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Little Girls
by
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Sam and Lielet are two new friends living in Ethiopia who are dealing with the kind of problems that all kids have: judgemental social cliques, condescending adults, alienation, and a legendary brain-eating monster of folklore. Sure, it's not going to be easy, but all they have to do is live through it.
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Paperback, 176 pages
Published
April 30th 2019
by Image Comics
(first published April 24th 2019)
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Start your review of Little Girls
Two outsider teen girls become mates in Ethiopia and get involved in an arbitrary conflict between lions and hyenas because Lion King! Also mythical talking monster hyena for reasons…?
Little Girls is crap because Nicholas Aflleje’s story is not very well put-together. I wasn’t sure who this mythical hyena thing was, why they’d come back (or from where), what they wanted, or why they were targeting these kids. Similarly, I’m not sure why the girls were involved in this mystery or why they made ...more
Little Girls is crap because Nicholas Aflleje’s story is not very well put-together. I wasn’t sure who this mythical hyena thing was, why they’d come back (or from where), what they wanted, or why they were targeting these kids. Similarly, I’m not sure why the girls were involved in this mystery or why they made ...more
Sam and Lielet are referred to as "two little girls" (they would seem to be 8-10?) by adults and animals alike in this story set in Ethiopia. They are not part of the in-groups in school, they are grounded by parents, one has an annoying brother, the usual kid stuff. But this is a slow burn atmospheric story about a legendary monster of Ethiopian folklore that has killed 8 people recently, a hyena-lion war, and a confrontation with all these critters where the girls save the day (and
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I liked the character of Lielet. Sam was fine, too, really, I'm just a bit tired of "exotic" locations being translated through the viewpoints of dispalced middle-class white Americans.
Mild cheers for using the mythical Kerit rather than a better known folkloric monster, although I've seen them around a bit recently and am guessing the author read the same stories I did.
The war between the lions and the hyenas was not interesting to me and I didn't see what advantage the hyenas expected from ...more
Mild cheers for using the mythical Kerit rather than a better known folkloric monster, although I've seen them around a bit recently and am guessing the author read the same stories I did.
The war between the lions and the hyenas was not interesting to me and I didn't see what advantage the hyenas expected from ...more
Ok, I went into this thinking we were going to get a cool dark fairytale/folk lore story but instead I got a weird version of The Lion King and I'm not saying that in a positive way in the slightest.
What a strange story - I feel like the author didn't even know where he was going with this when he started writing it. It started off as two little girls in Ethiopia befriending each other and becoming fascinated with the local monster legend of Kerit and if it's him killing all the people in their ...more
What a strange story - I feel like the author didn't even know where he was going with this when he started writing it. It started off as two little girls in Ethiopia befriending each other and becoming fascinated with the local monster legend of Kerit and if it's him killing all the people in their ...more
I did not enjoy this.
Firstly, let’s talk about the character drawings. The angles on some of these frames were... weird. The perspective was shifted sometimes to represent a character being bullied but it just came off weird. There’s even a couple panels where the characters resemble pop funko’s rather than people. Heck, in some panels the kerit was huge, and in others it looked the size of a normal hyena. It wasn’t consistent and it drew me out of the story.
Secondly, I had some issues with ...more
Firstly, let’s talk about the character drawings. The angles on some of these frames were... weird. The perspective was shifted sometimes to represent a character being bullied but it just came off weird. There’s even a couple panels where the characters resemble pop funko’s rather than people. Heck, in some panels the kerit was huge, and in others it looked the size of a normal hyena. It wasn’t consistent and it drew me out of the story.
Secondly, I had some issues with ...more
Nice art, sort of reminiscent of Gabriel Rodríguez in Locke & Key, but the story is sloppy and makes little sense. A white girl finds herself in Ethiopia because of her dad's job and makes friends with a local girl. Of course they decide to Scooby gang it and solve the mystery when rumors say animals are being mutilated and people killed by a supernatural creature. It's supposed to be scary, but the creature looks too much like Sandy from Little Orphan Annie to be anything but ridiculous.
...more
I got this as part of a box for the store of IMAGE books to check out advanced copies of. BLOWN. AWAY. This is a perfect meeting of several cultural crossroads at once. Middle-grade fiction, the resurgence of horror, African mythos, diversity, girl power and terrific supernatural stakes. The art is spot on. Simple, clear, easy to follow while blowing up a wider world. I instantly went online after I finished to read more about the "monster" in the story and Ethiopia itself. I really hope we see
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Someone handed me an ARC of this book at a convention, and I'm never one to turn down free books. However, there is absolutely nothing to recommend about this graphic novel. The art is stiff and awkward, the plot is somehow simultaneously difficult to follow and nonexistent, and characterization is entirely absent. Nothing about this book works.
I know how hard it is to get a book published at Image, so not sure WTF happened here.
