This week marks the end of a series I’ve been following since its inception six years ago: Lumberjanes from BOOM Studios. This charming all-ages series, created by Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters, explores friendship, various camp skills, romance and a forest full of mythical creatures, interdimensional portals and magic. So it’s not exactly like any summer camp you might have been to.
Being a 40-year-old guy, I’m not the target audience for this book admittedly. But the beauty of a well done all-ages series is that it appeals to different people on different levels. I’ve shared the book with my brother-in-law’s kids, and they love the adventure and the friendship. I love that too, but also really get into the quirky takes on creatures of myth and cryptids. The book is highly representative, and has a fanbase across the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality.
So for those who aren’t familiar with Lumberjanes, today we’re going to give you a primer on the setting, the cast, some of my favorite plotlines and how to get started reading the series.
What is Lumberjanes About?
Set at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, “Lumberjanes” principally follows the five girls of Roanoke Cabin as they get into and out of trouble in and around the camp. Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley, along with their put-upon counselor Jen, are constantly finding new adventures, whether it’s something as simple as trying to get every merit badge the camp gives out, or the mythically grand, like throwing down with a Norse or Greek goddess.
The unofficial rallying cry of the camp, and especially the Roanokes, is “Friendship to the Max!” and if “Lumberjanes” has a central theme, it is exactly that: You love your friends for who they are, and you can love them even if they’re different from you. Especially if they’re different from you, as all the girls have different but complementary skills. The diversity of the series does not exist in a vacuum, something that’s there but not talked about, but the camp at least is a place where acceptance is the norm rather than the exception.
Who are the Lumberjanes?
There are six main characters who drive the plot of Lumberjanes, five campers and their counselor.
Jo is the de facto leader of Roanoke cabin. Jo loves science and spends time trying to figure out scientific answers to some of the strange goings-on around the camp, although she isn’t a Dana Scully, denying that magic and weirdness exist. She is a transgender girl with two dads, who accept her and are willing to support her in all her endeavors. She is best friends at home and at camp with fellow camper April.
April is the second most exuberant of the main cast, behind Ripley, but goes about things in a more reasoned way than the impulsive Ripley. She is the most fascinated with the mythical creatures and phenomena around the camp because she wants to learn more about them, and keeps a diary of all the adventures the girls have. April can rub others the wrong way with her over-enthusiasm and drive to push forward into the unknown, but the others still love her.
Ripley is the youngest camper in Roanoke Cabin, and is a ball of energy who knows very few limits. She has a huge heart, demonstrated by her love of animals, from magical kittens to a velociraptor she named Jonesy, and is the example of someone who should be given power; when she briefly received godlike power, she divested it into magical kittens. Ripley definitely looks before she leaps, and often gets the others into trouble. She comes from a large family with many siblings, and is especially close with her abuela. Maybe because of her large, loving family, Ripley is especially empathetic, and is often the one who notices when one of her friends or some other person/creature needs help.
Molly is the shyest member of Roanoke Cabin. She is clever in a different way than Jo; Molly is a puzzle solver rather than a font of random knowledge. She loves archery. She has the hardest home life, with a distant father and a combative mother, so she is the girl who most wishes camp would never end. She and Mal have a mutual crush on each other, and by the end of the series are a couple. She wears what appears to be a raccoon hat but is in fact Bubbles, a live raccoon who is her pet.
Mal is the Roanoke who is least what you’d expect from looking at her. You see the punk rock aesthetic and assume she’s a tough kid. Mal is, in fact, a ball of various anxieties, and by far the most fearful of the various hazards around camp, meaning she is the character I associate with most of the five campers. She plays guitar, and her attempts to play around camp are often complicated by some craziness the other Roanokes have gotten into. But when a plan needs to get made to get the girls out of trouble, it’s Mal’s time to shine; she puts together elaborate plans like Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo, only better.
The last member of the principal cast is counselor Jen. Jen just wants a normal group of campers who aren’t always getting into trouble or facing magical danger. If Jen had her way, the girls would follow her on nature hikes and find more interest in her love of the natural sciences, like astronomy and botany. But instead, they are always running off and getting into trouble. But even though they’re trouble, Jen loves her charges and is always willing to jump into the deep end to help get them out of it.
