Stuck in the Land of Lost Things, the Lumberjanes find an old friend, and come up against a new challenge. Curious? Find out more in Lumberjanes #63!

LUMBERJANES #63

Writer: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh
Artist: AnneMarie Rogers
Colorist: Maarta Laiho
Letterer: Aubrey Aiese
Publisher: Boom Entertainment, Inc. (BOOM! Box)
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 19, 2019

Previously in Lumberjanes: Mal is lost after falling through a portal. April, Jo, Ripley and Molly go to the Bearwoman’s cabin to ask for help. When they realize she isn’t there, they just slip in and borrow her spyglass, to help them find the portal. On a hint from one of the other girls, they find an area in the woods where it is snowing (in the middle of summer). Sure enough, there’s a portal up at the top of a tree. It takes a little teamwork, but they make it through into the Land of Lost Things, where they find one of the most important lost things of all – Mal.

AN OLD FRIEND WITH A NEW APPEARANCE

Lumberjanes #63 starts right out with a huge bird-like creature landing on Ripley. There are a few (slightly muffled) screams before April decides to weigh in, but by that time the screams have turned to laughter. The irrepressible Ripley, friend to all creatures, knows this feathered dinosaur. It’s her old pal, Jonesy! No one recognized her with the feathers. I’ve loved dinosaurs ever since I was a tiny tot, and I think it’s very cool that at least some of them were feathered – and that that’s in this book. This is always a fun book, and they’re never shy about dropping nods to science, history, etc. seamlessly into the story.

It’s still snowing here, and now that Mal has completed her To-Do list (last item – being rescued), she is all set to go home and finally get that shower. But Jonesy has other ideas. She grabs Ripley in her beak and sets off, much to Ripley’s delight. But Mal is nothing if not resourceful, and she made a toboggan while she was waiting to be rescued. The rest of the girls set off after the dinosaur.

After a bit of a wild chase scene, they end up on a clifftop overlooking a deep valley that is teeming with dinosaurs. They seem to want to keep travelling, but they’re stuck – something is blocking their way. This is the point where Molly realized that the telescope is missing, and they may all be stranded here. Ripley is all set to find out what the problem is when Mal grabs her. But it is not to hold her back – much as she wants to go home, she knows that as Lumberjanes, they’re always in it to help those in need. So they make their perilous way along the cliffs to find out what the problem is.

Their adventures are so wild, but they are also full of heart. I think that’s one of the reasons I always enjoy reading this book.

FEATHERED DINOSAUR FTW!

In Lumberjanes #63, the art style is loose and dynamic, but I really like the way Jonesy looks. She’s a little different all covered with feathers, but you do see the underlying shape, and I adore her cute, snaggly teeth. She rolls around in the snow with Ripley like a big dog, and it is so joyful it almost makes me want a pet dinosaur. There’s another side to her, though, when she wants Ripley to come and help her, and she sets off with huge speed. The chase scenes through the snow are glorious.

And then we get to the valley. This is a world that, so far, has been fairly monochromatic in different shades of gray. The long view of the mountains, with odd ruins tucked here and there among them, are also gray except where they have a layer of white snow. The only color comes from all the dinosaurs gathered in the valley. I like this use of color. It draws the eye right to where the problem is, but we also feel how compact this valley is, and how large the rest of the world is.

BOTTOM LINE: LUMBERJANES AND DINOSAURS – WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

Lumberjanes #63 can still take a wacky adventure in crazy setting and turn it into something that we care about as deeply as the girls do. And there’s always room for some character development along the way.

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