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Emily and the Strangers #1 Advanced Review

By Andy Frisk
January 20, 2013 - 20:40

Emily really, really wants the Haunted Guitar of Professa Kraken , the deceased "best musician of all time." In order to do so though, Emily must put together a contest winning song and turn it into the local radio station star, DJ Eclectic. Emily's music is missing something though. Will she be forced to work with a band (i.e. other people!?) to achieve her dream of owning the Haunted Guitar?

Emily the Strange creator Rob Reger, writer Mariah Huehner, and artist Emily Ivie bring the iconic Emily's newest adventure from Dark Horse Comics to classic Emily-style life. Ever the lover of science and math, Emily devises several different musical contraptions in order to get the perfect sound for her sure to be contest winning song, but in the end bringing things down to basics with an electric guitar is what ends up getting Emily halfway there to winning the contest. The rest of the way is made possible by the enigmatic studio intern who receives, and helps to finish, her demo for the shadowy DJ Eclectic. Emily doesn't get the guitar without consequences though. The girl who does everything best alone is going to have to work with others to achieve her goal this time. Reger and Huehner are pushing Emily into strange (no pun intended) territory and the results should be one of, if not the, most interesting Emily the Strange stories ever.

Emily's stories are only successful in comic book form if the artist bringing her to life really has the talent to get Emily's unique look, world, cats, and the contraptions that inhabit it, right. Emily (isn't that a cool first name for an Emily artist) Ivie nails every visual aspect of Emily and the Strangers #1, from the freaky look of the Haunted Guitar to Emily's goth-rock/alt-rock girl look. Emily looks a bit younger than usual here though, and a bit more girly than even Emily (the character) might like, but generally every aspect of her look here is instantly recognizable as Emily the Strange. The true power of Ivie's art is more accounted for through the awesomely detailed panel background work she puts into Emily and the Strangers #1. Every panel is a visual treat.   

After nearly 20 years, Emily the Strange, the strange multimedia icon, continues to roll strongly on. Emily and the Strangers just might (thankfully) be the first really new look into the character/meme we've had in a long time though.

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12