Emiko Superstar

Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston, 2008;176 pages. Published by Vertigo. Source: Borrowed from library.

Author Tamaki and artist Rolston offer a light but charming fantasy for awkward girls everywhere. Emiko, a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian Canadian, is a self-described geek facing a summer of babysitting and isolation. Things change when she stumbles upon an underground performing art scene inspired by Andy Warhols Factory. She eventually takes to the stage, dressed in her grandmother's mod outfits from the 60s, and achieves minor celebrity. Soon, though, Emiko must face the troubling complexities in the lives of her new friends and the consequences of her own questionable actions.

So I have no read almost all of the graphic novels that were published by DC Comics, Minx imprint (which is sadly no longer around).

For this review I'm just going to get right down to nitty gritty of what I thought about it. I ask that y’all also bear with me if my review reads weird today; I've had a case of bad allergies and a little bit of a cold (and have been taking Benadryl).

While I really like the underlying message of Emiko Superstar, I find that on a whole I only kind of liked it. I know odd, usually I either love something or I don't like it which is making it kind of hard writing this review.

I really enjoyed reading about Emiko trying to break out of her awkward/shy shell. I thought she was a decent character...although a bit of an odd bird.

I think that Emiko Superstar did a brilliant job of showing that other people’s lives aren't always as picture perfect as everyone expects. I now I'm doing a horrible job of describing this, but it was just interesting to see what Emiko did once she found out the truth about some of the new people in her life.

I didn't much care for the whole underground performance art thing, the "artist" were just a bit too weird for me. Another thing I didn't really like about Emiko Superstar was that there was smoking and drinking in it, while it fit in with the character of those who were doing it, it was just kind of turned me off from enjoying this book more.

Artwork: The artwork for Emiko Superstar was interesting, but definitely not one of my favorite styles. I found it to be...well a bit clutter and like there was a little too much going on in a few of the panels. But while I didn't much care for the art I liked the story.

Emiko Superstar earns 3 1/2 pineapples.