Digger, Volume Three

Digger #3

by Ursula Vernon

In this third volume of Digger, covering chapters five and six of Ursula Vernon's webcomic, our wombat Heroine is driven from the protective care of the Hag by the persistent efforts of Captain Jhalm. Back in the strange world outside the temple of Ganesh, Digger encounters friends new and old, while often confronting the age-old question of the nature of good and evil. Seemingly simple answers lead to complicated consequences, foes turn into allies, and Digger must continue to sort out who she can trust in her quest to find her way back home.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Adventure, Webcomic, Mythology

158 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is an author and illustrator. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends.

Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, studied anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.

Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.

Her work has been nominated for the Eisner, World Fantasy, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards. It has garnered a number of Webcomics Choice Awards, the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature, the Nebula for Best Short Story, the Sequoyah Award, and many others.

Reviews

[Mir]

My library doesn't have this. I'm enjoying this series so much that I decided to spring for the Complete Omnibus instead of buying the individual volumes. The Omnibus doesn't indicate where the book breaks were, so I can't say anything about this volume specifically, but the entire thing is awesome so 5 stars!

Read this unless you are humorless or hate wombats.

[Mary Catelli]

And the plot threads wind on. . . . spoilers for the earlier stuff ahead. . .

It opens -- again -- with Digger recovering from injuries in the hag's care. And the statue talking with Murai about what they saw.

The Veiled are ready to arrest Digger, and only the statue's influence keeps it from happening within the temple. The Cold Servants come forth and things are learned. The Shadowchild wants Digger to explain evil, and makes things awkward for hyenas. Murai tells Digger a legend and asks her on a journey. Digger confesses to a fear of ducks. A hyena explains that something that happened is bad for the dead. Later, she explains that Digger has to come armed to their village. And more.

They discover enough about the tunnel to have a way to search for more.

[Octavia Cade]

Digger, getting increasingly more sick of shit and increasingly more terrified of the local teenage healer, is pursued by the metal birds of cave-and-chained-god-dom. This is a difficulty. She's also stuck trying to teach a shadow-eating monster basic morality (which it interprets as talking to deer ad nauseum until the neighbourhood hyena population starves) while dealing with vampiric vegetables and troll riding.

Sooner or later she's going to flip entirely, and I've yet to decide who gets taken out with a pickaxe first. I admit to being less enthused by the shadow creature than the rest, so I hope its chirpy ignorance is at the front of the queue. As long as it isn't Ed, the exiled hyena, who I feel badly for.

[Mitchell Friedman]

Three books in. And wow this book is great. Witty dialogue. Interesting side characters. Good pacing. Sure it has mythological side stories, something I generally don't like much - but they are short and make a relevant point for the story. And there really does seem to be a plot we are moving along. And the footnotes are still basically awesome. And as someone who's read Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew, it was good to see Surka. 4.5 of 5

[Fern]

The word, ‘unputdownable’, springs to mind, although I read this in digital form not as a real book... gripping, action-packed, & eminently magnetic, this story had me entranced from beginning to end. Loved it!

[Howard]

I'm half way through this series and liking it more and more! The ending of chapter 6 really hooked me. What's up with Boneclaw Mother and how will Digger deal with her?
Have I mentioned that the comic is in Black and white? An incredible use of black.

[McKenna Deem]

Vernon does it again in this volume of Digger! Our Little Mother of Earthquakes, Digger, teaches a young maybe-demon the difference between good and evil, a mad priest the difference between what is in her head and is not, and a bunch of hyenas how to maybe not be jerks.

[Donny Forbes]

Somehow Digger just keeps getting better.

[Sarah Schulz]

I wasn't sure how much stranger this story could get; I need to stop wondering that and just go with the flow! What a delightful adventure, wrapped in humor, threaded through with moral philosophy.

[Kir]

4.5 ⭐
I may have snorted with laughter a few times. Vernon has a great way of balancing her humour so there's never too much, or the deadpan balances out the ridiculous.

[Yana]

It was fine. I will not continue with this series. The excitement of the first book is not enough to keep me going.

[Christina]

I would not mind being called Little Mother of Earthquakes.

[J]

Some of the best characters out there. Boneclaw Mother gets introduced at the end of this book, and she's a fantastic character.

[Christiane]

Did I already mention the main character in this series is a wombat? Why would anyone not want to read this?! In this volume we also meet totally cute trolls and see the return of the vampire squash. There is also a lot of discussion about the nature of good and evil, but it does not interfere with a rousing good story. Suggest this to your comic fans who have already finished Bone, Amulet, and Elsewhere Chronicles. And who like a little bit of the macabre in with their humor.

[Lily]

Again, an excellent graphic novel by a consistently funny and clever writer/artist. The adventure of the wombat Digger continues, with further explanations of Murai and the Dark Mother. This volume ends with a cliffhanger - will Digger survive the hyenas' funeral feast? I'm hoping that there are enough further pages published at this point (mid 2009) for Volume 4 to be published soon.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you have to read Digger!

[Fraser Sherman]

The female wombat digger finds the events of the previous collection following her home as she deals with having to explain good and evil to a possible demon, coping with a cult of killer hyenas and priests both suspicious and friendly. Not as good as the first two volumes, but that's still pretty good.

[Horizon]

This is my new favorite author! I was very excited to be able to carry her books at Horizon. I have been making myself not devour them all at once, but to savor them one at a time. Deliciously quirky!

[Mark]

Volume three brings the battle back to the surface, though battle is hardly the word. chase, perhaps. a small victory and a greater challenge, and a cliffhanger on the introduction of one the best characters in the series - boneclaw mother.

[Cloud]

Read online.

[Rose]

A really fun, quick read with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. The art style compliments the quirky cast of characters well; who'd have thought a story about a wombat would be so enjoyable?

[Catherine]

Another terrific chapter in the ongoing adventures of Digger the wombat.
Highly recommended (the snail protest alone is worth the price).

[Ed]

Wonderful continuation.

[Melissa]

My love for this series continues to grow. Digger is a true (snarky) heroine.

[R]

I can't decide which character I prefer. Ethical debates are a natural part of the plot...

[Naomi Ruth]

Love the pirate shrew! <3 Love the little details happening in the background.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1961056...