Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy

Gr 4–8—This volume collects the six issues of the crossover comics featuring characters from the fan favorites "Lumberjanes" and "Gotham Academy" series. Professor MacPherson of Gotham Academy goes missing and the school's Detective Club is on the case. When Rosie, their camp director, is also nowhere to be found, the Lumberjanes embark on a mission to locate her. The two friend groups encounter each other in the woods just as they're being attacked by a trio of skeletal ghosts. Two of their own are taken away by the specters, and thus begins an adventure that joins the two casts in fun and unexpected ways. This mash-up brings together elements that fans will appreciate: friendship-powered high jinks, luminous and vibrant art, and diverse, gender-nonconforming characters who jump off the page. However, some of the dialogue becomes overly saccharine and didactic in parts, and tweens might need to reread it several times to understand references to the 1980s and some of the clunky exposition. While the mystery itself is intriguing—a 1980s teen is stuck in a spell that has reunited her friends at a birthday party 30 years in the making—the denouement might disappoint and confuse those coming to these characters and story lines for the first time. Still, the authors stay true to the spirit of both series, and those who enjoy friendship-themed comics will delight in this volume.