Pen-Elayne on the Web

Blogathon 2003, Post #19
Pen-Elayne For Your Thoughts – AMELIA RULES #10

Written, Illustrated and Colored by Jimmy Gownley
Marketing and Promotion by Karen Gownley
Edited by Michael Cohen
Published by Renaissance Press

Here’s what I thought…

Warning: May Be Spoilers Ahead

This is one of the best all-ages comics that too few people have ever heard of. Gownley's characters are visually reminiscent of Charles Schulz' Peanuts gang, but the comic book format lets him explore them in much more depth than a 4-panel strip would allow. This issue, the final one before the October debut of the six-issue series Amelia Rules!: Superheroes, deals with (among other things) the theme of how misunderstandings and misconceptions lead potential friends to become enemies, and whether that enmity is reversible. Gownley avoids getting either too farcical or too maudlin, giving us (well, me at least) a readily-identifiable picture of childhood (with subtle hints of the adults these kids may someday become) that rings absolutely true. Plus, it's a darn funny story to boot, and paces so well that you don’t even need a scorecard to tell the players; it's all right there, and you pick up who's who as you go along. I can’t say enough about how warm and wonderful this book makes me feel. Highly recommended.

So, what did y'all think?