Lumberjanes, Vol. 15: Birthday Smarty by Shannon Watters

Lumberjanes, Vol. 15: Birthday Smarty Reviews

• 
  Baba

  It's Jo's birthday and April is insistent that she needs to make it a very special day as she always has done in their lifelong friendship; all Mal has to do is keep Jo distracted all day. This slightly edgy and very pro women friendships series has really found it's place as a vanilla book with a little bit of mainstream edge and although nice and at times entertaining lacks any real bite. 6 out of 12.
  
  The shout-out to notable women from history is the singularly inspiring and awesome thing about this series... Ladies of Llangollen it's Jo's birthday!
  
  
• 
  Alyssa Black

  I’ve learned that the drawing style is hit or miss for me and affects my enjoyment of certain comics. I love Lumberjanes; this particularly volume is drawn in a style that I find really distracting and hard to distinguish between characters. Not my favorite.
• 
  rachel, x

  #1)
  Lumberjanes, Vol 1: Beware the Holy Kitten ★★★☆☆
  #2)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max ★★☆☆☆
  #3)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan ★★★★☆
  #4)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 4: Out of Time ★★★★☆
  #5)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 5: Band Together ★★★★☆
  #6)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 6: Sink or Swim ★★★☆☆
  #7)
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 7: A Bird-Eye's View ★★★★☆
  #8)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 8: Stone Cold ★★★★☆
  #10
  Lumberjanes, Vol. 10: Parents' Day ★★★★☆
  #11)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 11: Time After Crime ★★★★☆
  #12)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 12: Jackalope Springs Festival ★★★★★
  #13)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 13: Indoor Recess ★★★★☆
  #14)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 14: X Marks the Spot ★★★☆☆
  #16)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 16: Mind Over Mettle ★★★★☆
  #17)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 17: Smitten in the Stars ★★★☆☆
  #18)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 18: Horticultural Horizons ★★★☆☆
  #19)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 19: A Summer to Remember ★★★☆☆
  #20)
  Lumberjanes Vol. 20: End of Summer ★★★★★

  
  
  this was the worst sequel since volume two and the art style (yes, another art change! kill me now!) was a disgrace
  
  ➸ Trigger warnings for drowning mentioned.
  
  
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• 
  Marc *Dark Reader of the Woods*

  Good story, good writing. The art though. The series gets hit with yet another brand new visual style. I think they’ve gotten worse and worse. This latest is flat and makes every character look like Moose from Archie comics.
  
  I can see the appeal in providing a forum for multiple artists to gain exposure and experience, but I dislike the wildly different styles that have been applied to this series since its genesis. The characters are barely recognizable; they retain distinctive features in their clothing and hair, but wow do they otherwise look completely changed every couple of collected volumes.
  
  It’s akin to a TV series recasting every role each season. No one would stand for that. To me, a good graphic novel is a marriage of the story and art. Can you imagine Saga if a new artist took over with a completely new look every 10 issues?
• 
  Devann

  Another adorable volume of Lumberjanes. This one mainly centers around April trying to plan a surprise birthday for Jo and some other Lumberjanes but the rest of the gang manages to have a pretty cool adventure with Seafarin' Karen and the selkies as well. Anytime I need a fun light read I check to see if there are new volumes of Lumberjanes out.
• 
  MysteriousPanda

  Read as individual issues.
  
  I really didn't like the art in these issues. It wasn't bad art, I just preferred the previous art styles. But the story was cute and adorable, and it felt like a nice change to the last few volumes which were starting to get a bit repetitive. My only gripe is that while Jo enjoyed her surprise, she didn't talk to April about not liking the big parties. Still, it was an enjoyable romp.
• 
  Paula Phillips

  It's birthday celebrations happening at the Lumberjanes camp and one of those girls celebrating their birthdays is Jo. For years ever since they were young ones, April has been planning a birthday party after a birthday party for Jo, always try to best the previous year's birthday party. This year though Jo isn't at all excited as she knows that April will try and make it all about herself, little does she know that April has put a lot of effort into this party and decided that the correct Lumberjane way is to share the birthday spirit? However, will Jo and Mal get back in time to help celebrate the party as Jo has other plans and sabotaged the rafting trip? Of course, we also have the Selkies joining in as their captain has disappeared and needs saving which wouldn't be a proper Lumberjane novel without adventure and magical beings. I do have to admit though, I am wondering if the Lumberjanes graphic novels are on their way out for me and done their dash as the last few haven't been as great as the previous volumes. I love the friendship factors but the adventures just haven't felt the same and the group has been divided rather than the whole cabin working together. In saying that, I will see how I fare with the later releases and if you love Girl Scouts/Brownies or Pippins - then the Lumberjanes graphic novels are perfect reading material.
• 
  Alex Nonymous

  Curse Shannon Watters and the rest of the team behind these for reminding me how adorable this series is every time I'm always ready to read the next one. I think this was one of the best ones yet.
• 
  Amber Scaife

  April goes all out (and that's saying something for her) to create the best surprise birthday party every for Jo, who is secretly not that jazzed about it. Oh, and there's a giant sea serpent. Because of course there is.
  Another great entry in the series. I love these girls so much.
• 
  Samantha

  Just okay. The artwork was very meh for me, and the storyline was also not my favorite. I will love April forever.
• 
  Liz

  Read as separate issues.
  
