01/18/review-glitter-kiss/ https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/01/18/review-glitter-kiss/#comments Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:07:15 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3592 In the first few glitterkisspages of Glitter Kiss (2012, Oni Press) by Adrianne Ambrose (writer) and Monica Gallagher (art), main character Tinka is chided by her mother for wearing too much makeup and for her skirt being too short — the first because boys don’t like girls who wear a lot of makeup and the second because boys like short skirts too much.

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.

]]> https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/01/18/review-glitter-kiss/feed/ 2 3592 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for July 24 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/07/24/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-july-24/ Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:44 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3303 News/interviews/reviews:

Event/con reports:

Announcements and debuts:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

Housekeeping:

  • I am compiling a standing list of D.C. area webcomics, comics-related podcasts/TV shows, yearly events and other things that I’m not always able to include in the weekly roundup, so email me with whatever you’re up to. Thanks!

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.

]]> 3303 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for July 17 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/07/17/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-july-17/ Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:00:31 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3288 Up-top announcement: I am compiling a standing list of D.C. area webcomics, comics-related podcasts/TV shows, yearly events and other things that I’m not always able to include in the weekly roundup. This will be very much a work-in-progress I’m trying to get the initial list up by the middle of next month. I have a good list, but email me what you have (if it’s a webcomic or podcast, also include what day it’s usually updated as well as how often it’s updated). Thanks!

News/interviews/reviews:

Event/con reports:

Announcements and debuts:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

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.

]]> 3288 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for July 12 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/07/12/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-july-12/ Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:00:25 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3280
Rusty Rowley and Joe Mochove of Full Sanction at Kids Read Comics! in Ann Arbor, Mich.

 

News/interviews/etc.

Event/con reports:

Announcements:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

Housekeeping:

  • Starting next week, The D.C. Area Comics Scene will switch to Tuesdays.

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.

]]> 3280 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for July 5 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/07/05/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-july-5/ Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:00:29 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3256
Nick Liappis, Kevin Panetta and Jared Smith during Big Planet Comics’ live 50th podcast. Photo by Rusty Rowley

News/interviews/etc.

Announcements:

Podcasts:

 

Upcoming releases:

Events:

Housekeeping:

  • After next week, this feature is going to shift to Tuesdays — so there will be one on July 12 and then another on July 17 and then on Tuesdays after that.

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

]]> 3256 Review: Ivy https://www.comicsgirl.com/2011/07/24/review-ivy/ https://www.comicsgirl.com/2011/07/24/review-ivy/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:21:10 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=2729

Ivy
Buy at Powell’s

I’ve been rewatching My So-Called Life on Netflix streaming.

When that show first aired, I was just the right age for it (a freshman in high school to Angela Chase’s sophomore) but now, I see very different things in it. I love the beautifully troubled Rayanne more than I used to — I think she probably became someone amazing — and whereas the teenage me found Jordan to be mysterious and intriguing, I now see how ridiculously unworthy of Angela he is. Also, poor Brian Krakow.

Now, while talking about My So-Called Life is plenty of fun (as is the ’90s fashion. Let’s bring some of that back!), I think really, stories about teenagers are really just a matter of perspective.

I liked a good deal of Sarah Oleksyk‘s Ivy (Oni Press, 2011) but I also think I see it in a different way than I would have if I was Ivy’s age.

Ivy is an artistic senior looking to escape her life in small-town Maine. She lives with her hard-working single mother and has fallen in with the other misfits at her high school if she really doesn’t like them. After meeting a trouble boy at an art school fair, Ivy tries to take her life into her own hands, with mixed results.

Oleksyk’s art is approachable and open — Ivy’s short hair gives her a punky edge while her nondescript facial features make her someone who doesn’t stand out. You went to high school with dozens of girls like this. Maybe you were one. Ivy’s friends, while a bit more distinctive, still look like people I knew (or at least knew people who were like them). It makes the story feel intimate and personal as well as universal.

Still, the dramatic turn — Ivy runs away with Josh after being suspended for school — feels a little false. It’s not that I don’t believe teenagers do this, but nothing in Ivy’s character really seemed like it was something she would do. The adults feel pretty one-dimensional. Ivy’s math teacher has it out for her for no real reason I can discern, and Ivy’s mother’s anger toward her feels misplaced. I can understand that Ivy’s mother wants a better life for her daughter, certainly, but I think she’s presented as being overly harsh toward her daughter.

But like I said, it’s maybe a matter of perspective. Oleksyk’s sympathies are with Ivy through and through, so of course the adults are going to be against her. Of course it’s a reasonable thing that Ivy would run away and that Josh would turn on her once they slept together. It’s a teenager’s world — everything is mostly black and white. People are good or bad and there’s not much in between.

