Girls with Slingshots, Vol. 1

Girls With Slingshots

by Danielle Corsetto

First collection of (200) strips of a webcomic.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Webcomic, Fiction, Humor, Adult, Romance

154 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Danielle Corsetto created her first comic strip when she was 8 years old, starting with a blatant rip-off of Garfield called Fat Cat.She started writing Hazelnuts in high school, the precursor to Girls With Slingshots (unbeknownst to her at the time), and ran a comic about super-slacker college kids called Ramblers in the student paper at Shepherd College (as well as popimage.com).
In October of 2004, she began Girls With Slingshots, and a couple of years later she was doing the strip full-time. It’s now updated 5 times a week at some god-awful hour.

In addition to GWS, Danielle wrote and drew The New Adventures of Bat Boy for the Weekly World News, taking the reins from Bat Boy’s kind & talented former creator Peter Bagge.

Danielle lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia in a 230-year-old house with her two cats, Smudge and Ellie (aka Fluffy and Sprinkles) and her 9-year-old goldfish Goldie. She loves sipping tea, going for hikes, and eating local foods, because she is a filthy filthy hippie.

(Source: http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/ab...)

Reviews

[Mir]

I began reading this serial not here, at the beginning, but several years into the narrative. I did not realize starting later that Hazel was supposed to be the main character; it seemed to me to be divided fairly equally between several main characters, with overlapping secondary characters passing amongst them. I was surprised to see Corsetto say that Hazel is based on herself because she (Corsetto) seems a lot smarter and funnier than Hazel, who I found not very nice and, more importantly, less interesting than many of her friends. But even without loving Hazel, I found the strip addictive and read compulsively through the first several years worth in one day. I'm amazed that Corsetto managed to make me this interested in the not-particularly-unique drinking and dating exploits of some not-very-deep twenty-somethings that I'm sure I would find quite tiresome in real life (even the talking cactus).

[Leigh Anne]

I love it when a webcomic does so well, it goes to print. Corsetto's fun, relationship comic shares the adventures of the hapless Hazel, her more adventurous friend Jamie, and their collection of friends and rivals (which includes a cactus that only talks to Hazel when she's drunk). It's incredibly sex-positive, and while the characters DO drink an alarming amount of alcohol, it's still pretty par for the course for their age group. Bonus materials from the pre-GWS version of the comic, Hazelnuts, are neat, and show how Corsetto has developed as an artist. And, for the first time, I actually got a kick out of how somebody handles the whole "sexy librarian" trope. Definitely going to get future volumes.

[Marisa]

There are a few webcomics that I frequently read and this is the one I look forward to the most. In terms of artistry and storyline, I just cannot get enough. The characters are extremely relatable and you will quickly fall in love with them. I particularly enjoy that Corsetto manages to include real-life issues without getting too serious. Occasionally there are a few fantasy elements *cough McPedro cough* and it only makes the stories more engaging.

Sidenote: This webcomic is what inspired me to adopt my own cactus, Eduardo.

Read more at: http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/

Who should read it? Anyone who enjoyed a long-term webcomic story.

See all my reviews and more at www.ReadingToDistraction.com or @Read2Distract

[The Sapphic Nerd]

Light, fun, dirty, and with a cast of characters who all have their own weirdness, this series is amusing in its writing as well as its art.

[Yanik]

Having followed along with the webcomic during (or closely following) the original release and being about the age range of the character, it has always stuck in my mind as period defining. It has certainly influenced my views and vocabulary.
Coming back to it is a massive nostalgia hit and I have enjoyed the formation of the quirky cast of characters and loved seeing them back.
I will enjoy going down this trip with wonderfully humorous, weird, queer and reflective story.

[Amalia Dillin]

I love Girls with Slingshots! It takes a bit to get its feet and figure itself out in the beginning but the deeper you go the better it gets.

Note: I'm reading GwS in the giant complete edition two volume set but since it is broken up by originally released volumes, I'm recording my progress through it this way.

[Erin]

My main problem with this series is that I absolutely could not STAND Hazel, who was not only nothing but irresponsible, immature, childish, self-centered, and petty throughout the entirety of the story, but managed to go through all 900+ pages of the comic with zero character growth and learning absolutely NOTHING.

[Barry Haworth]

This book (which I read by way of the webcomic) is an amusing slice of life type story, with a bunch of twenty somethings making their way in the world. Getting (and keeping) jobs, forming relationships, exploring their sexuality, all beautifully drawn.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

https://aspeccharactersoftheday.tumbl...

