Emily The Strange: Chairman of the Bored

Emily the Strange (Dark Horse Comics Book single issues) #1

by Cosmic Debris, Brian Brooks, Jessica Gruner

For more than 10 years, pop culture cultists have revered and adored a mysterious, brooding 13 year-old girl named Emily the Strange. Nobody knows much about the young girl with a porcelain face and huge eyes framed by black bangs, and her ever-present brood of black cats only adds to the intrigue - but that hasn't stopped a generation of rabid fans from letting Emily put her spell upon them. Now, for the first time ever, Emily fans will be welcomed into her dark and, well, strange world - a place where kitty friends talk, the ghosts of famous weirdos come out to play, reality is never quite what it seems, and - above all - a place where anyone who's ever been considered a little "strange" themselves will be made to feel right at home. Dark Horse Comics and the creative minds behind Cosmic Debris are thrilled to present the first-ever Emily comic books, published as deluxe single issues with all new stories and art. Each issue of Emily comics will feature 48 pages of black, white, and red art (with the occasional outburst of full-color freakouts!), illustrating a wacky range of Emily stories.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor, Gothic

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ashley Daviau]

This is my first foray into anything Emily the Strange and I’m not convinced I started at the right place. I’ve seen her image floating around the internet but that’s as far as my knowledge goes. On paper she seems like the kind of character I’d be into but I just found myself bored with this. There was no meat or flesh to it and I found myself wanting so much more. The illustrations were dope but that’s about as far as much enjoyment went with this one sadly, I didn’t really take anything away from it at all.

[Adela Bec]

English review, followed by the Romanian translation of the review (Recenzie în engleză, urmată de traducerea în română a recenziei)

As much as I love the Emily the Strange books, I couldn't seem to enjoy this comic book. The title pretty much says it all: it was simply boring.
While I was reading this issue, I constantly had the feeling that everything was random! Sincerely, I was expecting a lot more from this comic book, especially since the series was so interesting and full of unique ideas...
One thing I liked was the graphic: nothing to criticise here, except the "Can't aford to be bored" story, which I found impossible to understand due to its weird character design.
There were a few short stories that I enjoyed, simply because they were resembling the original books' style.
The reason why I can't give this comic more than 2 stars is that I found it to be nothing special. Judging by the ratings of the second issue, I assume that it is better than this one, and I will definitely give it a try, just to make sure I am not missing something good. I will then decide if I am going to read the rest of the issues or not.

Oricât de mult mi-au plăcut cărţile cu Emily the Strange, nu am putut să mă bucur de această bandă desenată. Titlul ei spune totul: a fost pur şi simplu plictisitoare.
În timp ce citeam acest număr, am avut în mod constant impresia că toată povestea era aiurea, parcă la întâmplare! Sincer, mă aşteptam la mai multe de la această bandă desenată, mai ales din moment ce seria originală a fost atât de interesantă şi plină de idei originale...
Un lucru mi-a plăcut: grafica. Aici nu am nimic de criticat, cu excepţia poveştii "Can't aford to be bored" (Nu-mi pot permite să mă plictisesc), pe care mi-a fost imposibil să o înţeleg din cauza desginului personajelor şi a poveştii în sine.
Au fost câteva poveşti scurte care mi-au plăcut, doar pentru că semănau cu stilul cărţii.
Motivul pentru care nu-i pot da acestei cărţi un rating mai mare de 2 stele din 5 e faptul că nu am găsit nimic special la ea.
Judecând după ratingurile pe care le are cel de-al doilea număr, presupun că e mai bun decât acesta, aşa că îi voi da o încercare, doar ca să fiu sigură că nu pierd ceva bun. Apoi voi decide dacă voi citi şi restul numerelor sau nu.

[Aliya Schwerner]

I thought this was going to be more like the first Emily book I read, where it actually tells one story throughout. I love Emily, but this was definitely not what I was looking for.

[Ariel Luneau]

I absolutely adored Emily the Strange when I was growing up and I’m so happy that I dug up all my old comics!!