  This series is super cute and a great pick-me-up! Not a whole ton of plot in this one but like how it explored the relationships between April/Jo and, to a lesser extent, Mal and Molly, more. Also enjoyed the callbacks to previous volumes with Seafarin' Karren, etc.
• 
  ShamNoop

  Decent story but the art ruins it
• 
  Chris Lemmerman

  April's plan for the perfect party for Jo gets derailed by a sea monster, selkies, and the sheer insanity of the Lumberjanes camp in this birthday themed story arc.
  
  There's a lot packed into these four issues; it feels very dense with all the 'Janes getting their own plot running parallel until they all reunite at the end for the party. There's some nice continuity with Mal's fear of water, and some returning friends as well.
  
  Newcomer Annemarie Rogers' artwork takes a little getting used to, since it's a lot more detailed than previous Lumberjanes artists, so it can seem a bit overwrought at times, but after an issue or so it's like she's been the 'Janes artist for years.
  
  Another fun entry for the Lumberjanes annals.
• 
  Samantha

  I felt like this volume lacked a plot and really anything exciting. The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars is because I found the whole idea of creating the perfect birthday for your best friend, cute. I remember in middle school and high school my group of friends always tried to go all out and make birthdays special and something to look forward to. Friendships like that are more like family. You create a bond that will last. And just because I feel like I mention this all the time, I must do it again haha.. the artwork - while better than some of the volumes - still wasn't my favorite.
• 
  Jasmine

  Not wanting to disappoint your friend who is doing something nice for you was a good theme for a lumberjane book. Although they never actually talked about it so Jo is going to have to deal again next year.
• 
  Shelley

  4 star story, 2 star art. April is determined to celebrate Jo's birthday in the biggest fashion, and everyone gets mixed up in new adventures. I quite enjoyed Wren the stage manager especially!
• 
  Freya

  Review to come :)
• 
  Dawn

  This is a solid LJ collection, but the fifth star is really for that GORGEOUS cover!
• 
  Brooke

  3.5
  This was cute. I really just enjoy the friendships and I hope a relationship develops more soon.
  I feel like I say the same thing every time I read and review one of these.
• 
  Esteyle

  gooder
• 
  Anna Marie

  Birthdays can be hard. April has a very special birthday party planned for Jo. Can she pull it off when everything can go wrong in such special ways? Lots of plans going astray and lots of love.
• 
  Elyse

  This one was a delightful little volume about April planning Jo's birthday party. A lot of side characters from previous volumes made appearances and that was fun.
• 
  Alissa

  Sigh! The previous volume, the one where Ripley and the Magical Kittens defeat the bad guy, was legit the BEST thing ever. Praise be the Holy Kitten! It restored my faith in the series, which had been dwindling, in my opinion.
  
  Unfortunately, Birthday Smarty was the worst yet. The storyline was just "meh" and I absolutely hated the artwork!! it looked more like roughed-in sketches than polished art worthy of publication. I couldn't finish this, guys. Sorry.
• 
  Emily

  Read as individual issues
• 
  Bill Coffin

  This is a collective review for the entire Lumberjanes series.
  
  I’ve been wanting to do a complete Lumberjanes read-through ever since I bought the first TPB at the New York ComiCon, back when the series first started. My son and I had just finished reading Namona together, and I was a big Noelle Stevenson fan on the back of that, so Lumberjanes was an obvious choice for what to read next. I read the first few volumes, and then let it sit for a few years as the series ran its course. Now, I have the chance to go back and take it all in as a single, extended reading. So what’s the verdict?
  
  Lumberjanes is a magnificent comic property. Even if it doesn’t speak to you directly (and it doesn’t always speak that strongly to me), the truth is that a book with this much heart, accessibility, respect for each others’ differences, love for a good yarn, and investment in its own characters is a book worth everyone��s notice.
  
  The story involves a very long and unusual summer for a gang of young women at a summer camp where mythical beasts roams and time works at its own pace. It is full of both epic danger and mundane camp stuff, where we might see our heroines fighting a creature from Greek myth one volume, and play a board game of their own making in another. For them, this time-warping summer camp experience is an extended exercise in facing the many challenges of burgeoning adulthood, where growing together matters more than growing up.
  
