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dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
A world devouring apocalypse is nigh and the only things standing in its way are two elderly women?
Ahoy Comics put out some interesting offerings and I'm always willing to give them a chance so I grabbed this when it came out.
Lottie Thorn is the chosen one but instead of a teenager, she's an elderly woman who enjoys drinking tea and baking. Her mentor is Lady Peruvia Ashlington-Voss, a Guardian that has been trying to avert the end of the world for ages. Lottie's teenage sidekick Sarah rounds out the side of good. The villain of the piece is a cosmically huge collection of eyes and mouths.
McCourt takes some changes with the story, subverting my expectations. It doesn't go straight from point A to point B like I thought it might. Still, the whole thing feels like Neil Gaiman Lite at times, from the story itself to the monster that I swore was in a couple issues of Sandman.
Ash & Thorn is another fun comic from Ahoy Comics. Three out of five battle scones.
Ahoy Comics put out some interesting offerings and I'm always willing to give them a chance so I grabbed this when it came out.
Lottie Thorn is the chosen one but instead of a teenager, she's an elderly woman who enjoys drinking tea and baking. Her mentor is Lady Peruvia Ashlington-Voss, a Guardian that has been trying to avert the end of the world for ages. Lottie's teenage sidekick Sarah rounds out the side of good. The villain of the piece is a cosmically huge collection of eyes and mouths.
McCourt takes some changes with the story, subverting my expectations. It doesn't go straight from point A to point B like I thought it might. Still, the whole thing feels like Neil Gaiman Lite at times, from the story itself to the monster that I swore was in a couple issues of Sandman.
Ash & Thorn is another fun comic from Ahoy Comics. Three out of five battle scones.
ellelainey's review against another edition
5.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Ash & Thorn, Vol. 1: Recipe for Disaster
by Mariah McCourt, Soo Lee, Jill Thompson
★★★★★
120 Pages
Content Warning: alien blood and gore
As a woman who grew up with the immense female-centric-influence of Buffy and The Golden Girls re-runs, the moment I saw this was billed as Buffy meets Golden Girls, I was in. 100%. What I found was original, clever, and so full of talent that it was breathtakingly refreshing.
Lottie is an octogenarian, surprised by a woman who appears to ask to see her granddaughter, because the apocalypse is coming and Lottie is the “Chosen One” to help prevent it. Discovering the Chosen One is an octogenarian is the first in a long line of revelations, for both Peruvia – her guide and teacher through the apocalypse – and for Lottie herself. Kicking ass isn't quite the same when you're in your 80s, but she does a hell of a job.
The artwork was appropriately gritty, bright and playful, just like Lottie. Peruvia was prim and proper, a female version of Buffy's Giles, but without the stuffiness and oblivious innocence. Peruvia is a bit more gritty and stalwart than Giles, and better for it. She's a tough old broad and not impervious to the pitfalls of her work. Pickle – a fae fairy who plays assistant and troublemaker equally – was adorable and just the right amount of snarky. The unwitting assistant Sarah – a teenage girl, who Lottie teaches – is a welcome dose of reality, humanity and calm in the chaos.
Together, this cast of women – on and behind the pages – do a remarkable job of reviving a dying trope. I can't wait to read more.
~
Favourite Panel
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Ash & Thorn, Vol. 1: Recipe for Disaster
by Mariah McCourt, Soo Lee, Jill Thompson
★★★★★
120 Pages
Content Warning: alien blood and gore
As a woman who grew up with the immense female-centric-influence of Buffy and The Golden Girls re-runs, the moment I saw this was billed as Buffy meets Golden Girls, I was in. 100%. What I found was original, clever, and so full of talent that it was breathtakingly refreshing.
Lottie is an octogenarian, surprised by a woman who appears to ask to see her granddaughter, because the apocalypse is coming and Lottie is the “Chosen One” to help prevent it. Discovering the Chosen One is an octogenarian is the first in a long line of revelations, for both Peruvia – her guide and teacher through the apocalypse – and for Lottie herself. Kicking ass isn't quite the same when you're in your 80s, but she does a hell of a job.
The artwork was appropriately gritty, bright and playful, just like Lottie. Peruvia was prim and proper, a female version of Buffy's Giles, but without the stuffiness and oblivious innocence. Peruvia is a bit more gritty and stalwart than Giles, and better for it. She's a tough old broad and not impervious to the pitfalls of her work. Pickle – a fae fairy who plays assistant and troublemaker equally – was adorable and just the right amount of snarky. The unwitting assistant Sarah – a teenage girl, who Lottie teaches – is a welcome dose of reality, humanity and calm in the chaos.
Together, this cast of women – on and behind the pages – do a remarkable job of reviving a dying trope. I can't wait to read more.
~
Favourite Panel
kranna's review against another edition
5.0
I really like this graphic novel because it takes an unlikely hero and it takes superheroes to a place that I think we should go.we are all the time talking about how we would like more diversity in comics and graphic novels this shows diversity in the way of older individuals becoming superheroes which I absolutely adore the art style is very unique and I like that.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Ash & Thorn is a compilation of the first five issues of the eponymous series by Mariah McCourt (writer) and Soo Lee (artist) with a bang-up cover by the brilliant Jill Thompson. Due out 27th Oct 2020 from Ahoy Comics, it's 120 pages and will be available in paperback format.
