Thankfully in this case my intuition paid off and here you have a collection of truly epic graphic novels (and not-so-epic-but-still-pretty-good-middle-grade-books) featuring 5 gals away for a fun packed summer at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types.
Riffing heavily on the sort of stuff C gets up to when she disappears off to summer camps with the guides, this comic series fuses brilliant fantasy with belly laughs and a whole host of good vibes, largely thanks to the diversity of its characters and a rather gorgeous burgeoning sis-mance between two of the characters.
Meet Ripley, who is tiny, usually scruffy and sticky, but loves all animals and has some surprisingly mean skills when it comes to crafting. April, who is super-strong but looks like the girl next door, Mal and Molly, the star-crossed lovers who are loyal, brave and above all kind, and Jo whose two dads have set her up with a whole bunch of interests in science and level-headedness to temper her own curiosity and wisdom.
The girls do all the cool stuff Girl Guides do - competing for badges, indulging in outdoor pursuits - but there's something distinctly weird about the camp - and the fact that every now and again weird mythical creatures show up, and there's definitely a bit of a secret history going on between the camp leaders and ex-leaders who show up in the stories from time to time.
I think the closest think I can equate it to is like a mix between Mallory Towers and Gravity Falls but without the school bits. It manages to entertain and stimulate a wide range of age groups (C started reading these when she was about 7 but they're good right up to YA and beyond).
Brilliant artwork, fantastic realistic-feeling characters each with their own flaws and strengths, and of course a lot of bizarre stuff kicking off. Yeah, that's exactly how we like our comics!
Review Links: