Lumberjanes #14 kicks off a new arc. The girls are testing their wilderness survival skills when a freak blizzard hits, and poor Jen is separated from the group. While the girls are rescued from the blizzard by Rosie, Jen is rescued by a mysterious woman named Abigail. Jen wakes up in Abigail’s cozy house, and begins to work out exactly who this woman is. She’s got trophies galore, including those of the animal variety, a room of dynamite, and a shrine to the Lumberjanes. There’s even a photo of Abigail and Rosie as young Lumberjanes-slash-BFFs.
Despite a deliberate order to stay inside and get warm, the Roanoke Cabin girls head back out into the fray in search of Jen. They stop along the way to chat with the Scouting Lads, and add a couple of friends to the group: Barney and his cat pal Marigold. Barney’s an excellent tracker, which is good news for the group, though it does leave Jo feeling rather sidelined.
This is a great start to another Lumberjanes arc. Stevenson and Watters show us how these friendships have developed and strengthened throughout the girls’ time at camp. I particularly enjoy Jen separating from the group and having a bit of solo adventure. This adventure will have a different feel not only because Jen’s on her own, but also because she’s a counselor and meant to be responsible, plus she’s older than our main girls. She’s going to approach everything differently, with much more caution and a good sense of rationality, and it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
And elsewhere we’ve got our girls plus Barney looking for Jen, and that will likewise be a different dynamic than the previous adventures. This new addition to the team will certainly mix things up and could even cause tension- we’ve already seen Jo react negatively to Barney being a more skilled tracker than she is. These friends have nearly cemented their group dynamic, with each girl taking on a role and having a particular place. Changing that dynamic could potentially lead to some head-butting and hurt feelings.
We can probably expect to see more of Rosie this time around, and it’ll be interesting to get bits of the Lumberjane history as well as Rosie’s own personal history. The bearwoman’s also got a role in this arc, and it’s always fun having her around. Overall, a good read, and if you haven’t gotten into Lumberjanes yet, this could be a place to jump in. The friendships are well established and the adventures just keep coming.
Score: 4/5
Lumberjanes #14 Writers: Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters Artist: Brooke Allen Publisher: BOOM!/Boom Box Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/20/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital