SLAM! Volume 1

32332997 SLAM! Vol. 1 by Pamela Ribon

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Diamond Comics Distributors
First Published: August 15th, 2017
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: So Fast
Genres & Themes: Comics, Sports, Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Roller Derby

BLURB:

From the first day of Fresh Meat Orientation for the Eastside Roller Girls, Jennifer and Maisie knew they’d be fast friends. But when they’re drafted to different teams, the pull of competition — and their increasingly messy personal lives — threaten to drive them apart. In roller derby you take your hits, get back up, and learn how to be a better jammer, a better blocker, a better lover, and a better friend. Derby can heal your heart . . . but it might break a bone or two in the process.

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That was… so fast.

And I’m not talking about the sport. Of course, roller derby is a sport that requires speed, but absolutely everything in this comic is fast.

So you have to keep up. Sometimes it’s a good thing, because it keeps the reader interested. Other times it’s unfortunate, especially when we talk about relationships between characters.

For example, Jennifer and Maisie become best friends very fast, but they also become “enemies” very fast. Or so it seems to us, since we see only what the author wants us to see. In real time, it isn’t fast, but for us it’s like they’re friends one minute and the next one they’re strangers.

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But that’s really one of the only flaws I could find, even though it’s a huge one at times. The illustrations are amazing. And I liked that they were never distracting from the storyline or the action of the sport. They are in sync. I could look at them all day, and of course, I want MORE.

Because it was so fast, I think I finished it in under twenty minutes. Or ten, who’s counting. All I know is that I opened the comic… and closed it way too early.

But I oh so enjoyed it. The characters are diverse. It’s true we get a sense of everyone’s personality or so, but we don’t “get to know” absolutely everyone. Though I’m sure this is something that will be explored in the future volumes. Can’t wait for more! Roller derby rocks! (It takes a LOT of courage and perseverance.)

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