[Lily🗡️]

i feel like this would be much better and funnier in english (i read it in finnish), i love the art style a lot though !!

[Madeline]

Graphics 3 stars
Story. 2 Stars

Cheap jokes, gruesome innuendos, foolish, and negative.

[☼Pam Might Read Too Much ☼]

Sampling this series as I review lots of different sorts of books for young adults and kids and I'm always looking for books for reluctant readers. (Snarky sarcastic humor sometimes works) I realize, of course, that this doesn't make me the target market, so keep that in mind while you read my short list of comments.

THE SKINNY:::
I sort of liked "Let There Be Light", but this book fell short of being that amusing: more juvenile than edgy.

I must admit that part of the problem was that I didn't get some of the humor. (I'm only guessing that there was humor there somewhere.) The short mash-ups had virtually no story and most had that 'strained' tone that series get when they are running out of ideas but love the cash too much to quit.

It was so boring that I shan't be running out to read another any time soon.

[Mark]

As a cultural figure, a sorta anti-Hello Kitty, Emily is awesome. Slap her sticker on your notebook for sure. For narrative purposes, not so much. It's more like a funky, dark abstract painting than any kind of story. This one has a few hilariously macabre lines, and cool references to punk and jazz. Still, it's all just a bit too....strange. Thanks for making me feel like a square, Emily. (The Damned make an appearance, and I have to remind everyone that he drummer from Pink Floyd produced them. Damn, now I sound like a Boomer and a square!)

[Elizabeth]

Okay, don't judge me, I read this. I read it because I wanted to see if it was any good or not. What's that I hear you cry? "Oh course, it's not good, it's a comic spin-off of a marketing brand! Of course it's gonna be a shite story!" To which I say Transformers, anyone? Soooo, this isn't Transformers. It is in fact shite. But I wasn't to know for sure til I read it. And now I have. And I can say decisively, it's shite

[Amanda]

Yes. Very very strange. Strange indeed. And well not too great. Not sure what I was expecting. Didn't know until AFTER I read this that she is not really much a comic book character as she is much more of a logo I guess you could say. So my guess what the point of this was was for the author/creator to make a little more profit? As the book title implies the book itself was just boring.

[Terri]

Completely lame. The only reason it gets even one star is because some of the pop culture references are kind of funny. It's called "The Boring Issue" so at least they warn you right up front. Lame. Lame. Lame.

[Amy]

Strange is right.

[Holly Letson]

I wasn't impressed with this series at all. I don't know what I was expecting from it, but it truly failed to meet any expectations I might have had.

[Misbah]

Emily is bored of being bored to death. Love the art style, but the dialogue is mostly gibberish.

[Maria Preston]

This read was more like a newspaper then a graphic novel ,it was ilike a magazine newspaper about boredom and finding ways to get interested in after school activities or hobbies etc, interesting read thou ,and the illustrations were brilliant , i loved the art work it was cool , i loved the colour scheme and the way it was layed out ,.. short and funny here and there , well worth the read , but unsure if i want to continue on with the others , 3*/5* but great for a quick read . thats another book off my challenge for this year .

[Nikki Stickney]

This was quick and cute!🖤

[Tina]

I love Emily The Strange, the art is cool, but uh.....the writing in this issue left a lot to be desired.

[Allan Brewer]

This was also on the shelf so I tried it - but no. Thus ends my brief venture into graphic novels.

[Sophie]

I love the art style and the character but I wish there had been one cohesive plot throughout. I was super hyped to find the stickers in the back though!

[MorganTheDragon]

I liked it a looot! My favorite parts were the interveiws but everything was really good and I really loved the art

[Caligari Creepswood]

it's pretty good

[EmilyP]

A really fun, short comic. Excellent drawings and fun stickers as well.

