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Misfit City #1-4
Misfit City Vol. 1
Nothing’s happened in Wilder’s hometown since they filmed that cult kids’ adventure movie there in the 80s...Until one day, she and her friends come upon a centuries-old pirate map!
Smothered by her backwater hometown and frustrated by its 1980s cult-movie fame (The Gloomies...have you seen it? It’s a real classic, y’know.), Wilder is pretty sure she’s seen everything Cannon Cove has to offer. She’s desperate to get away from home as soon as she can, and move on to bigger, better, and less annoying things…even if that might mean leaving her best friends behind.
But when Wilder discovers a centuries-old pirate map, she may find out that REAL adventure was in their tiny town all along...and they need each other to get to the bottom of it! It’s a rip-roaring adventure written by award-winning screenwriter Kiwi Smith (10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde) and Kurt Lustgarten, and illustrated by Naomi Franquiz.
Smothered by her backwater hometown and frustrated by its 1980s cult-movie fame (The Gloomies...have you seen it? It’s a real classic, y’know.), Wilder is pretty sure she’s seen everything Cannon Cove has to offer. She’s desperate to get away from home as soon as she can, and move on to bigger, better, and less annoying things…even if that might mean leaving her best friends behind.
But when Wilder discovers a centuries-old pirate map, she may find out that REAL adventure was in their tiny town all along...and they need each other to get to the bottom of it! It’s a rip-roaring adventure written by award-winning screenwriter Kiwi Smith (10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde) and Kurt Lustgarten, and illustrated by Naomi Franquiz.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2017
246 people are currently reading
2298 people want to read
About the author
Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith
28 books115 followersKirsten Smith is a screenwriter and authors. She co-wrote LEGALLY BLONDE, 10THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, SHE'S THE MAN and ELLA ENCHANTED. She co-wrote and executive produced THE HOUSE BUNNY and THE UGLY TRUTH. She executive produced WHIP IT.
She has written two YA novels, THE GEOGRAPHY OF GIRLHOOD and TRINKETS, the latter of which is being made into a Netflix series, due out in 2019.
She has had over 40 poems published in literary magazines like The Gettysburg Review, Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review.
She has also co-written two graphic novels, MISFIT CITY and SMOOTH CRIMINALS.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, she lives in Los Angeles with her MISFIT CITY & SMOOTH CRIMINALS co-author Kurt Lustgarten and their two dogs.
She has written two YA novels, THE GEOGRAPHY OF GIRLHOOD and TRINKETS, the latter of which is being made into a Netflix series, due out in 2019.
She has had over 40 poems published in literary magazines like The Gettysburg Review, Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review.
She has also co-written two graphic novels, MISFIT CITY and SMOOTH CRIMINALS.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, she lives in Los Angeles with her MISFIT CITY & SMOOTH CRIMINALS co-author Kurt Lustgarten and their two dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 331 reviews
July 27, 2017
A FEMALE GOONIES RIP OFF?! FUCK YES! I'm all over this like genital warts on a frat boy.
After :
4.5 stars
There isn't much to dislike here - the kinda Goonies rip off Gloomers references, the art, the all female leads. If I were to come up with a graphic novel this is what I'd be aiming for. But man do I wish I had waited til more issues were out. I have very little patience and it's just started getting exciting.
After :
4.5 stars
There isn't much to dislike here - the kinda Goonies rip off Gloomers references, the art, the all female leads. If I were to come up with a graphic novel this is what I'd be aiming for. But man do I wish I had waited til more issues were out. I have very little patience and it's just started getting exciting.
February 29, 2020
The screenwriter of 10 Things I Hate about You and Legally Blonde takes a stab at comics. It feels very much like Pumpkinheads or Lumberjanes or a half-dozen other fluffy YA comics. So if that's you're thing, you'll probably enjoy it. I found it a little boring. Naomi Franquiz's art is very reminiscent of Faith Erin Hicks.
The story is a play on Goonies with a female cast. The girls live in Cannon Cove, OR, the town where "The Gloomies" was filmed. The girls come across a treasure map leading to the "real" treasure of a pirate. Hijinks ensue while they search for clues on how to decipher the map. That's about as far as you get in vol. 1.
