Jessica (HDB)

So I feel a bit like the odd man out on this one. I originally picked this up for review because tons of people around me were singing its praises. That, and the fact that Brian K Vaughan wooed me with Saga. Perhaps my hopes for this one were a little too high.

The premise of Paper Girls seems cool. Set in the 1980's, when paper delivery was still a thing and walkie-talkies were in place of cell phones. These girls were pretty bad-ass from the start, and that's one thing that I really did like about this graphic novel. I love a strong girl character, and here I was given 4.

Truly, the problem is that so much happens in this first volume that it's extremely overwhelming. There was no backstory on the girls, which I could have forgiven, but then weirdness was stacked on top of weirdness. After a while, I couldn't even attempt to follow the story anymore. This book is either trying for aliens, or time travel. Maybe both? I still couldn't tell you.

My other issue was that the art just isn't my cup of tea. There are no crisp lines, or vivid colors. I guess it kind of goes along with the story, to a certain extent. However, and this absolutely might have been because of the review copy I received, the lettering felt really off. It didn't vibe with the illustrations at all, although it was blessedly easy to read.

This was just a whole package of things that didn't quite click for me. As I mentioned though, there are a lot of fans of this series out there. So don't discount it. This may absolutely be for you.