Emily the Strange

Emily the Strange Graphic Novels #1

by Rob Reger, Cosmic Debris

Emily may be odd, but she always gets even!

Meet Emily, the peculiar soul with long black hair, a wit of fire, and a posse of slightly sinister black cats. Famous for her barbed commentary and independent spirit, this rebel-child in black has spawned an Internet and merchandising phenomenon (Emily's Web site gets 35,000 hits per month!). Emily the Strange, her first book, captures the quintessential Emily, featuring her most beloved quips and a host of new ones. Anarchist, heroine, survivor, this little girl with a big personality appeals to the odd child in us all.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Young Adult, Fantasy, Humor, Picture Books

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Reger's friend Nathan Carrico designed Emily in 1991 for a skateboard company in Santa Cruz, where Cosmic Debris was born. In his Santa Cruz garage (and later an artist warehouse in San Francisco) Reger created the designs, and with Matt Reed brought them into the fashion world by creating t-shirt designs that captured the essence of this mysterious young girl with 4 black cats. Since then, Cosmic Debris has grown into a multi-million dollar firm with dozens of employees.

Cosmic Debris has most recently moved its operations to Berkeley, California, and plans to open an Emily retail store there soon. With the momentum of mainstream success, several comics about Emily have also been made. Key creative people over the years (designers, graphic artists, illustrators), who have worked with Reger's Cosmic Debris design house are Buzz Parker, Brian Brooks, Grace Fontaine, Liz Baca, Noel Tolentino, Fawn Gehweiler, Jessica Gruner, Adele Pedersen and Nicomi "Nix" Turner. Rob Reger remains the key creative force behind the brand, and Buzz Parker is the key illustrator for the comic books and website.

Reviews

[Sheela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely did not expect this. I thought the "Emily the Strange" series consisted of stories. Despite the brevity of the book, there is a lot of substance, with some profound one-liners - my favorite: "Emily doesn't make imaginary friends...she creates imaginary enemies." They remind me of Chuck Norris quotes - "Chuck Norris doesn't have a watch - HE decides the time." Emily the Strange is the new Chuck Norris.

The pictures were very bright and vivid. It's a great coffee-table book. I can see why this is a cult favorite, and I'm very curious to see how this translates into a major motion picture.

[Devlin Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quirky, and a bit fierce, Emily is one young lady that knows who she is and does not bend to popular opinion. Kind of a bit like Grumpy Cat in human form. The black, white, and red illustrations are dramatic and used very effectively. Overall, it's an entertaining, fast read.

interesting quotes:

"Emily isn't lazy...she's just happy doing nothing." (pp. 12-13)

"Emily may be odd...but she always gets even." (pp. 28-30)

[Flavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Śmiesznie mi to liczyć jako książkę, bo format jest dość krótki i nieco kiciokociopodobny, ale bardzo mi się podobała. Była zabawna, całkiem inteligentna, tłumacz polski też sobie poradził (i to jak!). Generalnie przyjemność, pewnie będę wracać, ale nie sądzę, że będę rejestrować owe powroty.

Love the edgy queen, could relate sometimes, na pewno przeczytam jeszcze wiele rzeczy z nią. <33

Also: kotki!!!!

[A'ledyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what the hype is about, I love weird, I love dark, I love bloody. I don't love immature writing, I don't love plotless stupidity, I don't love Emily. I found myself WANTING to like her, hoping she was a Johnny the Homicidal maniac type. She is not. Son I am disappoint

[Mesho &#x1f47e; · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute 😍❤️🥰

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I expected. I thought this story was for young children to confront their fears and embrace their insecurities. However, I was wrong! This book relishes in promoting bad attitudes and behavior. Boo!!!! The graphics are nice consequently the one star -- not my taste!

[Ai · Rating 5 out of 5]

mi infancia mi infancia 💓💓💓

[herbatk a · Rating 3 out of 5]

zbyt edgy, ale uwielbiam rysunki

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Emily the Strange" definitely kicks off with an intriguing concept, where the mysterious Emily wakes up in an enigmatic town with a case of amnesia. However, the way the story unfolds doesn't quite meet my expectations. It meanders through a series of odd events and encounters that feel disjointed and, at times, even aimless.

One of the major letdowns is the pacing of the narrative. As a reader, I found myself eagerly anticipating a climactic moment that ties all the threads together and offers a gratifying resolution to Emily's memory loss. Regrettably, the buildup leads to a rather lacklustre confrontation that doesn't quite provide the punch I was hoping for. It's almost as though the story is building towards a grand revelation, only to fizzle out disappointingly.

Furthermore, while the book introduces the intriguing notion that Emily's four black cats play a crucial role in the plot, their significance seems to be underused. They appear to hold a hidden secret, yet this element isn't explored as deeply as I would have liked, leaving me feeling slightly shortchanged.

On a brighter note, the inclusion of Emily's own doodles, musings, and sketches throughout the book adds a creative dimension that resonates with her artistic personality. Her rebellious nature and determination to uncover the truth also stand out as commendable qualities that make her a relatable and engaging protagonist.

