Periscope: Portland's storyboard and comics studio.

Over at Publisher's Weekly Heidi posted something that sugeested that Minx titles haven't been getting much attention from female reviewers. Jesse Hamm, artist of Good As Lily, writes in to draw attention to a few that Heidi might have missed:

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Katie Haegele says that GOOD AS LILY's "modern, imaginative story is a good choice for readers, male or female, who are looking for a book that has both brains and heart."

The Chicago Tribune's Kristin Kloberdanz declares: "Cheers to the Minx imprint. ... The books boast strong, complex female characters, unique storylines and bold graphics. ... Funny and tender, [Good As Lily is] a triumphant addition to the Minx collection."

USA Today's "Pop Candy" blogger calls Good As Lily the best book she read last week, adding that,"If you have any young women in your life who loves or might love comics, the Minx line has impressed me so far."

Our first pre-teen reviewer, a bright young lady named Morgan Newman, reports that "I enjoyed Good as Lily. I would suggest that anyone who likes the Minx books should read this."
This Korean-American calls Good As Lily her "personal favorite of all the Minx titles."

Another young Korean-American woman says,"Kim is AWESOME at showing what it's like to be a 2nd generation in the US." She calls Good As Lily "A very easy, lovely read with winning characters whose varying plights (not just Grace's) are all interesting and relate-able."
This New Zealander dubbed Good As Lily her "favourite" of the Minx comics.

On a comics forum, Hannah says: "This book is probably my favorite of the Minx line to date. It's probably the most mature book they have out right now. The story is about life and they do a good job with it."

Cartoonist Shaenon Garrity says: "[Y]ou should totally read it ... it's a super cute comic."

At her blog, this librarian reports that she's impressed by Derek's effective, Asian-friendly story, adding: "Props to Jesse Hamm for the great artwork too. I’m going to have to lift my self imposed ban on DC to purchase Good As Lily for the library when it comes out in August." In the comments section, another female librarian/reviewer chimes in: "I enjoyed this novel throughly and like the fact that Grace’s parents were just regular parents without any 'Korean parental stereotypes.'”

Yet another librarian reports at her blog that the Minx line is "very good," judging by the two Minx books she's read, and that "Kim has written graphic novels before, so his story is a better fit" for the format than that of the other Minx book she reviewed.

Still another librarian reports on HER blog that GOOD AS LILY "may have been my favorite of the Minx bunch."

The Avid Bookreader says that she "really liked the story and the ending had a nice fairytale touch. There’s some bits of humor, too. My favorite [Minx] title so far."

Yet another female reviewer grants us a "heartily recommended."

And another:
"Thematically it touches on life and death, seeing what’s really in front of you, and how choices shape your life. ... a graphic a novel with as much thought and story as a standard novel. Bravo!" (In the comments section, she adds: "It made me cry. Derek Kirk Kim is an amazing story teller. He really gets the whole writing for comics thing.")

And another:
"...a fresh, entertaining and engaging tale of true friendship, love, and valuing one self as much as the people in your life do. Absolutely delightful and highly recommended."


And another:
"My advanced copy of this graphic novel says that I shouldn’t quote or review this without comparing it to the final version of the book…but I must say one thing. This Rocks! :)"

And another:
"If you are in the mood for a fun read that ends up being a little meatier than you might expect, GOOD AS LILY will be mighty good, indeed."

That's not even all of the positive reviews Good As Lily has garnered from women, but we're running out of space.

Labels: Good as Lily, Jesse Hamm