Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems #4 (of 4)
Publisher: KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writer: Josceline Fenton
Artist: Chrystin Garland
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Kat Leyh
Subscription Cover: Jeremy Sorese
Incentive Cover: Raven Molisee
Price: $3.99
Final issue! Steven and the Gems try to defend themselves against the Glass Ghost.
Lumberjanes #27
Publisher: BOOM! Box, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writers: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
Artist: Ayme Sotuyo
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Kat Leyh
Incentive Cover: Miranda Harmon
Price: $3.99
The Lumberjanes and Barney try to figure out how to woo giant mystical birds!
Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems #3 (of 4)
Publisher: KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writer: Josceline Fenton
Artist: Chrystin Garland
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Kat Leyh
Subscription Cover: Jeremy Sorese
Variant Cover: Josceline Fenton
Price: $3.99
When Amethyst and Steven show proof of the glass ghost to Pearl, she recalls that Rose was the one who first told her the story.
Lumberjanes #26
Imprint: BOOM! Box
Writer: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
Artists: Ayme Sotuyo
With Rosie and the High Council being stolen away, Jen suddenly finds herself in charge of the camp!
Lumberjanes #25
Imprint: BOOM! Box
Writers: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh, Chynna Clugston Flores
Artists: Carey Pietsch, Laura Lewis & Mad Rupert
Oversized anniversary issue! The High Council is coming to camp and Jen is determined to make everything perfect, even though a storm is brewing and kittens are suddenly getting magical powers. Includes a special back-up story by Chynna Clugston Flores (Blue Monday) and Laura Lewis.
The last issue of the current Lumberjanes arc, which involves selkies, interdimensional travel, and mysterious mariner Seafarin’ Karen wraps up with a splash with Lumberjanes #24. (Sorry.) Though it would certainly be more enjoyable to read this issue as part of the larger story that began with Lumberjanes #21, it still stands on its own quite well.
This issue focuses largely on character development. In Lumberjanes #23, Molly was enticed by the wonders of the alternate dimension, and was forced to contend that adventures with the Bear Woman might come at the cost of her relationship with Mal and the other Lumberjanes. Lumberjanes #24 expands on Molly’s characterization as well as her relationships and brings more light to Ripley’s character. Ripley is probably the youngest and probably least-developed character, so it’s nice to see her given depth beyond the surface characterization of hyperactive tomboy.
It is a testament to the solidity of the Lumberjanes team that each issue is unflaggingly entertaining, both individually and in the larger Lumberjanes canon. Writers Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh continue to demonstrate their strength as writers while pushing the characters into increasingly foreign situations. The departure of creator Noelle Stevenson after Lumberjanes #17 was disappointing (even if it was for totally understandable reasons) but the story hasn’t suffered since she left. Watters and Leyh have run with the writing responsibilities, and continue to build on the same consistently wonderful quality that the book has maintained for two years now.
Carey Pietsch’s art has only bolstered the series during this arc. It has been another constant in the series, along with Maarta Laiho’s vibrant coloring. Both keep the story visually interesting, but illustrate the chaotic adventures of the Lumberjanes in a way that doesn’t cloud the story itself. The art is in turns appropriately fun and serious, and it’s easy to imagine the comic finding popularity as an animated show. As always, the characters’ expressive faces and gestures are one of Pietsch’s biggest successes.
Overall, Lumberjanes #24 brought this arc to a satisfying close just in time for the series’ two-year anniversary. The Lumberjanes will return next month with an oversized Lumberjanes #25 to celebrate two years of camp friendships and shenanigans.
Story: Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh Art: Carey Pietsch
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.
Lumberjanes #24
Imprint: BOOM! Box
Writers: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
Artist: Carey Pietsch
The Lumberjanes wrap up their adventure with Seafarin’ Karen and Molly gains a greater understanding of shapeshifters.
