Amelia Rules #17

April 13, 2007

Amelia Rules! #17 (Renaissance Press)
By Jimmy Gownley, cover by Terry Moore

Have I mentioned lately how great this comic book is? Jimmy Gownley‘s Amelia Rules! is one of the smartest, most intelligent young readers’ comics on the stands, and this double-sized issue is the best yet. A long summer over, Amelia and her friends prepare for the first day of school, and the walk from home stirs up a lot of memories. Gownley uses the “walk to school” framing sequence to tell a lot of stories, including one about Amelia and a friend running away from home, her aunt’s disappointment at her failed musical career, and just how Amelia and Kyle can relate to each other. While the book does depend on a lot of information from previous stories, but it’s never in an inaccessible fashion. New readers will be able to get right in. As usual, Gownley deals with some relatively serious topics in a fun, entertaining way that will appeal to young readers and help them understand some of the harder truths about life (divorce, for example) without depressing or frightening them. His artwork, as usual, is great, and this issue the book comes with a great cover by Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore. It’s double-sized, so it’s more expensive than a usual issue, but Amelia Rules! #17 is worth each and every penny.

Rating: 9/10

Amelia Rules!: The Whole World’s Crazy

February 7, 2008

Amelia Rules!: The Whole World’s Crazy (Simon & Shuster)
by Jimmy Gownley

For some time now, I’ve been telling anyone that would listen that Jimmy Gownley’s Amelia Rules! is the best comic book for young readers to have been published in YEARS. Now, Gownley has begun reprinting the run in the handy digest format that the kids seem to dig these days.

The Whole World’s Crazy reprints the first several issues in the tale of Amelia McBride, a girl who has to leave the excitement of New York City when her parents get divorced and she and her mother move to a small town to live with her aunt. The stories in this book deal with many of Amelia’s firsts: her first day at a new school, her first Halloween and Christmas in her new town, and the first trip with her father after the divorce. In the comic as a whole, and in this volume in particular, Gownley frequently touches upon rather serious topics (divorce, for example) that young children have to deal with without really understanding. However, Gownley handles these subjects in a way that will help his young readers learn to handle their problems, with a blend of humor and wisdom that kids need. He’s never frightening, never patronizing, and always entertaining. Amelia and her friends are wonderful characters, characters that kids can find themselves in, helping to open the door for them to embrace the story even further.

If I ever have kids — especially daughters — these are some of the first comics I’ll get for them.

Rating: 10/10