Emily the Strange (2005), Volume 1

November 27, 2006
Equal parts Edward Gorey and MTV's Daria
, Emily, an icon to the Hot Topic crowd, is a walking brew of teenage ennui filtered through a Halloweenish, macabre sensibility and tons of red and black ink. Now she conquers the comics with a collection of brief but mordant episodes. The first deals with Emily's extreme boredom and her failed attempts at defeating it, like stitching the head of a rooster onto the body of a kangaroo, creating, of course, the world's first kangarooster, or interviewing punk legends the Damned in a cemetery. In "The Lost Issue," she visits Oz only to find Ozzy Osbourne in the ruler's throne and loses herself in a warehouse store—Lostco—where the free food samples ("Goat Pockets," or tandoori lint) turn shoppers into zombies. Much of the pleasure comes from the writing team's acumen for pun-craft : "Lost in Space" is a veritable cauldron of semi-bad puns referencing everything from Super Mario Brothers and The Matrix
to Alice in Wonderland
. Visually, the book is a feast of shadow and Lovecraftian nastiness while remaining just a bit cute. Disaffected teens who have already embraced the Emily empire to their sorrowful bosoms should like this fine.

May 1, 2007
Gr 10 Up-With her sharp wit, dark clothing, and even darker attitude, Emily Strange is a Wednesday Addams for the goth-punk generation. This volume collects three issuesThe Boring Issue, The Lost Issue, and The Dark Issueof the comic book series published in 2005 and 2006. Not so much a graphic novel but a series of short strips and vignettes, it chronicles the brooding teen's constant battles against boredom. Whether it's through magic spells, macabre science experiments, or directing a movie about the birth of the world starringwho elseherself, her fight is a ghoulishly entertaining romp of imagination and wordplay. Most of the stories are entirely original, while some of the tales are clever parodies of classic fantasy stories like "Alice in Wonderland", "Wizard of Oz", and the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Done by four different people across all the various story lines, the artwork runs the full range of techniques from hand-drawn to painted to computer illustration. Despite the differences, all achieve the same feel with a limited color palette of black and whiteand the occasional red for things like blood or lipstick. The quality is a bit uneven from story to story, with some of the tales falling prey to cheap gags or one-liners that aren't as funny as they should be. But when it works, it works in a biting, pithy way that smart kids will appreciate."Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2006
This is a compilation of three previously published editions of the highly popular Emily the Strange series. Some adults may mistake Emily for a Goth, but she most certainly does not reflect Goth philosophy or lifestyle. Instead, Emily is the epitome of what teens today refer to as "emo"dark, angst-ridden, and highly emotional. The artwork, almost entirely done in black, white, gray, and red, reflects Emily's mood, as do the stories and other sections that frame the stories. Yet both the imagery and the narratives still contain considerable humor. From her strange interview with Elvira the Vampire to the Wizard of Oz parody featuring the "Wonderful Blizzard of Ozz," Ozzy Osbourne, it is easy to see why Emily has caught the attention of so many YA readers. Suitable for middle and high school students, this collection features little violence, no sex, and oblique references to the occasional swear word. As with many North American graphic novels, it is printed on good quality, glossy paper with a binding that should last many readings. Highly recommended.Diane Gallagher-Hayashi, Stelly's Sch., Saanich Sch. Dist., Saanichton, B.C.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.