[Ariana Garrett]

Fun quick read if you love Emily like I do. :)

[Rain Misoa]

Emily the Strange. Man, do we go back. I've been a fan of hers since... well, years! I've always been a fan of the macabre and the grotesque. Anything that's dark and a little spooky. I love it all! I like getting the crap scared out of me so when I discovered Emily a few years back, I was quite glad. I like the weird elements that she brings. I like the oddness to her style, her personality, her mindset. Just the way she handles herself, doing her own thing, inspires me. Sure, not a lot of people get her. They think it's just some "weird comic" but that's the whole point to Emily! It's being weird! It's not about making sense or having an actual plot. It's to have fun, get into the bizarre, see the grotesque, yet still be intrigue with what the dark world has to offer. It's amazing and I love Emily for that.

This particular issue centers around the theme of boredom. No matter what Emily does, she can't seem to get out of this boredom. But... that's not going to stop her from trying to find something to entertain her! I love this issue a lot. There were so many references that I got which made me feel that much more involved in what was going on in Emily's strange little world. I enjoyed the part where she interviewed the punk band The Damned. You got to read each members response to her questions. It was a way to get to know them on a more personal level... even if their responses were a bit bizarre. XD Another part I enjoyed was the story centering around getting your head in the clouds. Not only because I am partial to clouds (for obvious reasons) but because Emily was encouraging you to be imaginative. You don't always have to be so serious. Sometimes... daydreaming, imagining something only you can think up of is exciting in and of itself. It doesn't make you any less of a person. The same thing could be said about the plant story. You don't have to "grow up" just to live your life. You can do so and "grow down" just to please yourself! Others... will only get in the way. This, among many others, is one of the reasons why I love Emily. But wait! There's more! I also liked the spin on the Cinderella fairytale. It was so funny! I enjoy fairytales quite a bit so when I saw how Emily's take on it was... I just laughed! XD Ah, I love this girl.

There's really not much else to say except that the artwork is brilliant! It's so richly dark and bright at the same time. Most of it is in black and white and red. Very different from other comics I've read in the past. I thought it was very unique. I can't recommend this comic enough. It's so good. You get pulled in by its weirdness. If you like things that are out of the ordinary and, frankly, doesn't make a lot of sense then I think you will really like this comic. The only reason it gets a four is because I read the other ones and I thought they were slightly better... but that doesn't mean this isn't just as good! It's entertaining and Emily is just so witty. You will have fun with her. Even if she is a bit... odd. <3

[Apryl Prank Prank Prank]

The Lost DaysEmily The StrangeDark TimesStranger and Stranger

[Danine]

I've always liked the artwork for Emily the Strange. I happened to find the graphic novels at the library and decided to read them. I was extremely disappointed. I enjoy reading about intelligent children whom are bored but clever enough to find themselves on adventures that made them forget all about their ennui. Emily's boredom leads to grotesque endeavors that are pointlessly grotesque. Cowardice comes to mind. I can handle violence, gore, and morbid dispositions but I draw the line at animal cruelty among other unsavory aspects. I assign one star for artwork and another for a minimal attempt at wit. Disappointed.

[Kristina]

Yep, it's strange I admin it. It's mind messing - a few short stories with some kind of point in it and some really smart thoughts. Those two quotes I like the most of this first part (issue): "I'm looking for my mind. Have you seen it? It's purple and triangular and smells of seaweeds." and this one "I may be odd but I always get even". Just great, I'm reallly happy I read it.

[Matt Mazenauer]

Quite random, cute gothy girl. Reminds me of the Lenore comics, most of all the tangential side ones. Since there is no story arc to Emily The Strange, all we get is weird counter-culture off-the-wall red and black comics.

[Yvonne O'Connor]

A tiny little cartoon book about a "dark" young girl with a very odd way about her.

The comments on each page weave a weird picture of a disturbing Emily, a girl with black hair and depressing moods. The brevity leaves the reader wondering, "why?"

[Devlin Scott]

I liked the premise and I believe it could be a true bestseller if the creators had given the first book a decided plot rather than a "day in the life of Emily Strange" type of design.

I could really grow to love this character but, she needs a clear destiny to capture my heart.


Devlin