(image: cover art by Mingjue Chen, courtesy BOOM! Studios)
The crossover you never saw coming (but totally need in your life) is here! Deep in the woods, the Lumberjanes scouts’ fearless leader disappears, leaving only the bright blink of a signal flare to mark her distress. A state and a half (and an entire publishing company) away, a beloved professor vanishes from her office in Gotham Academy. Luckily for these two women, the kids in their care don’t wait for adults to solve their problems.
Lumberjanes, published by BOOM! Studios, has been one of my favorite comics since its very first issue. Five girls enjoying the endless summer of their lives at a camp for Hardcore Lady-Types make friends and fight magical monsters with equal verve, and each of their adventures is more fantastic than the last. The fact that this book is all-ages and LGBTQIA+ friendly only adds to its appeal. Returning Lumberjanes writer Chynna Clugston Flores and artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell know what they’re doing in this new series, and I’m delighted that their incorporation of the Gotham kids is so seamless.
Gotham Academy has been a welcome addition to the Bat-roster of comics over at DC. Nestled outside the grim city’s Gothic skyline, the school educates the next generation of Gotham elites in Hogwartsian fashion: many of the lessons learned come more from old diaries and quests through secret passages than from textbooks. Our heroine, Olive Silverlock, carries a spark within her that might one day grow into a raging inferno (literally), but for the moment, she and her best friend Maps simply lead the unofficial Detective Club, uncovering their school’s mystic secrets one by one.
Combined, these two books are well matched. Built on the strength of the characters’ friendships and reinforced with more magic than you can shake a wand at, the stories are a natural complement to one another, and I’m delighted that the Lumberjanes canonically exist in the same world as Superman. Perhaps Doctor Fate will show up in the camp woods next? Anything could happen in this crossover, and I can’t wait for the next issue!
Kara “KZam” Szamborski co-hosts the weekly comiXologist podcast (available on iTunes or SoundCloud) to help you find your new favorite comic to read. She gushes about comics and smashes the patriarchy on Twitter as @KaraSzam.
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