Jonesy is a self-described “cool dork”. She spends most of her time watching anime, making zines, or working at her Dad’s donut shop until she discovers that she bears the powers of Cupid. Jonesy can make anyone fall in love with anyone, well, except for herself. This leads to all sorts of interesting situations involving the school dance, ferrets, a city carnival, a mega-famous singer, her dad, the principal, and an incident concerning carnations and the entire student body.
The issues that make up this first volume of Jonesy are above all, incredibly fun. The writing is smart and full of humor. Jonesy has a very distinctive speech pattern that makes her character both endearing and unique. For example, she calls her pet ferret “her first born ferret son.” The relationships in the book are also really well written. Jonesy comes from a divorced family, lives with her father, who is constantly making terrible puns, and receives frequent phone advice from her grandmother whom she affectionately calls “abuelita”. Along with Jonesy’s lively family the book is also served by a great group of supporting friends from her high school as well as frenemies who serve as victims, saviors, and pawns in her romantic schemes. It is lovely to see so much diversity in a single graphic novel.
The art in the book is best described as vibrant. The colors, lines, and character designs are bold and striking. Caitlin Rose Boyle has created a style for Jonesy that is uniquely her own, featuring multiple piercings in her ears, a wild mane of hair, and layered punk/emo/rocker chic clothes. The comic’s colors, by Mickey Quinn, are extraordinary. Rich purples, blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and blacks that really drive the action. The artists also employ an interesting technique where the characters in the foreground are bolded compared to the characters and scenery in the background, which often appear in a muted complementary color to the foreground action.
Jonesy’s world is firmly set in her high school and features mostly teen antics. She starts almost every issue off by lamenting the fact that it is the worst day ever and describing why. This dramatization will appeal to teens and fans of Raina Telgemeier’s books Smile and Sisters, as they share a lot of the same real world angst. But Jonesy also has its own touch of fantasy zaniness like what you might find in Steven Universe or Adventure Time.
Overall, Jonesy is just incredibly enjoyable to read. Each page is funny, bright, and entertaining. and the comic will appeal to a wide audience of readers. Teens will especially enjoy Jonesy’s irreverent attitude towards school and life, while empathizing with her desire to solve her own problems and “fix” her mistakes.
Jonesy, vol. 1
by Sam Humphries
Art by Caitlin Rose Boyle
ISBN: 9781608868834
Boom!, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: Teen