The story is a play on Goonies with a female cast. The girls live in Cannon Cove, OR, the town where "The Gloomies" was filmed. The girls come across a treasure map leading to the "real" treasure of a pirate. Hijinks ensue while they search for clues on how to decipher the map. That's about as far as you get in vol. 1.
November 3, 2018
It's like Lumberjanes with an older cast.
It's like all those 80s, 90s, etc. movies with male groups of friends that you grew up wishing GIRLS HAD.
It's like... basically all you could ask for.
I do wish the characters had a bit more depth, there are a lot of them and they don't get developed too much, but it is only 4 issues.
I have high hopes for this series. Very Very high hopes!
It's like all those 80s, 90s, etc. movies with male groups of friends that you grew up wishing GIRLS HAD.
It's like... basically all you could ask for.
I do wish the characters had a bit more depth, there are a lot of them and they don't get developed too much, but it is only 4 issues.
I have high hopes for this series. Very Very high hopes!
October 6, 2019
3.5/5 Stars
It cut off right when it was getting interesting, I can't wait to get my hands on the second volume!
This mystery story is perfect for people who are looking for something a bit spooky for the month of October. It also has a pirate element which I love! The illustrations are just my cup of tea and the colours are great!
It cut off right when it was getting interesting, I can't wait to get my hands on the second volume!
This mystery story is perfect for people who are looking for something a bit spooky for the month of October. It also has a pirate element which I love! The illustrations are just my cup of tea and the colours are great!
December 22, 2018
This was adorable, okay! And such a funny light mystery with a group of girls who are such weirdos and who go on adventures together. It's so imaginative and entertaining and I love the art style too :o so beautiful!! Like I definitely want to continue on with the series, especially since this volume left off on a cliffhanger ;)))
Anyways, as an aside to all that, I read a review that mentioned the diversity within the book, saying "It's just so progressive it doesn't seem real" and just - there's so much diversity everywhere you look in the world, one just has to be open to it. This idea of ""SJW's"" ruining the world is dumb and tiring in 2018. Honestly, just let people have their representation and just let people actually see themselves in books.
But anywho, enough of that... I loved Misfit City! 4 stars!!!!
Anyways, as an aside to all that, I read a review that mentioned the diversity within the book, saying "It's just so progressive it doesn't seem real" and just - there's so much diversity everywhere you look in the world, one just has to be open to it. This idea of ""SJW's"" ruining the world is dumb and tiring in 2018. Honestly, just let people have their representation and just let people actually see themselves in books.
But anywho, enough of that... I loved Misfit City! 4 stars!!!!
October 14, 2018
This was a good graphic novel/comic read! Although I wasn't as hooked onto the storyline as I was reading the Fence series by C.S Pacat, I did like the element of a group of friends finding a treasure map. The cliffhanger was intense and am looking forward to reading what happens next!
February 10, 2018
This book desperately wants to be a madcap adventure filled with pirates, hidden treasure and quirky female protagonists. The adventure is mild, and the characters really don't consist of much beyond their quirks. It seems more like a book trying to get on a bandwagon (see: Lumberjanes, Ms. Marvel, etc.) rather than one trying to blaze its own path.
July 25, 2019
Lumberjanes moved to Astoria (where Goonies was filmed) and aged up a bit?
That's the spirit here. A group of friends find themselves in possession of a map that may lead to pirate treasure. But there are villains on their tail... That's about as far as this first volume gets. It's good fun, for those of us who find this kind of thing fun.
It is definitely set in Astoria, which is not too many hours down the coast from where I live (several people who work in the same library district as me live in Astoria), but does that thing that some authors choose to do where everything has a thinly veiled pseudonym, which for me is more annoying than clever.
Also, there's some weirdness with the characters, where there are actually five friends in the poker club, but one of them is left off of the cover (and every other cover in the gallery at the back). In Chapter III, only the four from the cover are in the initial gathering, but then conscript the fifth character to do a thing for their quest. There are plenty of panels where the protagonist (I'm calling them that, they're the one at the front of the cover and more-or-less drive the quest) looks so much like the fifth character that I wasn't 100% sure which character it was. ...So it feels like the fifth character may have been a late addition? Things are unclear. Distractingly unclear.
But no, it's fun. Kinda wish they'd just wait and release the whole thing together, because I probably won't be able to make the time to read the second volume of this, but I definitely would have kept reading if it was still the same book.