Who Are Some of the Other Characters in Lumberjanes?
Rosie is the director at the camp, and has a mysterious connection to the woods around it. She is red-haired, tattooed and wears a kerchief, a visual riff on her name, as she resembles Rosie the Riveter. Rosie cares about all her campers, and gives them a little more latitude than Jen would like, but is also willing to bring down the hammer if the girls break, rather than bend, the rules.
Abigail is a mysterious cryptid hunter who lives in the woods around camp. She is a former Lumberjane, and at one point had a romantic relationship with Rosie.
The Bear Woman is a mysterious figure who also lives in the woods and can transform into a bear. She is the guardian of the woods, and has a fairly grumpy disposition whenever the girls encounter her. She was, at one point, director of the Lumberjanes camp, although how she left and became a hermit remains mysterious.
Zodiac Cabin is the other Lumberjane cabin readers spend the most time with. They are often frustrated by the Roanokes constantly getting into trouble. The members of Zodiac Cabin include Diane, the Greek goddess Artemis who has taken human form after befriending the ’Janes. Barney started the book as one of the Scouting Lads across the lake, but after befriending the Roanokes, they felt more comfortable as a Lumberjane and joined the other camp instead. Mackenzie, Hes and Wren are the other members of Zodiac.
Seafarin’ Karen is an adult counselor at camp who was stranded when selkies stole her pirate ship. She is a pirate and a werewolf. She really only features in one arc, but she’s a pirate werewolf, so I had to talk about her.
Tell Me About Reading Lumberjanes
OK, OK, I know you’re excited, but no need to shout! “Lumberjanes” was one of the first releases from BOOM Studios’ all-ages BOOM Box imprint. As with a few of the BOOM Box titles, “Lumberjanes” started as a miniseries, in this case an eight-issue arc, that was extended into an ongoing series.
This week’s “End of Summer” one-shot comes after 75 issues, but that’s not all the Lumberjanes out there. There have been various one-shots throughout the series from different creators than the regular series. Lilah Sturges and artist polterink have released three original, stand-alone graphic novels. Mariko Tamaki has written four YA novels featuring the Lumberjanes, with spot illustration from original series artist Brooklyn Allen.
The series is mostly episodic, so each trade stands well on its own, but there are subplots and mysteries that work their way through the series. Some of my favorite stories include:
Issues #1-8: The original miniseries, which introduces all the main characters and sets up the mystery for the rest of the series.
Issues #21-24: The story of the above mentioned werewolf pirate, Seafarin’ Karen
Issues #37-40: It’s Parents’ Day at camp, and we get to see all the campers in a new light.
Issues #57-60: It’s Jo’s birthday, and while April plans a huge party (which is so not Jo’s thing), Mal leads Jo on a rafting trip with Jen and Barney to distract her, only for trouble to find them.
OGN #3, True Colors: When Ripley isn’t sure she wants to be different anymore, a wish on a magical Zebracorn makes her so normal and bland no one remembers her. Meanwhile, Jen is getting an inspection from her idol, a celebrated Lumberjane counselor, who has a secret of her own.
The original creative team for the series was co-creator Grace Ellis writing alongside Noelle Stevenson, with Brooklyn Allen on art and co-creator Shannon Watters editing. Over time, Watters took over writing alongside Kat Leyh as Ellis went off to write the charming “Moonstruck” from Image and Stevenson developed the reboot of “She-Ra” for Netflix.
The series has had various pencillers, including Carolyn Nowak, Carey Pietsch (The Adventure Zone), AnneMarie Rogers, Ayme Sotuyo and one-shots and guest pencils from the likes of Brittney Willaims (Goldie Vance) and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me).
The Lumberjanes have even reached out across space and dimension and had a crossover in Gotham City. Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy featured the girls meeting the students of Gotham’s elite prep school and investigating a haunted house.
If you want to start reading Lumberjanes, there are a few options. You can read the series in trade; there are currently 15 volumes, with a 16th due this month, collecting up through issue #64. I can’t imagine BOOM won’t collect the rest of the series, as it is a solid seller in both the hobby market and bookstores. There have also been six “To The Max” oversized hardcover editions, each collecting eight issues.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
