By Cat Wyatt

The Lumberjanes are back for issue #51, and things are about to get interesting. Who would have thought that we’d ever see a Lumberjanes plot where half the cabin spent the entire time indoors? Technically we could say they’ve all been indoors this whole time, but the rest are only barely keeping to that promise.

Mal, Ripley, and April are still trapped in the tunnels. They’re still not really sure what the giant bugs are, though they’re agreed that they’re probably from the portal with all the dinosaurs. It’s probably a good guess, all things considered. Not that knowing where they came from really helps their situation at all.

There’s also the question of the glowing stuff. Earlier it had all been pretty shades of purple and pink, but not it’s an eerie green. Thankfully Mal actually has a theory for that one – it glowing depends on their emotions. As provide when Ripley is tickled, and they all turn purple again. That could prove interesting, but it’ll depend on how they implement that knowledge.

Thankfully in all their running around and trying to follow the lights, Ripley actually spots what may be the way out. It absolutely isn’t the way they got in here, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Especially with giant bugs hunting them down.

Meanwhile, Barney, Molly, Joe, and all of the others are still happily hanging out in the mess hall. Well, they’re mostly happy. Barney is dominating the game, and obviously, the sore losers aren’t too happy about that bit.

Joe wants to have some time to read the rules – allowing them a chance to fully understand every caveat and find a way of winning…and they’ve got a pretty good idea of how to buy time. They request Diane to kill as much time as possible during her turn, which is terrifyingly brilliant.

Let’s be honest here, there are a few things that Diane is incredibly talented at. Causing mayhem, throwing tantrums, and wasting time are on the top of that list. So this is perfect for her, and frankly probably did a great job of making her feel useful too. So it’s a win-win. And naturally she finds a loophole in the rules that allows her to ignore the time regulations per turn. Because of course she did. It’s Diane we’re talking about after all.

So while Diane is making her mad bid for time, April, Ripley, and Mal are climbing a long, dark, and narrow tunnel. It’s actually pretty creepy, but at least the bugs probably can’t fit in it, which is absolutely a huge bonus here.

Since they’re not doing much else, they have time to have a chat and a heart-to-heart. Like why Mal was happy to leave and not hang out with Molly. Ripley naturally is very worried that this means they’re breaking up. But the truth is that Mal wanted Molly to be happy doing her crafts, while she herself didn’t want to stay cooped up, preferring an adventure instead. There’s no reason why they can’t both pursue the activities that make them happy. It’s actually incredibly important for couples, so kudos to Mal for figuring that out early on.

At the end of the tunnel, and their discussion…is a room full of bones. So yeah, maybe not the best route out of here after all? Hopefully the three of them can either find a safe way back or a quick way forward.

Meanwhile Diane is still killing time, and doing a wonderful job of it. She had to rely on her music a little bit, but there’s nothing in the rules against that…so it’s legit apparently. Plus the cabin is a bit used to it at this point.

Thankfully the terror the other three felt at the discovery of the bones wanes quickly, once they realize they’re actually roots. This is actually great news, because it theoretically means they’re close to the surface. In fact, they can even see a way out. Unfortunately that way out is outside, which is something they promised Jen they wouldn’t go outside. So even though the route to get back is safer if they go outside, they’re clearly going to have to find another way…that probably wasn’t the news April or Mal wanted to hear at that moment.

This plot has gone on longer than expected, but it’s been pretty funny and light on the whole. It’s shocking that they’ve managed to do so much with an ‘indoors only’ plot, but then again this is the Lumberjanes we’re talking about. They can make an adventure out of everything.

The board game plot has been a little dull at times, but it was nice seeing them realize they all had their own talents and ways of dealing with different situations here. They all sort of have had their chance to shine during the course of the whole thing, which is unexpected considering the mild concept of it.

Additionally it’s interesting that the mess hall group still hasn’t noticed that three of their members are missing. Yes, the cabin is jam-packed, but you’d think that at some point they’d wonder why Ripley wasn’t wreaking havoc someplace or something like that. She’s not exactly a discreet person…

Score: 4/5

Lumberjanes #51
BOOM!/Boom! Box