[寿理 宮本]

Tagged as "drug abuse" because there IS a mention of it, but mostly for alcoholism, and I don't feel like making a whole other shelf just for that. Suppose I could change it to "substance abuse"... I don't know.

Confession: I bought The Complete Girls with Slingshots without ever having read thing one of the web comic (except maybe one or two strips someone linked that I promptly forgot about), and the thing is so unwieldy that I haven't even opened it. (Note: also true-ish of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes and many of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure books, among some others that would be tedious to list.)

So when I found the "regular" version, I figured it would be a lower bar to clear in terms of getting the series read, haha... sure, I could just read it online, but then that falls into kind of e-book territory, where most of the reason I read physical books is for some good old-fashioned "offline" time, which is defeated if I break from screen time to... look at a screen.

Anyway, there are 2.5 explanations for the title, which I hadn't bothered to find out before since I figured it would come up in the series somewhere:
1. a drink called a "slingshot"
2. print-exclusive promotional art where the girls pose with slingshots (as something easier to draw than guns); bonus: people asked Corsetto when she would draw a comic with those girls with slingshots
2.5. young Hazel with a slingshot

Overall, I get why the series is popular, though I sort of prefer Corsetto's more recent work, since it's significantly more refined by now. (Hazel in particular seems to swing all over the place in terms of being off-/on-model in this volume.) I also just don't get this joke [not exactly safe for work]. Otherwise, great stuff for a silly comedy about twenty-somethings behaving badly!

(McPedro sure is a thing, haha.)

Edit: Okay, I found the second round commentary explains the joke. (Still not exactly safe for work.)

Edit 2: I *FINALLY* pulled out the omnibus to compare what of THIS made it into THAT, and the main differences are
- the omnibus is in colour
- this version contains extra content that isn't in the omnibus:
= How to Draw Jamie and Hazel
= "Hazelnuts" strips
= most of the promotional art

Noting for the record, for anyone looking for the "ABSOLUTELY complete" collection of Corsetto's work!

(Also—apparently, based on the notes in the omnibus—I have the first edition of this book! Huh!)

[Courtney]

I have no idea when I first came across this webcomic, so the 'read by' date is a total estimate (a lot of the ones on my shelves that only have a year for the date are). I was lucky enough to find it while it was still updating, though, so every time I went back to the page it was exciting to see what was going on with the characters today. That's the popularity of the comic strip, I guess.

Girls with Slingshots focuses on the day-to-day life of a woman named Hazel and her group of friends as they basically go about their lives dealing with love, relationships, and just basically learning to handle life as an adult (some more successfully than others). Plus a few talking cacti and pet cats with no skeletal systems.

Overall I've really enjoyed reading it over the years, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who won't mind the newspaper-strip format. Just keep in mind that the characters are adults, and as such a lot of the humour can be adult-oriented. There's a pretty open level of discussion and jokes about sex in it's various forms, and there's some strips you probably don't want to be reading in public. This is NOT a comic to be handing to younger readers (if the cover didn't already tip you off about that).

~*~*~*~

Oh, and just a note - now that the comic is over (for now, at least) the author is now going back and re-working the strips in colour to match better with the later strips/style. That's why after a few strips everything will turn b&w.

[Bob]

Rating: 4/5- Really solid and somewhat humorous slice of life
http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/co...

Girls With Slingshots is an extremely solid slice of life strip. While it lacks a fantastical feature that most other slice of life strips often boast, this can end up giving it its own unique charm. The comic’s strong point is mainly the quality of writing by Danielle Corsetto. It combines a good sized cast of well-developed characters in well-paced story arcs. The comic also does a good job paying attention to only a certain part of the cast at any one time, making it much easier for the reader to follow.
Read more: http://comicspectrumwebcomics.wordpre...

[Rose]

The first 200 strips of Girls With Slingshots collected in a print edition with a smattering of extras and archival prehistory. The comic itself is gleefully frank about the cast's ideas about life, love, sex, alcohol, and acceptable underwear, with a stupidly endearing (and ridiculous and hilarious) talking cactus thrown in. The print version is visually... different than the online version: smaller, slightly muddier color quality. It was worth buying pretty much because I like the comic enough to want to support the artist.

