Luc Boyce Comic Reviews

Of course, the problem with putting out only the first issue is that it places a lot of pressure on the follow-up. EVERLAND #1 is by no means a complete story " it only contains the seeds of what is to come. Its main selling points are the incredible display of world-building Dan Lee has achieved and the characters' strong personalities. This works very well as an introduction, but by the end of the comic, it's clear that issue one is only a springboard for what's to come. It's hard to predict the next move the series willmake. This is a good thing " EVERLAND is in no way predictable, and its central idea is charming. The idea of people living and attempting to flourish in a literal Disneyland is a concept that merits exploration. But the stakes are high. It's important that futureissues of EVERLAND live up to the high standard set by the first. In any case, I await the next installment with bated breath.

Though it's packaged with cute humor and stylish artwork, SNOTGIRL #1 fails to convey the sense of youthful curiosity and self-discovery it aims at. Perhaps as the series continues, the story will fall into its stride and deliver the effortless emotional punch that O'Malley is truly capable of. But as it stands now, SNOTGIRL becomes a middling-at-best teenage drama that's sadly lacking in hilarity. Hopefully O'Malley will put down his storytelling crutches soonand rediscover a voice that's original and unique.