Meredith Gran

Having recently read The Book of Bill and Journal 3, I of course had to complete the trifecta of Gravity Falls spinoff books with this graphic novel. We have four complete stories here, namely:

"Face It": When a monster steals Mabel's face, Dipper and Pacifica have to go on an adventure together to steal it back. This one very much feels like it could have been an episode of the show. And I like the fact that Pacifica, despite having undergone some character growth and graduated from show more "nemesis" to "frenemy," clearly has not changed entirely overnight in some pat and unrealistic way. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the possible vague hints of Pacifica/Dipper romance, but I guess this isn't exactly the first place I've seen them.

"Comix Up": A very meta little tale, in which our heroes get sucked into comic books, romping through a variety of different styles and genres. I started this one thinking, "this is silly, but cute and kind of clever," started laughing uncontrollably somewhere in the middle, and was going "awwwww" with a great deal of feeling come the end. Not sure you can hit the right notes for this sort of thing any better than that!

"Don't Dimension It": Mabel accidentally gets dragged into the multiverse through a dimensional tear, and Stan and Ford set out to rescue her. Lots of interesting weirdness, lots of bickering grunkles, lots of Mabel. All great stuff! The only thing that gives me pause about this one is the fact that it's hard not to read it as a reply to those people who like to blame Mabel for everything, making the point that, yes, OK, she can be self-centered, but basically she's a good kid. Which is absolutely true, but I'm sorry, her detractors do not deserve one Mabel, never mind a multiverse full of Mabels!

"The Pines Boys in: The Jersey Devil's in the Details": This one features the elder Pines twins as kids. It's the one I was most looking forward to, and, boy, did it not disappoint. The story is lots of fun, there are some jokes that made me flat-out guffaw (although the throwaway joke that made me laugh the hardest I suspect you have to actually be from New Jersey to be amused by), and I adore these kids. Especially lil' Ford, who is a nerdy little cutie pie. I just want to cuddle him and share my science books with him. (OK, admittedly, I might feel the same about the older version, too, but never mind that.) And their sibling bond here is so sweet and lovely. It's simultaneously heartwarming and, knowing what comes later, heartbreaking. Although it does, of course, end on a happy note.

So, anyway, yeah. It's all good stuff, and it satisfyingly captures all the things I love about the show itself: the strangeness, the great characters, the humor, the perfectly blended combination of goofiness and genuine heart. Definitely recommended to fans of the show, of all ages. show less

Octopus pie is one of the best humour comics available. It tells frank and compassionate truths about love, friendship, life, love and heartache, and this serious tone is wondorously balanced by a quirky and highly idiosyncratic surreal sense of humour that strikes a perfect balance between pop culture references, slapstick, sarcasm, and straight goofiness. It's amazing how Meredith Gran handles it all so smoothly.

In addition, the drawings are gorgeous, with expressive and distinguished show more characters and simple but highly effective environments that really captures the spirit of Brooklyn, where most of the stories take place.

The second volume of the collected comics shows significant progress in art as well as storytelling, pacing and character development. OC was always good, but it keeps even getting better.

This is a treat, don't miss it. show less

I almost cried in the middle of this...because see, it's Marceline and Bubblegum, in a story about the bittersweetness of friendship, which is the perfect combination for making my heart feel like it got dipped in liquid nitrogen and stepped on. Equal and oppositely heart-mending, though, is the community of anthropomorphic space-puppies who support Marceline with their gentle wisdom and extreme cuteness. I'm new to Carey Pietsch's art, but now it's inevitable I'll be bingeing on her other show more works soon. She captures the mood and beauty of the story and magnifies them, as you can see plainly from the cover. And, since it's Meredith Gran on vocals, count on seeing her hilarious and painfully accurate social commentary seamlessly stitched through, on subjects ranging from the ills of colonialism to the commercialization of tragedy. So. If you liked Scream Queens, definitely read this one too. SQ set the bar high, and Gone Adrift just raises it. Into space!!!! lolz show less

Like the best Adventure Time stories, this one features the incredible absence of Finn and Jake in any significant way.

Beyond that it's a sweet character-driven tale focusing on Marceline and Bubblegum's friendship, esp. around Marceline's insecurities although with a little bit of Bubblegum comeuppance along the way.

It also takes on a really good rock'n'roll tour vibe, with each section of the original comic book series bookended by notes and scribbles that you'd imagine a band to have, show more setlists, notes on the errands that make a tour happen, etc...

The animation style of Adventure Time aggravates me for probably personal subjective reasons, but in the static mode of a graphic novel I feel the characters' dynamism comes out a lot more and while I can still see the TV show's style within, they are far less annoying.

My only complaint is that the series only takes up about half the book, the rest being filled with some very lovely fanart and other assorted art and sketches from the making of this comic series. It's nice (the orange/black photo of Marcelline/Bubblegum on stage is one of my favourite AT pictures), but it feels like too much "extra" when it approaches 50% of the payload. show less