Battling An Ancient Greek Goddess With Super-Powered Kitties In Lumberjanes #56

An ancient Greek goddess has her sights set on the Lumberjanes camp and she aims to suck up all the magical power contained within. It’s up the the Roanokes to stop her in her tracks as only they can. Armed with kittens with assorted special powers, they will unleash an explosion of chaos that will give this goddess some second thoughts.

Have I told you lately how fun Lumberjanes is to read? Every single issue brings a smile to my face and this one is no different. You have this goddess rampaging through the air with razor sharp teeth and fiery eyes, literally sucking up the fun from all around her. Ripley and the other campers hatch a bizarre plan to basically annoy her to death. It’s everything from getting her name wrong to yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs. Imagine Captain America stopping the Red Skull this way.
Artist Dozerdraws captures this fun perfectly. While there’s some danger involved, the kids aren’t scared; They’re excited and determined. This is just another adventure for them and they’ve been on many. There’s a wide-eyed enthusiasm in every single character as they launch their plan. I mean, camp could be a lot worse than fighting a goddess with super-powered cats.

I love how Ripley is like the master of the felines. This comes in as a turning point for this issue as she has to go back for them. She’s responsible for them and she takes that very seriously. I can’t keep track of them and their powers. I just assume they’ve always been there at this point and their powers can grow and evolve as the story needs them. It’s not like their kitty versions of the X-Men or anything.
The goddess does come across as a little scary at times, if for nothing else than the dark smoke that billows out behind her. It creates an ominous feeling that contrasts with the bright, vibrant world around her. Colorist Maarta Laiho fills these pages with life and energy to the point where those black clouds look unnatural. The characters have to push them away because they just don’t belong here.

Even the lettering adds to the fun of Lumberjanes. The fonts used come across as more playful than your traditional comic book setup. Letterer Aubrey Aiese makes some great choices, playing up the happier moments with word balloons that feel like they’re going to burst from excitement.

This storyline wraps up by the end of the issue, but we know that the peace and quiet the girls have found won’t last long. Their lives are a constant adventure while staying at this camp and it has translated to such a fantastic comic. Lumberjanes is an absolute joy to read each and every month. Writers Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh are firing on all cylinders and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Roanokes.
Lumberjanes #56 from Boom! Studios is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.