
IDW Publishing 2018
Written by Jen Vaughn
Illustrated by Michelle Wong
Coloured by Triona Tree Farrell
Lettered by Christa Miesner
When Mitra and her two besties find a phone with the latest and greatest technology and apps, they think they are dreaming. But when push (notifications) come to shove, they might be living a nightmare!
I was a fan of the previous story and I saw no reason I wouldn’t be a fan of this one and I was right. First day of school and best friends Mitra and Kyra meet Flips who is a new student and a gamer. The three girls kind of strike up a brand new friendship, though Mitra seems more put out by Krya’s new interest in the new girl. Now we have no idea when this is supposed to take place and by that I mean how old the girls are and what year they are in at school. I want to say middle school because I don’t see breasts but junior high school would fit too. Regardless the smart unpopular girls just made a new friend who’s like them.
The writing is fantastic and the structure of the book allowing us to see the ebb & flow which is pretty awesome. While I would almost say the set up is too long it’s really okay because honestly I think that this was the way to go so we could get to see and learn about Mitra. While the three girls are best friends the main focus here on Mitra and what we see happening within these pages it is easy to see why. I like a nice complicated character, one who has unrequited love or maybe just a crush on a girl, anger issues, trust issues and well the whole brother thing yeah Mitra is a girl with a lot issues.
The gaming angle here is cute and while I do not play video games myself I do know enough about it that what we see here is pretty accurate. Everything that I am seeing here with these girls is Jen at her finest. She nails this in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain it really is something you have to experience. The characterisation, the plot & story advancement is so incredibly strong and entertaining so much so you forget that this primarily a kids book.
Michelle and Triona’s work on the interiors here is nicely done. It has that all-ages aspect to it and yet there is still that attention to detail that you don’t normally see but it’s greatly appreciated. The utilisation of backgrounds is another aspect not normally seen in all-ages books so that we do here is superb! The use of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a good solid eye for storytelling. There is a lot of character coming from the interiors and it lulls us into this complacency for what is to come.
Alright so when the L’Objet du Jour arrives and sets Slappy’s plan in motion that’s when things begin to get interesting. Well to be fair I am not sure that this is his plan yet but with his track record it may or may not be a good bet. Regardless I do have to admit, more than after last arc, that I am terribly excited to see what Slappy has in store. I mean his particular brand of crazy evil is utterly delightful and no matter how you slice it he’s the main reason anyone is picking this up. Though the girls and Jen’s writing in every aspect could change all that.
Witty, complicated and all kinds of fun this is what comics are all about.