Barbara is a girl on a mission. Mean, driven and too smart for her own good, she's almost totally friendless, left with a whirl of imaginary ones who help her in her bid to slay the giant she knows is coming. Things are fine until two new people show up in Barbara's life, neighbour Sophia and psychologist, Mrs Molle, and Barbara finds herself having to face up to the real demons, instead of those imagined.
Ugggghhhh, this hits so many of my buttons narrative-wise. Interesting sibling relationships, fantasy as a means of handling reality and strange friendships that hit when you least expect them. All things I love! It helps that Joe Kelly and JM Ken Nimura do such a great job of telling this story too. They're understanding of Barbara, both narratively and illustratively is totally charming, and it makes her less kind moments (and there are a few of them) emphatic and more vulnerable than you'd expect.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the thing (and give it the honour of being the only graphic novel outside of Saga to make me cry), it would've been nice to see the other characters more rounded. Barbara's the star of this show, and she lends weight to every panel she's in, but we don't get to see enough of the others. Her brother, Dave, for instance is virtually pointless within the narrative, seeming to have the sole purpose of exposing Barbara's rage and control issues in an early scene. Similarly, we get hints of brilliance in Barbara's sister, Mrs Molle and Sophia, but none of them feel entirely rounded enough to make me feel for them as much as I do for Barbara.
That said, it's a pretty special book, and one worth checking out.
4 out of 5 giant slaying hammers.
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