Book: Lumberjanes, Vol 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Carolyn Nowak (Illustrator), Grace Ellis, Brooke A Allen (Illustrator)

Published December 2016 by BOOM!Box|112 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Lumbejanes Collected Edition #5

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

What gives, two-legs?!

It’s a battle of the bands… with mermaids! April takes it upon herself to restore a friendship that has fallen apart, but will she be in over her head as her above water friendships take a hit? When friendships are challenged, can the Lumberjanes save the day? Don’t miss out on this exciting collection!

This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series written by Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Runaways), Shannon Watters, and Kat Leyh and illustrated by the tremendously talented Brooke Allen (Home for Mr. Easter) and Carolyn Nowak (Rungs).

I can’t believe I’ve read 5 volumes of the Lumberjanes already!  Volume 5 is my favorite one, I think.  For some reason, I really liked the mermaid battle of the bands, and while I liked seeing the start of camp, it felt out of place.  Like, why wait until volume 5 to show the arrival at camp?  That part, I didn’t particularly like, and it made the timeline a little off.

Still, it was nice to see how they became friends, and maybe we’ll see more of it in the future.  I like that friendship is important to the girls, and while I want to see more of how they became friends, I also am not sure about the flashbacks.  Maybe I’ll feel differently if they come up in the future.  I also think I tend to take their friendships as presented- they’ve always been friends, as far as I’m concerned, but I have mixed feelings about actually seeing it.  Maybe I just wasn’t ready or in the mood for it.  Or maybe it was just unexpected.

Basically, I liked it but it wasn’t something I loved.  It was nice, though.

And you can’t go wrong with mermaids.  I hope we see more of the lake and what’s living in it.  It can’t be just mermaids, and I hope we see more of whatever else is living in the lake.  Considering everything else that’s living near the camp, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there were other creatures in that lake.

4 stars.  I did like (but didn’t love) the flashback of seeing the girls meet each other.  I also loved the mermaid battle of the bands.  It was fun to read!

Book: Lumberjanes, Vol 6: Sink Or Swim by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson (Creator), Kat Leyh, Grace Ellis (Creator), Carey Pietsch (Illustrations), Maarta Laiho (Colorist), Brooke A Allen (Creator)

Published April 2017 by BOOM!Box|112 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Lumberjanes Collected Edition #6

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

Knot on your life!

All is fair in love and badges! Or so April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley thought until they met the mysterious counselor, Seafarin’ Karen. When the Lumberjanes decide it’s time to learn more about the theatrical yet intriguing counselor, things take a turn for the strange. Between a sudden storm hitting the camp, shapeshifters, and strange portals,
this is one badge that the Lumberjanes must go above and beyond for.

This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series is written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh(Super Cakes) and illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift).

Collects issues 21-24.

I liked Seafarin’ Karen!  You can’t go wrong with portals and shapeshifters and mysterious counselors.  Seafarin’ Karen is cool, and while I have the feeling that she’s made her one and only appearance, I hope we see her again someday.

The pirate ship was cool, and pirates are pretty awesome.  I’m just waiting for ninjas to show up.  I’m curious to see what else we’ll see.  Anyway, I liked their adventures at sea.  It’s odd, though, because I don’t have much to say about this volume.  It’s fun, and there are a lot of wacky adventures, which is what I love about this series.  At this point, I just don’t have a lot to say about this one.  Maybe I’ll have more to say about the following books.

4 stars.  I really liked it and it’s fun.  Seafarin’ Kare and the selkies are pretty cool.