Brave Chef Brianna highlights the struggles of a young woman to recognize her own skills in a fantasy setting. Brianna is the youngest daughter of a chef with an empire of cookbooks and TV shows. He knows his time is passing, so he sets up a competition among his children, to start a successful restaurant. Brianna can cook, but she suffers from some mix of depression and anxiety, an inner monologue symbolized by a floating dark shape that tells her […]

Although paperback collections of the entertaining Giant Days series have been coming out, Boom! has now released the series’ first hardcover, with a nifty extra. Giant Days: Not on the Test Edition collects the first eight issues written by John Allison. The bulk of the book (the first six) are illustrated by Lissa Treiman, with Max Sarin taking over after that. These issues introduce Daisy (naive), Esther (goth object of desire and center of drama), and Susan (relentlessly practical) in […]

I’ve come to realize that the appeal of Lumberjanes for me is rarely what happens in any given issue — and sometimes, as with the mermaids, I don’t care that much for a particular plot — but instead, the cute little moments that honestly bring a smile to my face are my favorite bits. Issue #39 is part three of a story written by Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh and illustrated by Ayme Sotuyo that began in issue #37, about […]

It’s a new story arc for Lumberjanes, one that explores more about who these scouts were before they came to camp. As the cover shows, it’s Parents’ Day. Only that becomes tricky when so much of what happens involves the supernatural. The campers want to keep that a secret so they aren’t sent home early. And Molly’s parents aren’t coming, for some reason that we know is more than she’s saying. But that’s something to discover in coming issues. In […]

The adventures of Princess Maxine, wannabe detective, conclude for now with a happy ending. (Did you expect anything else?) For the previous four issues, accompanied by her talking pony, she’s been visiting fun, fantastic kingdoms while searching for her missing little brother. Kelly Thompson uses classic ideas about princesses in fresh new ways, particularly in this issue, with a twist on the Frog Prince story. And I have to praise Brianne Drouhard’s art — she does a wonderful job drawing […]

Brianna’s part of a cooking family. But with a celebrity chef father and a bunch of accomplished older brothers, she doesn’t feel good enough. Then dad announces he’s dying, and to establish his legacy, he tells his children to go start their own restaurants, and the one who is most successful will inherit it all. The first few pages set up the premise well: Only Brianna isn’t particularly competitive, and her youth is a disadvantage. She jumps at an invite […]

Must be something in the water recently, as this is the second Boom! comic I’ve read that explains how to play roller derby. Of course, since that’s the setting of Slam!, it’s essential information, and it leads into something of a change-of-pace chapter. You can see the opening pages here: Now that we’ve gotten to know the characters, particularly the core duo of Jennifer and Maisie, this issue switches to action, showing the reader what it would be like to […]

As in the previous issue, Giant Days #24 continues exploring what it means to be an adult and take care of yourself, this time through contrast. Susan’s terribly sick and has lost her voice. Her dad, a handyman from Northampton, comes to take care of her. He winds up staying, as the girls like being taken care of, perhaps too much. He cooks for them, takes them to the movies, and helps them figure out what’s happened to the next-door […]