Cara McGee

The first half of the book does a good job of capturing the tone and spirit of the original cartoon with half-brothers Greg and Wirt each offering their differing versions of events from the same odd evening.

But then the second half of the book goes off the rails as we are subjected to a story set in the schoolhouse from the "Schooltown Follies" episode. No Greg, no Wirt, no frog or Beatrice even. Instead, we are introduced to Pooree the Elephant, the clumsy new transfer student. Horribly show more drawn, horribly written, and, worst of all, horribly colored in a manner that completely clashes with the palette of the series. What were the editors thinking? show less

A bit of a wonky story combined with great art. People at least pointed out some of the weirdness and mostly dealt with it, so there's that, but it felt really delayed for no reason. I'm also very confused why Dinah is intent on wanting to be a cop solving crimes when it seems very hard for her to make basic logical leaps like "there's no explanation for how I managed to push a guy standing several feet away from me into a trashcan without touching him" or "there's no explanation for how I'm show more responsible for exploding a glass cabinet that I wasn't touching or throwing something at." I get it, detective work isn't exactly thrilling when you actually get into it or think about being a cop but like... how do you think the "solving" part of "crime-solving" works? Or does she think her dad just punches people all the time? I mean he might, I guess but... well...

As far as I think middle schoolers go, I guess it sort of works as a representation of one? Her character is all over the place. Her cheerleader friend is a manipulative asshole. I'm glad her parents at least mostly have her back. And for what is oddly rare, one of these new books about female superheroes actually features an almost entirely female cast. This should not be something I have to applaud. But it is, because it is so rare, and so very welcome.

Overall, decent read. Really liked the art. Not a strong opening at all, though. show less

I love the Over the Garden Wall universe and its characters so much. It's like coming home, and it's like sipping hot tea on a chilly autumn night. These characters and this humor has become so familiar, despite this series and the show not being like seven seasons long. It's just that good.

The search for the Hero Frog ends in this volume. As in the last volume, this story makes up the bulk of the graphic novel (I'm silently cheering), and at the end there's another story from Miss show more Langtree's schoolhouse.

Unlike the earlier volumes, though, the schoolhouse story isn't illustrated by the same artist (thank god!). I don't mean to be unnecessarily cruel, but I think that art style is why I couldn't enjoy the schoolhouse stories as much as I might have, because this story? Adorable! I loved it!

The Hero Frog's story resolves in a satisfying way--and with some precious moments between Sara and Wirt I've been waiting for this entire series! There were only a few jumps between parts that made me confused--as if maybe there were a couple panels skipped or something, but I was able to put things together simply enough.

My only concern is now that the Hero Frog is over, what will volume 5 consist of? show less

I received an ARC for review.

I never had much interest in DC until the new DC Ink and DC Zoom lines were announced but this story drew me in immediately with absolutely adorable artwork and character design and cozy, feel good characters. The interactions between Dinah and her family felt honest and tight knit, which was nice to see when most superhero stories seem to thrive on familial dysfunction. Both of Dinah's friends felt like actual characters instead of bland backup friend group show more stand ins. I loved how they turned the whole "cheerleaders and punks can't exist together" trope completely on its head. The nod to Green Arrow was well done while not being the major focus, which was really nice to focus on Dinah and not her relationship with Ollie. I loved this interpretation of Dinah's backstory and while the villain was pretty boring and rather predictable, I think it's a really great accessible read for someone who's interested in comics and might be a bit intimidated to start. As someone who loves a lot of DC characters but doesn't have the patience or the time to start with every single backstory and multiverse arc, this was a perfect break-in. I'm so excited to read the other titles in the DC Ink and DC Zoom lines. show less