Review: Troublemaker by Janet Evanovich, Alex Evanovich and art by Joelle Jones

Janet Evanovich may be best known for her Stephanie Plum books, but she's recently entered the world of comics--much to my delight. Her first foray into this media revisits the characters of Alex Barnaby and Sam Hooker from Motor Mouth and Metro Girl. It should be noted that I have never read these books, but it didn't detract in the least from my enjoyment of this graphic novel.

Troublemaker picks up when Felicia calls Alex to tell her that their mutual friend Rosa is missing and a voodoo doll is all that has been left behind. Alex and Sam (Hooker) agree to go looking for Rosa and take along the beloved St. Bernard, Beans (who adds a lot to the story!)

I completely loved this book. It's fun and flirty and silly and the perfect diversion for an evening. Both Barnaby and Hooker are drawn to be completely gorgeous and a pleasure to look at and each character's personality really shines through their fun antics and search for adventure. Their faces are delightfully expressive and fun as their search for Rosa brings them into many unexpected circumstances for the evening. The scenery changes quite a bit, but Joelle Jones's art creates a rich sense of place for each transition bringing you fully into the story.

I've been having a TERRIBLE time reading lately and comics are really appealing to me. Troublemaker was perfect for the reading blues. I can't wait for the next installment in November. There's a fascinating feature on the Dark Horse site about the making of a comic...check it out! There are even Troublemaker playing cards!

Rating: 4.25/5
Source of Book: Received from Dark Horse Books for review
Publisher: Dark Horse Books

This year at Comic-Con, Dark Horse gave out bags and one of the bags has Troublemaker art on it. I just so happen to have one and would like to give the bag away to a reader today. If you are interested in this bag please leave me a comment and recommend a graphic novel I can read to help me through this slump. Contest is open internationally and I'll draw a winner next week on Tuesdsay August 10th.