The gray washes and Oleksyk’s strong lines do give Ivy the appropriate mood and her ability to express emotion both through quiet images and exaggerated drawings is admirable. She also composes beautiful pages, with borders closing in her characters or isolating them in open spaces. I have no complaints about her abilities as a comic artist.

I will love to see what Sarah Oleksyk does next. I just hope she leaves Ivy behind.

]]> https://www.comicsgirl.com/2011/07/24/review-ivy/feed/ 1 2729 Book of the Month: Hopeless Savages Greatest Hits https://www.comicsgirl.com/2010/12/01/book-of-the-month-hopeless-savages-greatest-hits/ Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:51:32 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=2177

Hopeless Savages
Greatest Hits
Buy at Amazon.com

Jen Van Meter‘s Hopeless Savages follows former punk rockers Dirk Hopeless and Nikki Savage and their four kids through all kinds of adventures — from the everyday to the exotic. With art by a revolving selection of Oni Press favorites — Andi Watson, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Ross Campbell, Chynna Clugston and Christine Norrie and more — it’s constantly fun and surprising.

In all honesty, I’d forgotten about Hopeless Savages until I saw Oni Press was releasing this collection (this is even despite owning a couple of the books). I don’t think I’m alone in that, sadly.

I do remember how fresh this felt when first came out. Maybe it’s just a matter of my perception, but I do feel like this was a predecessor for a lot of comics we’re seeing. That’s nothing but a good thing.

I’m happy to see this comic get its due and find a legion of new fans as well as get rediscovered by some of us old ones.

]]> 2177 Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World https://www.comicsgirl.com/2010/08/15/review-scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world/ Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:18:27 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=1857 I, of course, went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend.

I liked the movie. It had a great, manic energy and it just kept moving forward without any hesitation. There really wasn’t a wasted moment nor was there any time to stop and get bored. Or honestly, really think. Director Edgar Wright did a beautiful job of capturing the giddy spirit of the comic. It’s a pretty seamless, joyful adaptation and the video game and manga-inspired touches are playful. The whole production design is perfect and spot-on.

But I guess my problems with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World are the same problems I have with the comic. Mostly, Scott Pilgrim himself.

I did enjoy Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic. I think it captures a certain period of life very well. But I think that’s also its flaw. The older I get, the less I’m interested in the drama of young twentysomethings. I did love the final volume of Scott Pligrim and I think O’Malley brought it all together in a very satisfying manner, but I think it took too long to get there.

In some ways, the abbreviated pace of the movie works a bit better for me — it edits down the comic to its essential parts. And as annoying as he can be, I think Michael Cera was perfect for the role of Scott. Mostly because Scott is annoying. When his friends in the movie make fun of his naiveté and idiocy, it’s believable to me whereas it was less so in the comic (I know Scott’s friends in the comic treated him much the same way, but I often felt there was too much implicit approval with regard to Scott’s behavior and we were supposed to be cheering him on. I realize it’s personal, but I’ve known guys who were like Scott at this age, and well, they weren’t people I wanted to celebrate).

In the movie, Scott’s relationship, however chaste it is, with Knives is given a slightly more distasteful overtone. Scott’s too weak to be predatory, but he does come across as more unintentionally opportunistic. Likewise, all the supporting characters, especially Anna Kendrick as Scott’s sister Stacey and Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace, provide the voices of reason and are two of the more interesting parts of the movie.

I don’t think the movie quite did Ramona justice, though. Even in the comic, it did take a while for readers to learn much about her, but here, she mostly remains a mystery. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does play her with some pathos, but there’s not much to work with. I can understand what Scott sees in her — she’s cool and cute — but as for what she sees in Scott, I really don’t know (but unlike the comic, the movie only takes place over a handful of days, rather than a year, so it’s still a very young relationship).

If nothing else, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is incredibly entertaining. All in all, I think this movie is fated to play in dorm rooms for the next decade or so, and definitely shows what it feels like to be young in the early part of the 21st century. And it does have something to say about relationships and their baggage (although I think the movie does sacrifice a lot of the deeper issues of the comic for the sake of fun, which is understandable, but doesn’t make it as meaningful as it could’ve been).

It’s also wonderful in that it reveals what else comics have to offer other than “superheroes” or “serious autobiographical.” Whether or not that will have a lasting impact, I don’t know. Ultimately, I like this movie for what it is, and what it represents. I had fun, even if, in the end, I still feel a little ambivalent about the plot overall.

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