Greg MeansRecensioni

Meet Mr. and Ms. Average Couple.

Jane's a skater girl and Jack's working a food trolley trying to make ends meet. It's essentially love at first sight.

It's also real world friends trying to make decisions for the new couple. One hundred percent realistic. And I'm not being sarcastic. We've all got friends like that, right? The ones who think they're puppet masters? No. Fine, maybe it's just me.

But Jack and Jane are that couple that are put to the test by a network of meddlesome exes who feel like some men are made to be alone. And Jane has to decide if she agrees or if she wants to make that choice with her own blessed brain.

Wonderfully original. I've already read it more than once.

There were a lot of elements to this I really liked, but I just couldn't over the whole idea of a "cute girl network." Even though I've heard of this kind of thing in the real world, I didn't really like how it played out in this book. It would appear that, apart from Jane and kinda-sorta Wendy and Rose, most of the girls in this book--and it seems to imply also the whole town--were willing participants in this network, which I felt kind of furthermore implied that most girls in general would willingly take part in this totally unfair and malicious system. I'm glad Jane articulated what was wrong with the whole thing at the end, but I feel like it came too late. Sure, girls (as well as boys) like to do their fair share of gossiping and the grapevine in particular cities can be fairly pervasive, but I figure you have to be pretty immature to willingly participate in this type of network and take it as gospel. And to be fair, the dudes in this book (at least Jack's friends in particular) were pretty horrible, too.

However, I do appreciate that this is pretty much a slightly alternative chick lit graphic novel, of which there are few to my knowledge, and generally, this is the type of qualm I have with chick lit, so there you go. The art is fantastic (note to self, check more of Joe Flood's stuff), Jane was awesome, and Jack was funny (and while a total airhead, didn't deserve to be dissed so vehemently).

This graphic novel gets four stars for two very simple reasons:

1) The illustrative work in this book is adorable, and fits with the story just perfectly.
2) It's about real relationships between both friends and couples. Which is refreshing!

Jane is a bundle of hilarity and opinions. She's a skater girl at heart, and totally pissed about the fact that she isn't taken seriously in the hobby that she loves. Girls are only there to look pretty, right? They love sparkles, and ponies, and want to have a million babies with sexy, smoldering vampyre boyfriends... right? Never say any of that to Jane, unless you're willing to fend off the scathing, wholly intelligent remarks that will come flying out of her mouth. I love this girl.

Jack is a messy, funny, sweetheart who just so happens to be a layabout as well. His current job is working at a soup cart which, as he puts it, is the best job ever because you always get free soup! He's so darn adorable. His whole persona screams "I don't quite have my shit together yet, but I'm honest and sweet". Jack is just too much fun to follow.

Put these two together, and you have fun and kooky banter for days. I loved how this graphic novel doesn't shy away from the fact that we're all major dorks sometimes. Yes, sometimes we say stupid things when we're nervous. Yes, we are all flawed in some way but there's always someone to compliment those flaws. Jane and Jack aren't a "perfect couple" persay, but they definitely fit together like a puzzle.

Hilariously, my favorite part of this whole story was the titular group "The Cute Girl Network". A network of women who are ready and willing to dish all the hateful gossip on a guy to any girl who might want to date him. I don't want to spoil, but watching Jane deal with this was so much fun! I couldn't get enough of the fact that these characters point out so many things that are fundamentally wrong with the way people think "good boyfriends" should act. *wipes a tear* Love it.

This is getting lengthy, so I'll quit typing. Suffice it to say that this was a fun, dysfunctional look into how two people can fit together so perfectly, flaws and all. I adored it.

eARC from NetGalley.

Your basic boy meets girl, dating limbo, dating decision hipster "new adult" love story.

The good: seem less storytelling. Jane is smart, strong and not swayed by the opinions of others - excellent role model.

Because I read the ARC, I don't know how the finished artwork will look, but overall no complaints.

Looking forward to discovering more by this author.

Flakey soup dude and cute skater girl fall in love. Sweet and funny.

Jane (skater girl) meets Jack (soup dude) and they hit it off... until the Cute Girl Network hears about them and tries to dissuade her. With commentary on the lack of respect for girl skaters, a pretty awesome discussion of a Twilight-esque novel and some pretty kickin skate moves, and I'm pretty hooked.

quick read with charming pictures. made me think about the gossip in my life and whether discussing other people's past mistakes is the most helpful way to get to know someone. satisfying ending. Some frank sexual talk, illustrations are not graphic though.

