From BOOM! Studios comes All My Friends Are Ghosts, an original graphic novel.
It’s written by Eisner-Award-winner S. M. Vidaurri (Iron, Steven Universe) and illustrated by Hanna Krieger (Psychic Mansion). it’s coloured by Krieger and Visaurri, and Mike Fiorentino lettered. The book designer is Scott Newman, and Editor is Matthew Levine.
All My Friends Are Ghosts is about a young girl named Effie. Precocious, ferocious, shy and disobedient Effie. Effie is always running late, but still in the running. Running a temperature to skip school. Running a strong imaginary life that keeps her occupied but not efficient. Until she stumbles across ghosts in the park. Then the story takes a strong path toward being powerful and fascinating.
The character of Effie is well matched to the material. While shy and rebellious in school, Effie has a healthy curiosity and active imagination. Those qualities bode well for her time spent with the spirits above and beyond. Not all the lessons we absorb early in life come from school, and Vidaurri and Krieger breathe vivid scenes to life here.
The moments are young and dramatic, full of peril and quandary. Should Effie spend more time with the spirits she encounters, or leave them behind and get her life organized?
The physical storytelling is really good. I liked that the drawings are clear, expressive and the movement flows smoothly from panel to panel. We, the readers, know where we are, where we are going, and who we are with. The expressions, line quality, and gestures match the boldness of the story. The hues and palette parallel the drama that unfolds as Effie makes friends with ghosts.
Strongly recommended for middle school and older.
BOOM Studios, All My Friends Are Ghosts, $14.99 for 164 pages, Assume 12+
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