As with the last few issues, Lumberjanes #23 was written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh and drawn by Carey Pietsch. Both the writing and the art have been consistently good in this arc, and with five well-developed characters, the writers are able to throw the girls into a variety of unexpected adventures while still developing their characters. The expressions Carey Pietsch gives the girls are entertaining and give them personality and a sense of relatability and Maarta Laiho’s vibrant colors bring everything to life.
Lumberjanes, while an excellent comic for younger readers, is just as entertaining for adults and that remains true in this issue. Older readers will probably pick up on more of the subtextual plot. Though Mal and Molly’s mutual pining is pretty glaringly obvious at this point, it will be interesting to see where their relationship goes after Molly experiences the pull of the parallel dimension.
It’s hard to tell where this arc will fall in terms of the collected editions. The adventures of the Lumberjanes and Seafarin’ Karen have already covered three issues, but the delay in trade release means that the collected story may not be released until next year. Despite this, the individual issues continue to be worth picking up for their awesome art, adventure, and wit.
Story: Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh Art: Carey Pietsch and Maarta Laiho
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.
Man, I’m starting to think Mal might have the right idea about water after this issue.
With the rest of the Lumberjanes camp on storm watch, the Roanoke cabin is still out in the wild, with Molly and Ripley in the other world with the Bear Woman and Mal, April, and Jo stranded out on the lake with Karen and the Selkies.
Lumberjanes #23 admittedly feels like a low point in this arc. Not to say that it’s bad, but it does move a lot slower than the rest of this arc so far. Not a lot of progress gets made on the front with the selkies and Karen, beside April brokering a temporary truce between Karen and the selkies and a better understanding of what is causing the whirlpools.
However, most of what moves this issue is Molly and the Bear Woman. Molly hasn’t been a character that has gotten a lot of solo focus so far, so it’s interesting to see just how her brain works in the bits of the issue we do get to see of her. She’s smart, observant, and a pretty great shot with a bow and arrow. She’s also insecure and worried about returning home to her parents at the end of the summer, and the Bear Woman seems ready to prey on that.
No, not prey. That might be too harsh a term. She is certainly ready to take advantage of that to get Molly to stay and “get the real Lumberjanes experience.” Once again, the divide between The Bear Woman and Rosie that drove Abigail away comes to the forefront, if only for a page or two as The Bear Woman looks to get a new apprentice, potentially driving a similar wedge between Molly and her friends. This is very much a long game kind of story and it will be interesting to see where it goes.
Once again, Carey Pietsch and Maarta Laiho knock it out of the park on art. Pietsch’s strength in expressions gets a lot of play here as Molly racks her brain about the other world and the ones on the boat get stuck in an increasingly perilous situation. Her Ripley is also delightful as she goes off on her own solo adventure after a moth and there’s one panel with Molly the Science Gal that is a nice surprise in the middle of this issue. Most of this issue relies on scenery though and every piece of it in this issue is crisp, distinctive and sometimes frightening.
As for Laaiho, she’s usually an MVP on colors, but there are subtle things she does in this issue that make all the difference. A slightly green tone in Molly’s face as she realizes she’s lost track of Ripley. How she manages to capture the saturated glow of a forest in the middle of a storm. Her colors are beautiful and tend to not get as much focus when people are talking about just what makes Lumberjanes so great.
While Lumberjanes #23 may not be the most action driven issue, it does a great job of giving Molly some character work that will probably come into play later. Pietsch and Laiho’s work together on art is also beautiful and gets a bit more play with scenery than most Lumberjanes stories. Let’s just hope they’re going to find their way out of this current scrape by the end of the next issue because it’s more of a doozy than usual.
Story: Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh Art: Carey Pietsch and Maarta Laiho
Story: 7.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read
Boom! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Lumberjanes #23
Imprint: BOOM! Box
Writers: Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh
Artist: Carey Pietsch
Molly spends time with the Bear Woman to learn more about shape-shifters, and the girls finally have a plan to help Seafarin’ Karen get her boat back!