This was unbridled fun for me (a middle aged bionerd comics/gaming fan of long long loooong standing). Take one unrepentantly no-bullcrap octogenarian female black retired art teacher's seen-it-all-and-isn't-putting-up-with-your-apocalyptic-nonsense with an equally annoying school marm-ish trainer/helper and a young goth female teenaged protege. Add one "Puck'ish" Nightcrawler looking (the blue Marvel guy) miniature fairy for comic relief, and an eldritch crossworlds horror - wearing an attractive property developer white guy meat-suit, and stir well.
The dialogue is often funny and the plotting is solid. I really loved it that the creative team didn't take every cheap old-lady trope (Lottie Thorn is pretty badass - she uses her baking to stomp, not build bridges) and just run with it. She reminds me in All The Best Ways of Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and Granny Weatherwax ( ❤❤❤ ).
I found it completely delightful and I'm glad to see Ahoy putting non-mainstream work out here for us. I've always loved fiction which combines humor and horror. It's not easy to do, and this team manages. There is a fair amount of gore and violence, but nothing egregiously out of context. I would put it at PG-13. I was unfamiliar with the series before (but have enjoyed the team's previous individual work) and I'll be looking out for more!
Four stars. Love it!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Ash & Thorn is a compilation of the first five issues of the eponymous series by Mariah McCourt (writer) and Soo Lee (artist) with a bang-up cover by the brilliant Jill Thompson. Due out 27th Oct 2020 from Ahoy Comics, it's 120 pages and will be available in paperback format.
This was unbridled fun for me (a middle aged bionerd comics/gaming fan of long long loooong standing). Take one unrepentantly no-bullcrap octogenarian female black retired art teacher's seen-it-all-and-isn't-putting-up-with-your-apocalyptic-nonsense with an equally annoying school marm-ish trainer/helper and a young goth female teenaged protege. Add one "Puck'ish" Nightcrawler looking (the blue Marvel guy) miniature fairy for comic relief, and an eldritch crossworlds horror - wearing an attractive property developer white guy meat-suit, and stir well.
The dialogue is often funny and the plotting is solid. I really loved it that the creative team didn't take every cheap old-lady trope (Lottie Thorn is pretty badass - she uses her baking to stomp, not build bridges) and just run with it. She reminds me in All The Best Ways of Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and Granny Weatherwax ( ❤❤❤ ).
I found it completely delightful and I'm glad to see Ahoy putting non-mainstream work out here for us. I've always loved fiction which combines humor and horror. It's not easy to do, and this team manages. There is a fair amount of gore and violence, but nothing egregiously out of context. I would put it at PG-13. I was unfamiliar with the series before (but have enjoyed the team's previous individual work) and I'll be looking out for more!
Four stars. Love it!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
collie6's review against another edition
3.0
2.5-3
Premise was great. I just wanted more. I won't be continuing if more come out.
Premise was great. I just wanted more. I won't be continuing if more come out.
graypeape's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this a lot. It grabs tropes and snarks them up, giving us a good, end-of-the-world, apocalypse-is-coming story and a strong heroine, and makes it funny. Eighty-something Lottie Thorn would rather be baking, painting, or enjoying some tea, but no, she's The Chosen One, The Champion, who is expected to defeat evil and stop the coming apocalypse. She does have help- there's the equally elderly Lady Peruvia Ashlington-Voss, a battle trainer from another realm who has no experience with battle, relying on manuals to guide her; Sarah, an art student who accidentally becomes an assistant to The Champion; and a sassy little fey named Pickle who provides snarky one-liners and pessimistic information. The villain, Court, is the tropeyist of all, a totally one-dimensional baddie who looks like a handsome, elite white man in an expensive suit, whose purpose is attaining money and power, but is actually a many eyed, many tentacled dark god/demon/whatever evil thing. This is a straightforward story, there are fights with demons, blood and gore, magical manuals, spells, and rituals, good vs. evil, the whole bit, and takes all that and makes it a little off, not quite right, but great none-the-less. Having the heroine be an octogenarian is so refreshing, and Lotte is so relatable! Her character is over this before it's even started, she's pragmatic, and she's an activist who knows how to find out what's going on behind the scenes. She's training hard, but the battles are getting tougher. Then Sarah finds a crazy and unlikely solution that just might work.....
The dialog has lots of great, funny moments, the art has a nice, kinda creepy vibe going on, there's good character development, and an interesting, fun story. The ending leaves open the possibility of more to come, but isn't so cliffhangery that you wanna smack the author. Very entertaining!
#AshThornVolumeOneRecipeforDisaster #NetGalley
The dialog has lots of great, funny moments, the art has a nice, kinda creepy vibe going on, there's good character development, and an interesting, fun story. The ending leaves open the possibility of more to come, but isn't so cliffhangery that you wanna smack the author. Very entertaining!
#AshThornVolumeOneRecipeforDisaster #NetGalley
teabooksart's review against another edition
5.0
YES YES YES!!!! I really want more of this story but Lottie Thorn is such an amazing, badass protagonist. Tea? Baking? Subversion of tropes and hilarious quips? YES!!!!
My enthusiasm and joy at reading this is difficult to contain if that wasn't clear. This is absolutely the apocalypse hero narrative I have been waiting for. Please give this a chance - the art is gorgeous and it's such a fun read!
My enthusiasm and joy at reading this is difficult to contain if that wasn't clear. This is absolutely the apocalypse hero narrative I have been waiting for. Please give this a chance - the art is gorgeous and it's such a fun read!