Novel Ideas By Bill Love

Burnout
Minx/DC Comics

Writer- Rebecca Donner ... Artist- Inaki Miranda
144pgs ... $9.99 .... ISBN 978-1-4012-1537-8

The first review in this series was for grown-ups (Sight Unseen), the second for kids (Amulet). For the third let’s look at a book for a vastly underserved market, the no- longer- a –kid-but-far-from- a-grown-up young adult market. Walk into any bookstore and you will find a huge section catering to the interests of junior high age kids. Many if not most of these books are written for young girls. They focus on relationships and first romances and the complications of friendships and family. This is not an area comics are well know for in this country, but certain America publishers are realizing that there is no reason that graphic novels can’t compete in this category. Case in point…

Mom’s alcoholic boyfriend. Developing a crush on your soon-to-be stepbrother. The complex politics of ecoterrorism. These are the unlikely ingredients of Burnout by writer Rebecca Donner and artist Inaki Miranda. If these topics seem a little bit sensational, well, they are meant to be. The story is meant to be a little bit risky, a little bit cutting edge. The intended age group is tired of safe little stories for children and is starting to think about and deal with the real world problems they and their friends are facing. So, does Burnout deliver what they are looking for? The short answer is yes.

Burnout tells the story of fourteen year old Danni, uprooted from her life in the city and transported to a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest. Her mother’s choice in boyfriends leaves much to be desired. Danni starts a risky, (in more ways than one), relationship with the boy that might become her stepbrother. To prove herself to Haskell she joins him in his acts of ecoterrorism, extreme and harmful measures in the name of a good cause. Her best friend is part of a logging family. How far is Danni willing to go for Haskell? How close can you stand to the fire before you get burned?

The story is about choices and consequences. In a very simple and straightforward style, ably abetted by the clear but expressive artwork of Inaki Miranda, Rebecca Donner tells a story of complex characters who never find a simple answer. Both Danni and her mother find themselves defined by the men in their lives without really knowing it. The backdrop of the Pacific Northwest is fascinating and informative and helps to propel the story, but it is the real and flawed characters that stay with you.

Burnout is a wonderful l story, an often sad cautionary tale that provides a glimmer of hope at the end. The characters are real people and every reader will see someone they know in them. The politics are also real and shown from both sides without easy answers. The reader is left with much to think about. Not bad for a little graphic novel about a teenage girl. If this book doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, put it in the hands of a young girl who doesn’t think she likes comics and change her mind!

Novel Ideas - Bill Love, Senior Editor of Graphic Novel Scene Magazine, looks at comics that never saw a staple. Many creators bypass the magazine format and publish original graphic novels. Novel Ideas spotlights the best, both old and new.