SCARY GODMOTHER: REVENGE OF JIMMY & SCARY GODMOTHER: MYSTERY DATE.
Can Jimmy save himself by stopping Halloween? And will the Scary Godmother survive her admirer's amorous attentions?.

Writer and Artist: Jill Thompson
Hardcover original graphic novels
Published by Sirius Entertainment 1998/9
$19.95 each

Reviewed by Christopher Butcher

The best Halloweens I ever had were the ones where my mother and brother and I all pitched in to make the costumes. I remember one year, going as a robot. I was really into Transformers at the time, and really wanted a transformers costume. At first when mom said we were going to make it, I was incredulous to say the least (granted, at 8 or 9 I didn't know what incredulous meant, but in retrospect I certainly was). All of the best costumes were bought at the store. He-Man and Skeletor, Spider-man, all of these past costume spectacles were store-bought, and making a costume seemedƒ lame.

I'll have to say I wasn't anymore impressed when mom came home and dropped a box with some silver plastic tubing in it at my feet and told me this was my costume. But with a little work, a lot of silver spray paint, and a timely intervention by my dad (duct tape in hand), I had a truly fantastic costume. Not only that, it's the only costume I actually remember wearing as a kid.

That was when I realized that Halloween didn't necessarily need to be store-bought, that part of the fun was the ingenuity associated with it, and being able to scary people also certainly helped. There really is a spirit of Halloween, as corny as that sounds. The Scary Godmother is the spirit of Halloween.

"Scary Godmother is the spirit of Halloween"

Scary Godmother is both charming and scary, particularly because it celebrates the fun parts of being scared. The pangs of anxiety and suspense that eventually give way to elation when the surprise is revealed; that's the place where the Fright Side (where all of the monsters of the world live) exists. Never overly macabre, or saccharine, Scary Godmother is the work of someone that truly loves Halloween, and wants to share that appreciation with others.

In the first book, we're introduced to our cast of characters, Scary Godmother; the queen of Halloween, Bug-a-boo; the multi-eyed creepy monster under the bed, Mr. Pettibone; the skeleton in the closet who keep's all of the world's secrets, Hannah Marie; a darling girl who befriends the monsters of the Fright Side, and Jimmy, Hannah Marie's older cousin who plays a very nasty trick on her.

The next two books in the Scary Godmother series, 'Revenge of Jimmy' and 'The Mystery Date' are very much books about Jimmy, Hannah Marie's cousin. Although Hannah Marie is the method by which the human characters interact with the Fright Side characters, Jimmy, who is very much the antagonist in the first book shifts towards being the protagonist by the end of the third book.

In REVENGE OF JIMMY, we find that Jimmy has grown dreadfully frightened of monsters since last Halloween, because last Halloween he learned that all of the creepy crawly things under the bead actually exist. Granted, they had befriended Hannah Marie, but Jimmy is convinced that the Monsters are specifically after him, and despite his rather humorous attempts at warding them off, the upcoming Halloween is the one time that the monsters of the Fright Side can cross over unhindered into our world, and Jimmy does not want that to happen. What can he do? Stop Halloween, of course.

"Thompson has manufactured a deft merger of the childrens book style with the conventions of comics"

REVENGE OF JIMMY continues, and in many cases improves upon the great artistic style that Thompson adapted for the Scary Godmother books. Thompson's illustrations have a much lighter touch this time around, and the colors, while still bold and bright, seem to have a much softer touch, allowing for a wider exploration of her palette, and conversely, the Scary Godmother's world.

This book also takes place about half in the real world, half in the Fright Side. The Fright Side scenes are a treat, as this mirror-world is every bit as bold and wonky as the Scary Godmother herself. Bold patterns decorate floors and walls, the sky is an ever-tumultuous sea of blue-black clouds, and the foliage is always a lush array of autumn oranges and reds. As beautiful as it sounds, at times it's almost too much detail though, and it detracts some of the focus from the very detail oriented characters. A prime example of this is where the Scary Godmother is very difficult to distinguish from her crooked and cluttered kitchen. The detail shows great skill, but it does get a little distracting sometimes, particularly so for younger readers.

The story itself resolves itself very positively, and what amounts to a series of mean-spirited tricks turn themselves into great ways to make Halloween even better (including home-made costumes), thanks to the plucky optimism of Hannah Marie. The theme of overcoming adversity is matched by the resolution of the book, which places emphasis on turning enemies into new friends. A surprising outcome for a book about scarring people at Halloween.

REVENGE OF JIMMY improves upon the first Scary Godmother book in almost every way, as Thompson gets more comfortable with the style she's adapted, as well as the world which she's created. The characters seem much more developed and interesting this time through, and it makes for a more compelling read. Er, for the younger set that isƒ

This year's Scary Godmother installment, THE MYSTERY DATE, continues to improve upon the formula Thompson has developed, although it takes a bit of a strange turn in introducing the themes of love and dating to such a young audience. Still, it's all done somewhat tongue-in-cheek, so it remains all-ages appropriate (and very enjoyable!).

Scary Godmother is the star of the show this time around, and as such THE MYSTERY DATE makes almost as good of an introduction to the Scary Godmother series as the first book did. We really get to see a lot of Thompson's voice as a writer this time around, as she speaks through both the Scary Godmother and the narrator. It's interesting to see Thompson the writer when she's worked almost exclusively as an artist in the past. She has manufactured a deft merger of the children's book style with the conventions of comics, making this a unique read. It also serves as a wonderful bridge between children's books and comics, which might be the most devilishly clever way to get younger readers into comics that I've ever seen. In fact, there are "straight" Scary Godmother comics out there for public consumption as well.

The art also continues to improve, as Thompson grows more comfortable with both her characters, and her palette. My one quibble is that the panel-to-panel storytelling does remain rather stagnant, which for younger children is probably the best way to present the story. Still, considering some of the fun and inventive page layouts that Thompson creates in the SCARY GODMOTHER comic books, it seems a shame not to be able to experience them in full color.

But despite any minor quibbles I might have with the books, SCARY GODMOTHER gets a top recommendation from me. The books are gorgeous, well-written, and the perfect bridge between storybooks and comic books, which also makes them great gifts for young readers. Jill Thompson has put together a fantastic world in The Fright Side, and one you should explore today.

Recommended

Christopher Butcher is Columns Editor of PopImage.

Back

Attitude | ProFile | Industrial
Interviews | Reviews | Pi Comics
Talkback | Archives | Gallery