"I just like the night, OK?" says one of the lead characters here. Well it's a shame then that the colouring and design really don't convey the darkness of the true African night – not the stygian starlight of the uncivilised plains beyond the village limits. White girl there because her father works all over the world, and village tomboy drop-out, unite as best friends and try to investigate whether urban myth has any connection with some vicious killings going on. It might be a collective
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I seriously need a lobotomy after this.
1. This will haunt me in my dreams for a long time.
2. Why and how and again WHY this was made?
3. Somebody compared on the first page the artwork of this comic book to Geofrey Darrow's artwork. Please, go to your bathroom and put soap in your mouth immediately. Because this.. those drawings.. that monstrosity.. I really am in the mood to go grab forks and take my eyes out with them.
4. "a perfect graphic novel", "share this treasure with comic readers".. ...more
1. This will haunt me in my dreams for a long time.
2. Why and how and again WHY this was made?
3. Somebody compared on the first page the artwork of this comic book to Geofrey Darrow's artwork. Please, go to your bathroom and put soap in your mouth immediately. Because this.. those drawings.. that monstrosity.. I really am in the mood to go grab forks and take my eyes out with them.
4. "a perfect graphic novel", "share this treasure with comic readers".. ...more
Little Girls is a forgettable monster story starring two young girls in Ethiopia. They track down and fend off an Ethiopian monster that inhabits the local hyena tribe. The girls don't have much depth and the monster is wildy underexplained. The art is an extremely amateur version of Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key art.
Better art and a firmer sense of place would have improved the story immensely. I'd be curious to know more about Ethiopia and its native monster myths! Little Girls, oddly, ...more
Better art and a firmer sense of place would have improved the story immensely. I'd be curious to know more about Ethiopia and its native monster myths! Little Girls, oddly, ...more
This book starts out with two outsider girls in Ethiopia who befriend each other and team up to solve a murder mystery. It sounded right up my alley but then things took a turn with the main story being a huge battle between large groups of hyenas and lions. There was a lot of disturbingly graphic animal death and it was not at all what I was expecting. The art and colouring seemed all good to me but the story ended up turning me off.
As a high school teacher I am always on the lookout for the next book that I just know will be made into a movie. I feel so cool when it comes out and I was smart enough to read it years prior. This is one such book. This was so well written, the artwork is amazing. It appeals to all ages. The friendship between the characters is awesome. We need more female heroines for girls to look up to! I can’t wait for this movie!!!!
I felt that the story really didn't go anywhere. There was really no explanation, one that I could clearly see, that explained the existence of this monster. Although the dynamic and the budding friendship was great between the two girls, it wasn't enough to carry out the story. Also, the illustration was very stilted and unappealing to anyone who is a lover of graphic novels.
Set in Ethiopia, this follows two young outsiders who bond over investigating the cause of grisly deaths. I liked it, but the writing and pacing was a tad disjointed.
What? I..... What?
This is just terrible. It's so bad I'm genuinely confused about what I read, but from what I pieced together:
I was expecting, based on the blurb (by far the best part - I want to read whatever book that was based on, because it certainly wasn't this one) a spooky, atmospheric, mythology-meets-urban-legend tale with hints of Buffy or 80s teen sci-fi. What I got was a story, if it can be called that, about a girl who is in Ethiopia for a reason we never find out and makes ...more
This is just terrible. It's so bad I'm genuinely confused about what I read, but from what I pieced together:
I was expecting, based on the blurb (by far the best part - I want to read whatever book that was based on, because it certainly wasn't this one) a spooky, atmospheric, mythology-meets-urban-legend tale with hints of Buffy or 80s teen sci-fi. What I got was a story, if it can be called that, about a girl who is in Ethiopia for a reason we never find out and makes ...more
I really tried to like this book.
After reading the 4 page preview online (which was revealed to be part of the 3rd act of the story, a pretty misleading/deceiving move as I thought it was really the beginning), I was excited to read the full story.
It started off so unusual and fresh, in interpreting lore from a lesser known myth, and featuring 2 headstrong girls (that we need more representation of in GNs) that I was ready to be more forgiving of some of the pitfalls that were arising as the ...more
After reading the 4 page preview online (which was revealed to be part of the 3rd act of the story, a pretty misleading/deceiving move as I thought it was really the beginning), I was excited to read the full story.
It started off so unusual and fresh, in interpreting lore from a lesser known myth, and featuring 2 headstrong girls (that we need more representation of in GNs) that I was ready to be more forgiving of some of the pitfalls that were arising as the ...more
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
So, I didn't hate. I thought it was an interesting concept. However, there is much to be desired in the way the story is constructed and the way the panels flow.
The first problem I had was that I wasn't really sure what was going on because of the awkward drawing and akward flow of the panels. It threw me off quite a bit.
I feel like it tried to get through the story to fast. Nothing was explained and there was no ...more
So, I didn't hate. I thought it was an interesting concept. However, there is much to be desired in the way the story is constructed and the way the panels flow.
