After just three issues, “Lumberjanes” proves to be one of the best all-ages comics of this year. In the midst of fighting off three-eyed mutant beasts and surviving their way through a dastardly tunnel full of ancient booby traps, the “hardcore lady types” of the Lumberjane summer camp show real heart and character, each girl more unique than the next.

WRITTEN BY: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis

ART BY: Brooke Allen

PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios

PRICE: $3.99

RELEASE: June 11, 2014

Review By: Bree Odgen

The Lumberjanes have landed themselves, literally, in a deep cave full of insane booby traps including talking stone giants. They work their way through the tunnel slowly and methodically beating all the traps thanks to a skill or physical attribute that is unique to each girl. The individuality of the girls is used like a rung in the ladder that leads them out of whatever disastrous situation they find themselves in. It will always likely be their personalities and the way they work together that save these ladies.

So… these girls are my absolute favorite. They show the perfect amount of complexity for a teenager while being likable and utterly darling at the same time. At times they are fearless, funny, outlandish, and unstoppable. They will embrace magic and mysticism at the drop of a hat and in the same breath, be terrified or sad about their situation. Stevenson and Ellis have crafted the perfect teenage girls to give you realistic emotional whiplash while still being tough and intelligent. They are the new generation of Power Puff Girls. They are quirky and tough and adorable.

Perhaps the most impressive part about “Lumberjanes” is its subtlety in exploring the diversity of tween girls in the 21^st century. What could have so easily become an issue book about misfit teens roughing it in the woods against magical elements has completely thrown all the clichéd expectations away and instead has succeeded at the elusive exploration of diversity. Each girl has carved out a great niche for herself to fit her own big personality, but the book isn’t out their individual niches, it’ about life when they all fit together.

When you mix together the quirky writing, eccentric made-up slang, relatable personalities, and the occasional fantastical element, with the outrageously fun illustrations and the amazing lettering (seriously, I’m so into the lettering on this comic) you get a stellar comic that’s perfectly distinctive and too cool for its own good.