  Throughout the Lumberjanes is a strong commitment to representation, and this book really delivers there. Just about every reader can easily see themselves in Lumberjanes, which is a feature, not a bug. Even though the stories themselves can hit a kind of rut without any real stakes or advancement of characters or meta-plot (this was especially the case once Stevenson moved off the book), the fact remains that this is a story that provides a much-needed presence in the world of graphic storytelling. You’re not going to find many books this overwhelmingly positive, especially to any dimension of diversity within the audience, and in a comics scene that so often meets diversity kicking and screaming, Lumberjane’s steadfast embrace of our differences really matters. There are more than a few books that feel cut from the Lumberjanes cloth nowadays, but one imagines they wouldn’t be around if not for Lumberjanes themselves. And you know what? We’re all better for it. Whether you like this book or not, you must respect it, and that is no small thing.
• 
  Freddie

  This volume has a couple of things holding it back from being a 4 or even 5. The art style itself is probably my least favorite one used so far and the character development could have gone a little further but it’s kinda cop out ending messed it up.
  I’ll go into spoilers for the rest of the review
  
  Story: I really enjoy the continuity references from some of the previous chapters. It makes the world feel way more grounded. I loved seeing some past characters which is probably why I gave this a 3 and not a 2. Mal oddly gets some time to shine and you see her growth, she’s probably the most well developed of the Roanokes along with Molly. Basically all the janes have grown on me except for April. Which is where my problems with this issue come up.
  
  Art: The art while the panel composition; posing, and backgrounds are pretty good the art style is painfully simple. And straight up messy in a lot of panels.
  
  Rant: April is probably one of the only protagonists of lumberjanes that I actually don’t like. I think this is where also the problem with the big cast comes up. It’s hard to develop all of them. In this volume they tried to develop Jo and April’s friendship which was very welcome, except it goes no where. For the entire volume I was just so frustrated with April, she suffers from bad writing and is terribly unlikeable. In the mermaid arc when she last had a big spotlight like this she wasn’t this unsufferable as I felt genuinely wanted to help them. But here she’s basically obsessive putting everyone through the ringer. But all the Janes are okay? And she is pretty selfish and that needs to be addressed. And Jo says Aprils selfish herself. But in the end they kinda cop out and Jos fine with the party and doesn’t tell her about what she thought earlier. I feel in a comic like lumberjanes that’s trying to do character development they should defiantly try to give April a real arc. Friendships no matter how long they’ve been going on for aren’t always going to be 100 percent perfect and Jo and April’s should be expanded on. If not that then at least April herself. While she is trying to help people she comes off and very obsessive and seeming to do it because it’s what she think they wanted.
  
  TL:DR April is definetly the worst written Jane, and while I appreciate the character driven arcs this one copped out.
• 
  Katherine

  It’s Jo’s birthday, and April is pulling out all the stops to throw her the biggest birthday bash ever. She’s been planning a surprise party, and recruits her other cabinmates and the theater crew to put on the most exciting play ever. With Mal set to distract Jo and keep her away from the preparations, everything seems to be going according to plan. But Mal might have been a little too thorough- will the birthday girl even make it back to camp in time for her special party?
  
  This is a sweet volume of Lumberjanes, it’s so nice to pick up the story again for a fun birthday celebration. Of course, it’s not always the birthday person’s favorite thing to be the center of attention. While April wants to lavish her friend with an incredible, unforgettable party, Jo is embarrassed by the attention and very reluctant to be the birthday star. I love birthdays, but as much as I love to celebrate it can take a lot of energy. Luckily April has energy in spades, and she pivots at the last minute to make a really great party gesture- it turns what could have been a tough moment for Jo into a really heartwarming event for the whole camp. I can’t wait to meet up with the Lumberjanes for their next round of shenanigans!
• 
  Megan

  Finally finished this “Lumberjanes” book after taking waaaaay too long with it (I just got too caught up in my own life, but no worries... sat in five hour traffic to catch on up, lol).
  
  Compared to the last books I’ve read in this series, this one just did not live up the rest. I wasn’t really interested in either stories that were going on, although, I guess, out of two, I found April’s party planning a smidge more interesting (especially with all the different characters that got involved and all the things everyone had to do like Mal getting her naval badge, Molly dealing with the bugs in the basement that April, Ripley, and Mal had encountered a couple comics ago, and the Yetis doing whatever the fuck they do). I am glad Jo had a good birthday in the end, but, although she got mad at April at one point, I think April has really good intentions in the end (although I do get it because I don’t really like my birthday and doing birthday things either).
  
  Art has changed again for the millionth time. It’s not the worst art we’ve experienced in this book series, but I do not like it. I preferred the art in the last two editions than this one.