While we were at New York Comic Con, the Geekosystem crew did a lot of things. We sat on panels, interviewed celebrities, partied with our friends at The Mary Sue… and picked up a lot of outstanding books.
One of those books is The Cute Girl Network by Greg Means, M.K. Reed, and Joe Flood, which comes out from First Second on November 12th. Unfamiliar with this upcoming book? Here’s the quick synopsis from the publisher.
Jane’s new in town. When she wipes out on her skateboard right in front of Jack’s food cart, she finds herself agreeing to go on a date with him. Jane’s psyched that her love life is taking a turn for the friskier, but it turns out that Jack has a spotty romantic history, to put it mildly.
Cue the Cute Girl Network — a phone tree information-pooling group of local single women. Poor Jane is about to learn every detail of Jack’s past misadventures… whether she wants to or not. Will love prevail?
Now, let’s talk about this book.
A black and white graphic novel, The Cute Girl Network is absolutely packed with sigh inducing moments and wonderfully memorable characters. This sweet rom com takes place in Brookport, an obvious alternative name for Brooklyn, and introduces readers to a hilarious cast of characters stumbling their way through young love.
From Jane, the sweet skateboarding protagonist, to the bumbling but well meaning Jack, the hapless love interest, it was hard for to find a character that we didn’t immediately adore. Even Jack’s awful womanizing roommate, Gil, isn’t without his moments. He’s terrible, but plays an excellent foil to Jack’s kind hearted character.
And the narrative does an incredible job placing the reader in the shoes of Jane. There were several moments in The Cute Girl Network where, when Jane stood up for herself, told off some idiot guy, or just chatted with her girl friends, you’re left with profound moments of “oh, that’s what it must feel like” while reading.
The Cute Girl Network, in addition to making you laugh, sigh, and root for the couple and their adorable love story… it tries to make you understand street harassment and sexism, which Jane experiences through the book.
The Cute Girl Network is easily one of our favorite quirky graphic novel love stories since Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Brian Lee O’Malley, and that’s saying something. Really can’t recommend this light and fun book enough.
It hits stores everywhere November 12th, 2013 from FirstSecond. Go pre-order it immediately.
And bonus, check out the microsite for the book. The creators have a Tumblr page set up where you can scope out illustrations and early sketches.
- We talked with Dustin Nguyen about the L’il Gotham series at NYCC
- We also saw a lot of great artwork on display at the Walking Dead exhibit
- The This Charming Charlie online comic has gotten a copyright reprieve
