Amelia Rules #1

From the random stack of unread comics. I've been a fan of this title for a while, but I've read the trade paperbacks more than the individual issues. Not sure where I picked this up, but it's nice to have it in my collection.

Title: Amelia Rules!
Issue: 1
Publisher: Renaissance Press
Date: 2001
Writer: Jimmy Gownley
Artist: Jimmy Gownley
Editor: Michael Cohen

This is the first issue of the story of Amelia, a young girl whose parents recently divorced. She and her mom have moved to a new town to live with her mom's sister.

Amelia quickly acquires a band of misfit friends (and sometimes enemies), and the proceed to have adventures involving freeze-tag, superheroics, neighborhood bullies, sneeze-barfs, and Saturday morning TV shows.

This stayed mostly in silly territory before getting more serious in the last segment with Amelia's aunt comforting Amelia while Amelia's parents argue on the phone.

The humorous portions were fast-paced and fun. Writer/artist Jimmy Gownley employs excellent comedic timing, and gets in plenty of laughs in each segment. The superhero jokes play nicely to the geeky audience.

The serious moments are tender and feel genuine.

Rating: 8/10

30 Day Comic Challenge Day 09

Day 09 - Most Touching Comic Book/Comic Book Scene.

Remember yesterday's entry?

One of the reasons I've been so impressed with Jimmy Gownley's work on Amelia Rules! is his ability to create poignant moments amid all the silliness. One of the ones that really touched me was a conversation between Amelia and a friend who is dealing with the emotional strain of a father about to be deployed overseas.



What makes this scene so powerful is everything that is left unsaid. That's a mark of great writing.

From My Creations

I love the interaction between Kaeli and the shapeshifter Carcebe in the first issue of Kaeli & Rebecca. It was fun writing Carcebe as just awakening to awareness of the individuality that she never knew she had. I hope that I was able to create a touching interaction that will win over the reader to a character who was originally introduced as a (literally!) faceless villain.


The 30 Day Comic Challenge Page on Facebook is here. Here is the complete list of daily topics:

30 Day Comic Challenge
Day 01 - Your first comic book.
Day 02 - Your favorite character.
Day 03 - A comic that is underrated.
Day 04 - Your guilty pleasure comic or character.
Day 05 - Comic character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 06 - Most annoying character.
Day 07 - Favorite comic couple.
Day 08 - Best series being published right now.
Day 09 - Most touching comic book/comic book scene.
Day 10 - Dream versus match.
Day 11 - Favorite comic book cartoon series.
Day 12 - A comic everyone should read.
Day 13 - A book you’ve read more than five times.
Day 14 – Most awesome single comic book image
Day 15 - A Picture from the comic you’re reading right now.
Day 16 - Funniest comic book/comic book scene.
Day 17 - Most useless Villain.
Day 18 - Favorite B-list character.
Day 19 - Comic book city/universe you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite super power or skill.
Day 21 - Favorite writer.
Day 22 - A series that you liked but stopped reading
Day 23 - Your favorite artist.
Day 24 - Dream character team up.
Day 25 - A book you plan on reading.
Day 26 - A comic you wish they would make into a movie.
Day 27 - Favorite comic book movie.
Day 28 - Favorite comic publisher.
Day 29 - A comic you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite run or series of all time.

30 Day Comic Challenge Day 08

Day 08 - Best Series Being Published Right Now.

Easy choice. It's Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley.



Great humor, plenty of nerdy-smart dialogue, complex characters, and wonderfully touching moments (see tomorrow's entry). Gownley tells an amazing story that's fun for all ages. Brilliant stuff.

From My Creations

I don't like to judge the comics I write or co-write against each other, so I'll apply a different standard here. I'm going to choose the best comic series I am currently publishing based on the how well the publication process is going. Still a tough decision, but my choice is Perils of Picorna. We've got two issues finished, and the third script is done. I have a great working relationship with the whole team and I was thrilled with how smoothly the editing process on the most recent script went. This is a fun book to work on.


It's also a really fun comic to read!

The 30 Day Comic Challenge Page on Facebook is here. Here is the complete list of daily topics:

30 Day Comic Challenge
Day 01 - Your first comic book.
Day 02 - Your favorite character.
Day 03 - A comic that is underrated.
Day 04 - Your guilty pleasure comic or character.
Day 05 - Comic character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 06 - Most annoying character.
Day 07 - Favorite comic couple.
Day 08 - Best series being published right now.
Day 09 - Most touching comic book/comic book scene.
Day 10 - Dream versus match.
Day 11 - Favorite comic book cartoon series.
Day 12 - A comic everyone should read.
Day 13 - A book you’ve read more than five times.
Day 14 – Most awesome single comic book image
Day 15 - A Picture from the comic you’re reading right now.
Day 16 - Funniest comic book/comic book scene.
Day 17 - Most useless Villain.
Day 18 - Favorite B-list character.
Day 19 - Comic book city/universe you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite super power or skill.
Day 21 - Favorite writer.
Day 22 - A series that you liked but stopped reading
Day 23 - Your favorite artist.
Day 24 - Dream character team up.
Day 25 - A book you plan on reading.
Day 26 - A comic you wish they would make into a movie.
Day 27 - Favorite comic book movie.
Day 28 - Favorite comic publisher.
Day 29 - A comic you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite run or series of all time.

Amelia Rules: When The Past Is A Present

Title: Amelia Rules! When The Past Is A Present
Date: 2010
Publisher: Atheneum
Writer: Jimmy Gownley
Art: Jimmy Gownley
Cover Design: Sonia Chaghatzbanian

This volume collects issues #16-20 (plus a preview from the next collection) of Jimmy Gownley's Amelia Rules comic book.

Amelia McBride is a 5th-grader from New York City who is living in a small town with her mom following her parents' divorce. Her mother's musician sister lives in the same town and Amelia has become friends with a band of nerds, superheroes, ninjas, and misfits. That's the basic scenario. It's handled beautifully, with witty geeky dialogue, fast-paced jokes, and a kind of tenderness that is rare in comics. The opening story "Funny Story" has Amelia's mom going on a date, much to the horror of Amelia, who had plans to watch The Princess Bride with her mom. It doesn't help that the only babysitter available on short notice is, well, delusional. The resulting mayhem is clever and hilarious, and it gives a good taste of what Gownley can accomplish with his cast of characters.

Gownley's work is even stronger on "The Things I Cannot Change", the third chapter in this volume, which tells the story of one of Amelia's friends coping with her father's impending deployment overseas with the Army. "The Things I Cannot Change" is one of the best stories about war that I've ever read in comics, and it's written without a single battle scene.

Amelia Rules has some of the best storytelling in comics these days.

Rating: 9.5/10

I picked this up today at Ocean State Job Lot for $3. Best comic bargain I've gotten in quite a while. I know the purpose of this project is to read the comics I have, not to buy more, but this was too good to pass up!