[Hoyt]

Lots of fun going back to the beginning. I've only been reading the comic for the last year or so, and I've missed all this great back story! Plus, since I bought my copy from the author at a con, it's autographed to me with a cool drawing of Jamie. Sweeet!

The drawing style is quite a bit different in the very first strips when compared to the present (2012) comics, but still very engaging. There are several pages of extras in the back of the book, showing how to draw a couple of the characters, a few pages of sketches, etc.

[Liz Homsy]

This is probably my favorite "slice-of-life" serial! The characters are easy to relate to and easier to love. More impressively, the people the story focuses on still manage to be fairly 3-dimensional and flawed without losing their appeal. While sometimes the story veers off the so-called "realistic" track (I'm looking at McPedro, ghost kitty and the like :-)) this somehow manages to not detract from the story and instead merely adds a touch of whimsey. This remains one of my favorite comics to check into in the morning and I hope Ms. Corsetto continues writing this for a long time!

[Bert]

Started reading this webcomic in 2014. I like it and sometimes like it a lot, but some characters and story lines are... well, "a bit too much". I mean, the talking cactus who searches for his mustache that has run away, various extra-ordinary cats and kitties,...

This is the first volume and like many webcomics it takes a while to find its footing. Style-wise it's a bit more realistic than later volumes; it's clear that these earlier works involved more effort, but that doesn't mean they're better than later works, they're just different.

[Jessica Fox]

I'm I bias because I'm a friend? Probably.
Am I a friend because Corsetto is an awesome person who can tell a great story? Definitely.
This is just the beginning of Hazel and Jamie's very long story. I know some of the people the characters are based on and that makes it that much better. It's a slice of life comic that's inspired by, but not a direct translation of Corsetto's life.
Hazel's life is full of real moments. It's easy to get lost in the story. I recently reread the entire thing, it only took my a week straight.

[Megan]

I'd been recommended "Girls with Slingshots, vol 1" by Danielle Corsetto by a buddy. I decided I would check it out and I'm glad I did. I found this web comic series quite funny. The plot is detailed and widespread. The storyline draws readers in quickly and their struggles and craziness makes you care about them and their well being. Because it's a web comic, it's pretty accessible. This is a great relaxing and fun read. A definite recommendation to anyone who enjoys dramedy.

[Sarah]

Sarina has been referencing this webcomic for years, so I finally decided to check it out. I can definitely relate to a story about 20-somethings who don't know exactly what they want from work and relationships. It's intelligent and very funny, although Hazel is a bit bitchy for the protagonist of the group! A new favorite to add to my comic list!

[Robin]

Review: Feb 2012
I started reading this series after a friend sent me a copy of one of the comics. I love the diversity of the characters and watching them interact. So many of the comics made me laugh out loud and they always leave me wanting to read more.

[Sara]

It started off as a boredom thing at work, a distraction, but it is hilariously written and extrememly smart and so addicting. I couldn't get enough, and over the course of a few weeks I read the entire series!

[Jesse Noland]

From its humble origins as a web comic, it has soon spanned into an enticing series that invests the readers into it. The character development and humor is plentiful, making you feel the struggles these characters have. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys comics.

[Molly G]

(Somewhat using this volume as a placeholder for having just read the entirety of the webcomic on http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/co... . May eventually look into the printed editions to make sure I didn't miss anything! 'CAUSE NOT A CEL OF IT IS TO BE MISSED)

[Lorraine]

This is my favourite 'slice of life' comic. The characters are fun and actually quite realistic. The storylines deal with both normal experiences and highly fictional ones. As this is the first installment, the art is still quite rough compared to the final style, but it is still effective.

[Jenna]

Might've actually read the entire running of the webcomic, rather than just the single volume. And now I want to read it again and see if we own the books. Smart, funny, engaging, and with a very diverse cast of characters.

[Autumn]

Awesome, hilarious, sweet. Reminded me a little of Strangers in Paradise, mostly because of the cool, interesting female characters.

[Marti]

I love Girls With Slingshots. I read it every day on the web and have bought the books every year at Heroes Con for the last 3 yrs so I feel like I "know" the author now! :)

[G (galen)]

I am really quite in love with both hazel and jamie. and Danielle Corsetto too.

[Victoria-Lynn]

Just a non stop hilarity train.

[Stephen Hines]

Brilliant art, characterization, and tons of zany humor abound in this web comic collection. If you aren't easily offended, do yourself a favor and check this out.