Overall, "Emily the Strange: The Lost Days" has the potential to be a captivating mystery with a memorable main character. However, the story's lack of a satisfying climax, its tendency to wander, and the underdeveloped exploration of its unique elements leave me yearning for more. While there are moments of intrigue, they unfortunately get lost in the meandering narrative.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Erano anni che ero curiosa di leggere Emily la Stramba. Volevo vedere cos'avesse scatenato tutto il clamore intorno a questo personaggio.

Beh... Niente di mio gradimento.

Questo è stato classificato come fumetto ma, in realtà, si tratta di una serie di - come chiamarle... vignette? - che descrivono un aspetto di Emily. Insipido, magari più adatto a un'adolescente con tanti problemi di autostima.

Già dimenticato.

[Nína Guðrún · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda weird, kinda trippy but there are cats

[isha! · Rating 4 out of 5]

boi emily was strange

[Ümit Sevgi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily isn't crazy, she's just mad... :)

[Addelin Memmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was literally confused the entire time. Although some sections were super cool others were incomprehensible.

[Alex Rojas]

Emily the Strange is a book about 13-year-old Emily who wakes up in a small town called Blackrock, without knowing her purpose she sets out to look around town and finds many peculiar things like golems and a mind reader. The book is written in first person meaning you are reading the book as Emily so the writing is not professional and is described as a journal. This is a very good book 10/10 IGN recommended

[Audrey (Warped Shelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge: (Advanced) A book by an author who has written more than 20 books
Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge: The first book in a series that you have not started

[Maria Lago · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es una historia, sino una serie de máximas, o aforismos, en las que la protagonista nos deja claros su apatía, su cinismo y su terrible ingenio.
Las ilustraciones son muy bonitas, pero en conjunto el libro se queda en agua de borrajas, demasiado ensimismado en sus propias ocurrencias. Imagino que, al menos, dio una heroina a la tribu gótica del momento... aunque algo me hace sospechar que la intención era la de darle merchandising. Yo misma tengo una chapita...

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enter the dark and very strange world of Emily, who is always bored. Emily looks for ways to kill the boredom by conducting strange experiments on headless kangaroos, adding strange sauce to school cafeteria meatloaf, and hanging out in the cemetery. If you have ever been so bored that you could scream and your humor tends towards the dark side, this graphic novel is for you.

[Rachel Heinrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily is GREAT! Having been a bit of a morose teen myself, I got such a kick out of her. I had never heard of the comic. I saw the book on a sales table at a book store somewhere and it jumped out at me. It's a super-quick read, yet somehow the writer gets you deep into Emily's head. Love it!

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had no idea what was going on in this book. It seemed like loosely connected nonsense or the kind of nightmare you get if you try to nap in the afternoon, where everything is freaky but nothing has any meaning. The art was interesting, though.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, this was not what I expected.
This was not really a graphic novel. This was more like a picture book with 3 primary colors with some interesting statements. I will continue to see if I might understand this Emily the Strange just a bit more.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily is so cool! Being strange is awesome! Emily reminds me a lot of one of my best friends, Meri, who is also very strange and likes cats.

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, quick, evil read with great artwork.

[Zuzanna★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

scary

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting a jump start on Spooky Season with a book from way back in my collection, a little Emily Strange. Simple short book for young teens/pre-teens made from the comic series. Its a super short and simple read with its gothic themes and illustrations, it is a favorite series of mine to this day. Two of my favorite lines from this book are "Emily isn't lazy......she's just happy doing nothing." and "Emily doesn't make imaginary friends....she creates imaginary enemies.". Those two lines spoke profoundly to me when I first discovered this series and they still do. Life can be hard and it's hard enough without imagining everyone is against you, but so easy to do when you have anxiety/ADHD and other issues. I can still see parts of myself in Emily.

[Jenny Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so much a graphic novel as an advertisement for the character in other works. If I were fifteen again, I think Emily's sort of classically misanthropic "not like other girls" characterization would have had me scrambling to find out if the main Emily the Strange property is a series of novels or a web comic or what, so I could dive in. As I am not, I think I'll just return this odd little book to the library.

[Caitlin Theroux · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just a whole bunch of edgelord "not like the other normies" art and eksdee random stuff. Had I discovered this as an angst-ridden teenager, considering the first ever issue was published a couple years before my middle school days, I would have latched onto Emily with an embarrassing amount of glee.

[Goth Radio Hour · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would call this a picture book rather than a graphic novel considering the low word count.
Cute, quick (very quick) read for any Emily the Strange enthusiast.
If you've never heard of Emily the Strange, this is a good introduction. She is a cult figure and for good reasons, spooky like Wednesday, but no parents around, just her best cat.

[Adri266 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tak toto bol omyl roka :frowning2: Zaujala ma anotacia, to, ze je to komiks, a verila som, ze je to nejaka fajn kniha. OMYL. Nerozumiem tomu humoru, a zdal sa mi az urazlivy. Ech, este ze to bolo v akcii...