In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Anne Elliot allows her friends and family to talk her out of an imprudent marriage to the poor Frederick Wentworth, even though she loves him, and then spends her life regretting that decision. Oddly enough, the graphic novel The Cute Girl Network reminds me a bit of Persuasion. Reed and Means tackle the difficulties of modern dating and the question of how important the opinions of others are in dating choices.

Read the A Reader of Fictions.

Jane's just moved to town to reboot her life a bit. Jack is a bit of a loser, who well...means well, that mans a Soup cart in the middle of the city. The two meet when Jane wipes out on her skateboard right in front of Jack's Soup cart! And well one thing leads to another and the two agree to a date. That is...until the "Cute Girl Network," an information group of local single woman, seek to put a stop to it. You see most of them have dated Jack before and well...he has a rather spotty romantic history. He's not mean or anything, he's just not Prince Charming. And Jane is about to learn every detail of Jack's past dates whether she wants to or not. Will Jack and Jane ever hook up? Or with the Cute Girl Network prevail?

I admit the first time I read this story it didn't quite catch my fancy. I mean it was good and I enjoyed it, heck I even got it signed at SPX. But it took another read through to catch some of what the authors were saying. That we all have different ideas of what prince or princess charming should be. The man that maybe a flop for some, is going to be just right for someone else and maybe, just maybe we shouldn't judge them because they didn't work out for us. This is a graphic novel for teens (and adults) that doesn't play to stereotypes. Jane rides and skateboard, works at a skateboard shop and is open about her life. And Jack...well Jack plays the everyman, whose a bit clueless, but means well. And these two characters work great together! And that's what keeps the story moving, is that you see hope for them regardless of what everyone else thinks. And Jane is a fantastic role model, because she doesn't listen to what the network says about Jack. She trusts what she knows and feels and follows her heart to where it leads her. And that's the best thing about this story.

Joe Flood's character designs for the book are pitch perfect. He captures that goofy awkwardness and gentle self confidence of Jack easily. You can look at him in the very first panel and know that while he's a bit clumsy, he really is a good guy. And that Jane is one of those kick ass ladies that takes names, but knows what she wants and is sure of herself. It's great to have that type of feeling and connection to the characters. The illustrations remind me a lot of the artwork of Faith Erin Hicks or Stephen McCraine, who does the "Mal and Chad" series. Nice solid designs, with some nice detail hidden in there, but nothing that overwhelms the reader or makes them lose track of the story.

The one minor issue with the book is that while this would be a great book for teens, it has to be one whose parents are comfortable with the mention of sex and depiction of nudity. It's not a lot, but it's enough to make me a bit wary about recommending it to some of my normal readers. Other than that I enjoyed the book and I'd give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Gina from FirstSecond½

Jack works at a soup cart and Jane is a female skateboarder who happens to fall on her butt in from of him and it all takes off from there. This graphic novel was funny and I giggle most of the way through it. There were some more serious moments about love and learning about what you truly want, but mostly it was a quirky, fun, and entertaining read. Jane is strong and she comes off as much through her conversations with the boys/men around her all the time and Jack is nerdy and cute and a clumsy mess but it adds to his appeal. I really enjoyed reading this and the art was great.

While Jane was great, many of her 'friends' were not. They were not supportive of her and many of the females in the novel come off as catty and judgmental. :/

The illustrator took the time to really set up the places and their experiences together and it made it all the more real and fun. I especially liked the ending and the images there. They are very detailed and tie up the story very nicely.

Interested in love stories but not a fan of overly raunchy romance? This would be a good one for you to grab.

Clutch is back! And this issues is subtitled "House of the damned" We follow Clutch McBastard back to the year 2003 as he reminds us that the second Iraq war had just begun, he was busy with friends, being a librarian and running a small record label. Then, he got the illfated idea to buy a house. Follow Clutch through adventures and misadventures, his bike getting stolen, Blazers games, out of context quotes and and non sequiters by the usual suspects from Clutch comics, a suspiciously Snakepit looking party, and more!

- http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/title/1779/