By Jen Tait
“Crystal Cadets” #1, a new comic book series by writer Anne Toole and artist Katie O’Neill, made its debut on October 13, 2014, under the Roar Comics label. With its easy-to-follow storyline and brightly colored, well-delineated artwork, the likeliest audience for “Crystal Cadets’” will be girls aged six to ten, but I suspect a fair number of adults, parental or otherwise, will find it difficult not to succumb to this series’ charm, especially given its flashes of sly wit; it certainly sustained my interest to the last, set-up-for-a-sequel line of the book, and trust me, it’s been quite a few decades since I’ve seen 10.
“Crystal Cadets’” #1 begins by introducing us to Zoe, a young girl of 9 or so whose first day at her new school brings her face-to-face with the school’s trio of mean girls on that which is surely the bane of every non-athletic girl’s existence, both in literature and real-life — the odious and dreaded event known as The First Day of Gym Class. Fortunately for Zoe, an equal and opposing force of nice girls quickly appears to defend her, to the bemusement of the bullies, who’re mystified by their sudden, rather magical appearance. When queried, the girls explain that they’re “uh… exchange students! From… Oklahoma!” – a statement which is transparently doubtful, to say the least.
Without giving away too much of the plot, suffice to say this is where Issue #1 of “Crystal Cadets” really takes off, leading us to the discovery that Zoe is a very special child who has been placed with adoptive parents by her birth mother for her own safety, to the introduction of both a magical crystal and a flying monster that must be battled, and finally, to the knowledge that there is some evil force akin to the one in “Invasion of the Body Snatches” at work.
“Crystal Cadets” makes no attempt to reinvent the wheel — and why should it when ‘the outsider who turns out to be so “outside” that he or she is literally from another planet’ paradigm remains so enduringly popular? It certainly worked for “Superman,” although in truth, “Crystal Cadets’” ‘young girl sent to save the world’ trope makes it a far likelier spiritual heir to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than to “Superman,” even if, like Superman, its heroine is ultimately revealed to be from another planet.
Indeed, except for Zoe’s adoptive father, the world of “Crystal Cadets” #1 is entirely populated by girls both naughty and nice, which will surely be a welcome change for girls seeking their own incredibly empowered comic book heroines. In a genre that overwhelmingly features male heroes — as well as one in which girls are either depicted as admiring spectators to the action or absent altogether — “Crystal Cadets” shines as brightly as a diamond … or perhaps we should make that a crystal.
Cover and Art by Katie O’Neill.
Colors by Paulina Ganucheau.
Letters by Erika Terriquez.
Edited by Adam Staffaroni.
Kate Wardenburg, Assistant Story Editor.
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