One of the highlights of the comics season are annual specials, especially when they come from one of our favorite titles: BOOM! Box’s hit Lumberjanes. It’s hard to believe, but Lumberjanes will soon be releasing its third annual special (time flies when you’re having supernatural fun in the woods!), and BOOM! has provided us with an exclusive first look at some of the artwork, as well as thoughts from the kickass creators involved!
2017’s Lumberjanes special is titled “Faire and Square,” and contains two short stories from some of comics’ most exciting female talents! First, though, a run-down of the one-shot as a whole:
Lumberjanes 2017 Special: Faire and Square
One-shot
Publisher: BOOM! Box, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writers: Holly Black, Gabby Rivera
Artists: Marina Julia, Gaby Epstein
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Ru Xu
Variant Cover: Hailey Thurrott
Format: 48 pages, full color
Price: $7.99
On sale: June 21, 2017
Synopsis: Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles) and Marina Julia (The House on the Cliff) tell a story about the Lumberjanes finding a Medieval Faire in the forest, and helping the people there defend themselves against a dragon! Then, Gabby Rivera (America) and Gaby Epstein (Shadows) combine on a story about Ripley missing watching telenovelas with her Abuela, so to help her feel better, the other Roanokes help her act out the series finale she missed.
Art by Ru Xu
Dragon fights?! Telenovelas?! I’m already SO THERE.
You can see an exclusive image from Holly Black’s story up (art by Marina Julia) at the top of the post, and immediately above is the main cover for the special. Her childhood in New Jersey inspired the story she created for the special. She says:
“Never having gone to summer camp myself, I assume that everything that happens at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types is accurate in every way. I look forward to my son becoming a Scouting Lad and also a werewolf.
“Growing up in New Jersey, the nearest Faires were more than an hour’s journey, so I had to persuade my parents to go on this massive drive so I could eat turkey legs and stare at expensive garb. My favorite things to do there was watch the swordfighting and long for a sword of my own.”
Here’s an additional sneak peek at the art from Black’s story by the talented Julia:
Art by Marina Julia
Art by Hailey Thurrott
I’m absolutely in love with the above variant cover by Hailey Thurrot, and I’m also really excited about Gabby Rivera’s story, with art by Gaby Epstein, as I totally get the emotional tug of watching telenovelas with the women in your family. Here’s a glimpse of Epstein’s art from that story:
Art by Gaby Epstein
Art by Gaby Epstein
Rivera was thrilled to join the Lumberjanes family, saying, “Who wouldn’t want to play in the Lumberjanes universe? Seriously, if there was actually a Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, I would SO be there!
“Jo, April, Molly, Mal, Jen, and Ripley represent all the incredible things about being authentic humans. They navigate wild adventures, blossoming and evolving gender identities, and deep beautiful friendships in every situation they’re in and like, what an amazing model to share with the world on how to be great. And how to tell stories!
“And as a writer, working with the Lumberjanes team was a dream come true. I’m always looking to connect with other queer creators, especially folks of color and women (not that any of these identities are mutually exclusive!) and create content that reflects and uplifts our communities!
“tl;dr Lumberjanes is hella dope and provides inspiration to mad kids everywhere. and me, this huge nerdburger, is filled with hype and joy to be a part of it!
“Check out Las Estrellas del Campo!”
If you want to make sure to get your grubby little paws on a copy, the cut-off for your local comics shop to put in their orders is MONDAY, so make sure to order a copy with them before then!
Lumberjanes 2017 Special: Faire and Square arrives June 21st. Will you be reading?
(images: BOOM! Box)
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Published: May 26, 2017 12:00 pm