REVIEW: Jem and the Holograms #2
STORY BY:Â Kelly Thompson
ART BY:Â Sophie Campbell
Publisher: IDW
AWWWW SHIIIIIT. It“s about to go down. Oh my god.
A few weeks back, after reading the first “Jem and the Holograms”“, I sat, shocked. The thought occurred to me that I may be going soft. I had only read it half as a joke, expecting just something cute and harmless to make fun of for a bit. But you guys. It was actually pretty good. The relationships among all the (adopted? multiracial? figurative?) sisters was cute and touching without being cheesy. The character design is great; there“s a variety of body types and skin colors. And!! There“s a chick with an afro!! No, I had not suddenly turned to soft cheese; “Jem and the Holograms”“ #1 is in fact a good read. This second issue is no different. A (British?) girl band issuing a friendly musical challenge to rising bands, the contenders of which will face off against them in a battle of the ass-kicking girl groups! Naturally, they stumble upon Jem and her Holograms and are impressed and excited! Most of them are anyway”¦
This whole series thus far warms my cold cold heart for a few reasons:
*Girl power! It“s horrible that seeing females being cool, normal, HUMAN people is refreshing. But it is. And they are. These girls are funny, kind, talented (I imagine; I like to think of them as a Go-Go“s/New Order/The Wiggles/Ed Sullivan-debut-pre-drugs-and-India-era Beatles) bouquet of delightful, happy, clean pop) loving, troubled, over-eating, adorable, intelligent, gutsy. And all of them have such cool hair. (Except Jerrica, which makes sense, as it reflects her reserved timid personality).
*Diversity! As Aforementioned, there“s a great variety of bodies, skin colors, hair textures, and even sexual orientation. Like “Lumberjanes”“ (another great series for adults and young women alike) before it, it looks like “Jem”“ is extremely cool in its treatment of homosexuality. In this issue there“s flirtation between two of the main girl characters and it“s presented as totally normal. Normal! Can you imagine!? Completely natural sexual orientations treated like completely natural sexual orientations? Revolutionary! It makes my heart smile.
The whole series is wholesome without being saccharine and progressive without being preachy or ham-fisted. Not to mention the funny and adorable dialogue and the fun, lighthearted plot. And the amazing hairstyles and outfits omg.
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
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