GN Review -- The Plain Janes / Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

I remember The Plain Janes being the first graphic novel I'd picked up by Minx, an imprint of DC Comics that advertised itself as a publisher for comics that would feature teenage girls as their protagonists.  Ironically, it wouldn't be the first I ended up reading--that honor went to Kimmie66.  But after finishing both, I thought the publisher was really onto something successful.

I found out shortly after that Minx had just recently folded.

The Plain Janes, like Good As Lily and many of its other publications, showed that it was possible to write good stories for as presumably niche an audience as teenage girls, and makes the demise of the publisher all the more tragic when you consider how popular that audience seems to be at present.  It begins with the story of Jane, a teenager who survives a bombing attack in Metro City, only to be hustled to Suburbia by her relieved but overprotective parents.  Jane struggles to fit in initially, but soon finds a group of girls--also named Jane--who she eventually befriends.

They stage a series of "art attacks" in their neighborhood, which gets the attention of the authorities, who view them as subversive defacement.  Despite several attempts at intimidation, the authorities are unable to identify Jane's group of vigilante artists, known as P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods), and Jane continues to experience a sense of fulfillment in challenging the town's perceptions of art.  Eventually she and her friends must decide whether it is more important to let the authorities have their way and stop the art attacks, or to continue them and be true to their artistic integrity and passion.

The message I ended up taking away from The Plain Janes underscores the idea that art and artistic expression is important in reminding communities about the passions and hopes of the individuals who make them up.  Jane plans and stages them with her friends as a way of challenging societal perceptions about the things that go on in their town, with the intention of getting them to think about what is truly important.  Not everyone sees it that way, of course, but that's not enough to deter P.L.A.I.N. from its mission, which I found to be heartening reminder of sticking up for what's important to you.

While the plot was enjoyable, I think one problem with the writing involved how the ending came about without any real resolution.  I mean, sure, the art gang will continue, but no attention is given to Damon's fate, or what P.L.A.I.N. will do about it.  The main and supporting characters were also pleasant and fun, but a couple of them ran the risk of being two-dimensional, like the overzealous police officer who's also a jerk.

Artistically, I think the style is simple, but overall very pleasant.  It reminded me slightly of Daniel Clowes's style in Ghost World, though it's a bit less detailed than that.  There are a couple of places where it seems a little flat, but they're pretty rare and often lost among the expressiveness of the characters or the larger action of the story.  It's not anything particularly special, but it's not bad either, and Jim Rugg does a fine job of visually supporting the narrative.

Overall, I enjoyed the story in The Plain Janes, as well as how it was told.  The main and supporting characters are interesting, the artwork is pleasant, and the overall message of the story regarding the importance of art to a community is well communicated.  Art lovers, rebels, and those seeking strong girl characters will want to give this a read.  Recommended.

GN Review -- Good As Lily / Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm

Many adults remember questioning their place in the world as teenagers, and many teenagers have more than a few questions about identity and where they'll end up as adults.  What are the important things in life?  Who am I, and who will I become?  What am I supposed to do with my life?  Often, the answer may present itself by thinking about the kind of person we are and have been, as well as imagining--or in the case of Good As Lily, seeing--what the future might hold for you.

Grace Kwon is a bright, charismatic young woman who's just turned 18. She's been accepted into Stanford, and has a group of friends that adore her and whom she adores.  She seems to have it all, but being on the precipice of college life and adulthood poses a lot of uncertainties for her.  She has a crush on her young drama teacher, which the students all seem to know about, is apprehensive about what direction to take with all her talent and determination, and has a number of issues with the various people in her life.

Things take a turn for the fantastic when she, upon retrieving a t-shirt her friend Jeremy's had gifted to her back at the park where they celebrated, encounters three strange versions of herself at different ages: age 6, 29, and 70.  Freaked out by what they represent on several levels, Grace hides her various selves in her room and tries hard to wish them away.  They interact with her at several points, affecting her life and relationships with others in various ways for the better, worse, and at times just plain chaotic.  As she gradually resolves various issues with her family and her own perceptions of her self-worth, they gradually disappear, their insights and help having taught her a few things about life and giving her a better sense of direction as she realizes what's important to her.

This is an uplifting and well written story about making choices in life and living with the consequences, whatever they might be.  Grace, a charming and likeable young Korean woman who seems to have everything going for her, is not without her own issues, insecurities, and personal nemeses, be they an inferiority complex about being made fun of as a child, the feeling of being forever second to a dead sister in the eyes of her parents, an unrequited and idealized crush on a man she can never have, or the inability to see her friend Jeremy's long-standing attraction for her.  Her various selves represent choices made about those issues, as well as the baggage she has as she considers her own future.

Her youngest self represents her at her most awkward.  She is a greedy little eater, and fat, and was made fun of by her classmates, some of whom still choose to bully her in high school.  Her adult self is self-absorbed and shallow, and tries to use her good looks and charm to seduce the man she couldn't have as a teenage student.  Her elderly self is a bitter woman who lived a life of solitude, and now has nothing but cigarettes and liquor to look forward to as a result.  Realizing how blind she had been in her younger years to the attentions of others helps the main character to overcome that obstacle, perhaps changing her own future.

The characters are memorable, and play majorly into how these issues are resolved, making for amusing, dramatic, and often poignant situations.  Little Grace's resolution causes a bake sale to go awry in the worst possible way, but Teen Grace's talk with her family about Lily sets both of their issues at ease in a heartwarming way.  Elder Grace at one point attempts to commit suicide, but is saved by a frantic and eloquent Jeremy, who helps her to realize both how blind she'd been to him and that life's little miracles make it worth continuing.

I enjoyed Hamm's artwork, which didn't really focus on presenting detail as much as conveying expression and mood.  It makes for a style that is simple, well rendered, and which serves the story extremely well.  Hamm fills the conveyance of a gesture or a simple facial expression or twitch with meaning, and keeps you reading for the visuals every bit as much as for the enjoyable and well-told story.

My one fair-sized issue with this tale is the title, which revolves around a sister of Grace's who died at age 8, suddenly from meningitis.  The issues with Lily, while perhaps large, are given little direct attention, which is some cause for confusion.  There's just enough given so that you know that it's an issue, but a more in-depth exploration of that plot thread might have enhanced the work.

Overall, I find this to be a very good story, and a definite must-read for anyone who's ever had questions about identity, what's important in life, and who they want to become.  Grace and her various selves make the journey both highly entertaining and more than a little educational.  The artwork is expressive and well-done, and the supporting cast help make the story memorable.  Highly recommended.