The first problem I had was that I wasn't really sure what was going on because of the awkward drawing and akward flow of the panels. It threw me off quite a bit.
I feel like it tried to get through the story to fast. Nothing was explained and there was no ...more
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I was not impressed by this drawing and coloring but the story is worth a read. Set in Africa ; new friends Sam and Lielet bond together to go after a killer Hyena queen 'Kerit' who is killing people in their town. It's not surprising that Kerit killed the man who FEEDS the hyenas every night...not really sure who ELSE she killed, we didn't get to see that, we just take their word for it. This book has a lot of missed opportunities and non sequiturs...like the relationship between Sam and her
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I received an advanced copy of this volume from Image Comics and was intrigued by the central premise and the book cover. However, the content of the title did not live up to expectations. The dialogue was natural but occasionally seemed disjointed. The art was a little to simplistic as well.
I am not sure about setting a story in Ethiopia but making one-half of the protagonists a white girl - it borders on the white saviour trope. The creators should have established Sam's globe-trotting ...more
I am not sure about setting a story in Ethiopia but making one-half of the protagonists a white girl - it borders on the white saviour trope. The creators should have established Sam's globe-trotting ...more
This is a short graphic novel about 2 girls who discover that there is a strange beast killing people and animals in the town of Ethiopia that they live in - a large hyena beast that controls the other hyenas. The beast has delusions of taking over the world/town and killing everyone. The girls - one a local Ethiopian and one a transplant who has lived in other areas of the world (Japan and maybe more?) - start on a monster hunt for fun, but then they actually discover the beast! So what do they
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Little Girls is quite a terrible book. Topics mentioned are all over the place and the story doesn't really make sense. Sam is a girl who moves all over the world with her dad. No mention of what he does and this fact has nothing to do with the story past the first few pages. Most of the dialogue between Sam and her new friend, Lielet, does not make a lot of sense. Killings have started to occur in their small Ethiopian town; authorities don't know how to stop them and locals think it is Kerit,
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This was not awful, but it wasn't really good either. The story tried to be too many things at once—part friendship story, part monster story, part socio-political commentary—and so none of the parts ever really got the attention it deserves. This could have been an interesting story about the friendship between two girls who are both outsiders—one a white girl living in an African nation and the other a "tomboy" (an outdated and vague term)— or it could have been an intriguing story about a
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Real rating: 2.5 stars
There's not a lot of story behind the basic plot of "monster of myth starts killing for no reason given and children save the town while the rest of the town is too stupid." There wasn't clear motivation for a lot of the characters, I couldn't even tell the motivations for the animals, except maybe just a want for more space/food?
There's also the weird power dynamic of "white authors writing a white character living in an African country" and those racial dynamics.
I'm ...more
There's not a lot of story behind the basic plot of "monster of myth starts killing for no reason given and children save the town while the rest of the town is too stupid." There wasn't clear motivation for a lot of the characters, I couldn't even tell the motivations for the animals, except maybe just a want for more space/food?
There's also the weird power dynamic of "white authors writing a white character living in an African country" and those racial dynamics.
I'm ...more
This book had so many things wrong with it but I do give kudos to how creepy the Hyena thing was. That being said there was no real detail her and it read more like an outline of a book then a book itself, a story board that got published. The main characters are at the oldest 13 but could be as young as 10 and have no real personality. The bad guy has no reason for being or an origin story and we never find out what even happens to him. It was all just so pointless and there was no beginning or
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Little Girls is a story about two young girls who decide to take matters into their own hands when hyena's begin to overrun their small town of Harar, Ethiopia in 2004. Though Sam is used to being alone and just putting up with life, things start to break the cycle when she stands up for another girl at school. The two become fast friends, and even start to "report" on the problem, which really is just trying to fix it themselves.
Check out my full review here!
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Check out my full review here!
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The strongest part of this was the way the giant hyena was drawn, mostly because it reminded me of the creatures from a certain animated movie I loved as a teen.
Otherwise the story was jammed together in a way that made little sense. Midway through we suddenly have a different tale than we thought, not to mention that the setup of the entire story was missing. Then the very jarring third person insert toward the end kind of broke the little bit of immersion I was struggling to hold.
Not the ...more
Otherwise the story was jammed together in a way that made little sense. Midway through we suddenly have a different tale than we thought, not to mention that the setup of the entire story was missing. Then the very jarring third person insert toward the end kind of broke the little bit of immersion I was struggling to hold.
Not the ...more
The story is just lacking. I enjoyed the art and the friendship between Lielet and Sam (aside, WTF is a book set in Ethiopia about local folklore doing with a white main character?!). I wanted this comic to be creepy. It promised creepy. Other than the first time you meet the Kerit, it’s not really. Somehow despite looking and talking in a spooky way, this monster doesn’t really make sense. The story feels poorly edited— there’s so much epilogue to discuss why the killings were happening and it
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