lois lane – Author Anthony Avina

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A small-town teenage Lois Lane must navigate the big city and face setback after setback as she pursues her dreams of journalistic glory in author Sarah Kuhn’s “Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story”.

The Synopsis

Can Lois Lane open herself up to friendship, romance, and being vulnerable in order to get the future that’s right for her? She might have to change her entire life plan to find out.

Ambitious small town girl Lois Lane tackles a summer in the big city with gusto, but a cavalcade of setbacks—including an annoying frenemy roommate, a beyond tedious internship at a suddenly corporatized website, and a boss who demotes her to coffee-fetching minion—threatens to derail her extremely detailed life plan. And, you know, her entire future.

When Lois uncovers a potentially explosive scandal, she must team up with the last person she’d expect to publish her own website for young women. And as Lois discovers who she really is and what she actually wants, she becomes embroiled in her own scandal that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard to create.

From beloved author, Sarah Kuhn (Shadow of the Batgirl, Heroine Complex), and with expressive and lively art by Arielle Jovellanos, comes a charming YA story about the strength it takes to embrace the messiness of life.

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The Review

As a lifelong fan of Lois Lane, I loved this new take on the iconic character from DC Comics. The way the author was able to incorporate elements of DC lore and characters into the narrative without making this a typical superhero-driven story was great to see, as it allowed Lois and the cast of characters to shine in their own light. The book had a great balance of both character and narrative development, giving readers equal time to enjoy this modern take on this small corner of the DC Universe while also giving time for these characters to shine.

To me, the heart of this story rested in the retconned character development and the important themes the narrative brought to life. Lois Lane became the perfect character to voice these themes, having been a longtime icon of journalistic integrity and a voice for the truth in DC Comics. The emphasis on issues such as racism, sexism, and the complications of modern friendships in different cultures made this story flow smoothly, while the new take on Lois as an Asian-American young woman just starting out on her path to becoming a journalist allowed both her character to grow and the importance of her Asian culture to shine through in this brilliant story. Combined with the warm and creative artwork of Arielle Jovellanos made this a captivating graphic novel.

The Verdict

Memorable, iconic, and entertaining, author Sarah Kuhn and illustrator Arielle Jovelianos’s “Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story” is a must-read graphic novel of 2023 and one of my contenders for the top graphic novel of the year. The heartfelt commentary on the battle between overall acceptance in our society versus the “anti-woke” proponents and the overall message to give people the voice to speak their truth made this a captivating and thoughtful DC Comics graphic novel. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Sarah Kuhn is the author of Heroine Complex—the first in a series starring Asian American superheroines—for DAW Books. She also wrote The Ruby Equation for the comics anthology Fresh Romance and the romantic comedy novella One Con Glory, which earned praise from io9 and USA Today and is in development as a feature film. Her articles and essays on such topics as geek girl culture, comic book continuity, and Sailor Moon cosplay have appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, AngryAsianMan.com, IGN.com, Back Stage, The Hollywood Reporter, StarTrek.com, Creative Screenwriting, and the Hugo-nominated anthology Chicks Dig Comics. In 2011, she was selected as a finalist for the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) New Writers Award.

http://www.heroinecomplex.com/

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Arielle Jovellanos is a Filipina-American illustrator, writer & comic artist who specializes in narrative illustrations with an eye for character interaction and cute clothing. Her most recent projects include Black Star, an original sci-fi graphic novel written by Eric Anthony Glover for Abrams Megascope, and Evil Thing: A Villains Graphic Novel (Disney-Hyperion) adapted from Serena Valentino’s bestselling Cruella De Vil novel. Her work has also been featured in the Eisner & Harvey nominated anthology Fresh Romance and in magazines, comics, books, and branded social media campaigns. She is currently adjunct faculty in the illustration department at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

https://www.arielle-jovellanos.com/

Tweets by joviellety

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Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond Book Review

Everyone knows the story of Clark Kent and his rise to becoming the world’s most popular superhero, Superman. Yet not everyone has gotten a chance
to know the other hero in that story, and that is the infamous Lois Lane. Before she was a hard-nosed journalist, she was just an army brat who
had trouble fitting in, and sought a place to call home. That is what author Gwenda Bond explores in her YA novel, Lois Lane: Fallout. Here is
the official synopsis:

Lois Lane steps out from behind Superman’s shadow in this fast-paced, high-adrenaline tale of intrigue and bravery.

Army brat Lois Lane has moved more times than she can count—and has caused just as much trouble righting wrongs no one else seems to notice.
Now that her family is in Metropolis for good, though, she’s decided to fly straight. Unfortunately, it won’t be that easy. A group known as the
Warheads is tormenting a girl at school, messing with her mind via an immersive video game they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and
snazzy new job as a reporter, Lois is determined to help. But this isn’t just a case of cyberbullying—something seriously creepy and dangerous
is going on. Thank goodness she can always count on her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy…

This book gives the character of Lois Lane a strong, independent voice that she shown in the comics but never to this extent. Finally this
powerful, strong female comic book character is given a chance in the spotlight, and in this novel she shines brightly. Getting to see the
struggles this young girl goes through while still driving forward fearlessly to protect the innocent students at her new school is refreshing
to see unfold, and by the end of the book readers will be left wanting more from this incredible take on the character. The book is evenly
paced in it’s action and character development, and getting to see the early relationships between Lois and her father, General Lane, as well as
her younger sister Lucy Lane, is a phenomenal character study that is not often explored as heavily in the comics as Superman’s backstory is.

Overall this is a fantastic story that every DC Comics/Lois Lane fan should read. Gwenda Bond has eloquently captured the essence of one of my
favorite DC characters, and everyone should check out this amazing YA novel about one of the best comic book journalists in the world, Lois Lane.
Be sure to check out Lois Lane: Fallout now!