The Cute Girl Network by Greg Means, M.K. Reed, & Joe Flood

Flood’s artwork is not what could be described as minimalist. Looking at a full page can be almost tiring. He fills every corner with pattern and background detail. A single panel might contain: four women sitting around a kitchen table bearing drinks, a salad, plates, a casserole, condiments, etc. Each woman each holds a book; the kitchen where they sit is viewed at an angle, with a black-and-white tiled floor, floral wallpaper below a chair rail, a tiled backsplash behind the range; each chair is designed differently; Jane waits in the doorway, with the door and a washer-dryer combo visible; there are two dish towels hanging on the handle of the oven; an industrial metal storage unit holds dry goods. That visual audit doest even even include everything, and there are four other panels on the page. It’s a strange kind of excess, one that isn’t aiming to be showy, just kind of compulsively complete.

In contrast, although Flood’s characters are fully rendered, they have an appealing simplicity. Many don’t have pupils. Facial features are established in a few quick lines. Clothing receives far more detail, but expressiveness doesn’t suffer. Network supports a nicely-varied cast, in terms of ethnicity, body type, and personality, and the book has things to say beyond its immediate plot, with a strong undercurrent encouraging the reader to go his or her own way and to treat others with respect. The writing is sharp and funny, with a fine Twilight parody scattered throughout and bonused in the last few pages. The book seems, on the whole, like an excellent thing to give to your teenage daughter/cousin/sister who reads Rookie and has a mind of her own.