By Keidra Chaney
So I caught up with this comic pretty quickly and I decided to read the Holiday Special issue since there was still enough time to post a review while it’s still technically the holidays. It’s kind of an outtake issue, i don’t think there’s much storywise that is absolutely necessary to read before jumping into the next story arc, but it’s a cute and fun story (The Holograms and the Misfits are in a Christmas gift swap) and there’s fun comic moments. We don’t learn much except that Stormer and Kimber haven’t gotten over each other, and Jerrica/Rio and Aja/Craig are legit couples now. Also we learn that Pizzazz is Jewish, which Raizel pointed out is a trope usually trotted out during holiday specials to give an excuse for someone to not be in the “Christmas spirit” (“I don’t even celebrate this holiday!”).
There’s a different artist for this special than the previous arc, and that took some getting used to for me. I feel like the body type diversity was not quite as obvious in this issue but still there. I did love the way that the artist Amy Mebberson drew facial expressions, she could convey confusion, disgust, and delight so well and they looked like real people.
Personally, I was happy that Shana finally seems to be getting her own story arc, and that we finally get to meet her series boyfriend Anthony Julian (at least I think he’s Anthony Julian, he’s called “Tony” in the comic and he’s a bartender rather than a music video director) It was so fun for me to see Drunk Shana, complaining after her horrible date, and that panel has become all sort of social media avatar fodder for me. I am still waiting for Jetta to have a storyline of her own as well, so far her role in the comics is to be British (she says “blimey” and “wanker” in almost every frame she’s in.)
Either way, this issue is a fun continuation of Kelly Thompson’s Jem universe, so if you’re a fan of the comic, pick this one up as well and enjoy!