That's the spirit here. A group of friends find themselves in possession of a map that may lead to pirate treasure. But there are villains on their tail... That's about as far as this first volume gets. It's good fun, for those of us who find this kind of thing fun.
It is definitely set in Astoria, which is not too many hours down the coast from where I live (several people who work in the same library district as me live in Astoria), but does that thing that some authors choose to do where everything has a thinly veiled pseudonym, which for me is more annoying than clever.
Also, there's some weirdness with the characters, where there are actually five friends in the poker club, but one of them is left off of the cover (and every other cover in the gallery at the back). In Chapter III, only the four from the cover are in the initial gathering, but then conscript the fifth character to do a thing for their quest. There are plenty of panels where the protagonist (I'm calling them that, they're the one at the front of the cover and more-or-less drive the quest) looks so much like the fifth character that I wasn't 100% sure which character it was. ...So it feels like the fifth character may have been a late addition? Things are unclear. Distractingly unclear.
But no, it's fun. Kinda wish they'd just wait and release the whole thing together, because I probably won't be able to make the time to read the second volume of this, but I definitely would have kept reading if it was still the same book.
Want to read
April 23, 2018A comic about a group of girls who go on adventures, referencing The Goonies, and co-written by the woman who wrote 10 Things I Hate About You and Legally Blonde???? This is everything I'd ever dreamed of
May 17, 2018
I don't quite know what to make of this just yet. I quite like the premise; real life residents of a town where a classic kids movie called "The Gloomies" was filmed (and if you can't guess what that's based on we have nothing in common and are no longer friends) find themselves embroiled in a real life treasure hunt complete with duplicitous criminals, riddles to solve and mysterious old men with secrets. But I have a problem with the "social justice warrior" feel that totally overwhelms the story. Its almost like they've gone so far overboard with being inclusive that they've actually turned their heroines into stereotypes. We've got the tomboy lesbian who has trouble expressing her feelings, the mixed raced rocker girl, a mind blowingly dumb hippy girl who talks about aura's and reads tarot cards, the fat girl (she's the smart one) who's weight balloons bizarrely between average girl and morbidly obese, and an every girl type who's role pretty much boils down to straight woman/stand in for the reader.
There's other things too that just make it very hard to stay in the story. There are barely any men in this town and I kind of hope there's a reason because its really weird, no one talks about it and it really stands out. I kept getting caught up in the authors choice to have the only other cop in the story (besides every girls mother who is of course the sheriff) be a Sikh man in a turban. Its just so progressive it doesn't seem real.
Then there's an insane amount of "catch phrase" dropping that often doesn't make any sense. My favorite being when rockstar girl is relating the story of the evil pirate (queen of course) and her blood thirsty cannibal crew and stupid hippy girl gets literal stars in her eyes and goes "squad goals!" Wait what? Your squad goals are to become a a murderous gang?
I don't know I might stick around for volume 2 but I'd sacrifice some of the socially conscience platitudes for more adventure and mystery.
There's other things too that just make it very hard to stay in the story. There are barely any men in this town and I kind of hope there's a reason because its really weird, no one talks about it and it really stands out. I kept getting caught up in the authors choice to have the only other cop in the story (besides every girls mother who is of course the sheriff) be a Sikh man in a turban. Its just so progressive it doesn't seem real.
Then there's an insane amount of "catch phrase" dropping that often doesn't make any sense. My favorite being when rockstar girl is relating the story of the evil pirate (queen of course) and her blood thirsty cannibal crew and stupid hippy girl gets literal stars in her eyes and goes "squad goals!" Wait what? Your squad goals are to become a a murderous gang?
I don't know I might stick around for volume 2 but I'd sacrifice some of the socially conscience platitudes for more adventure and mystery.
October 2, 2018
Misfit City Series Ratings:
Misfit City Vol 1: ★★★★
Misfit City Vol 2: TBR
—
This was really fun! I love the treasure hunting and the girl power, and how wondrously diverse this is! All the characters are cute and charming and so different from each other! I'm really excited to see where this goes!
—
I read this book as part of my 2018 Library Love binge, where I read as many library books as possible to take advantage of my great local library network before I move interstate!
___
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Misfit City Vol 1: ★★★★
Misfit City Vol 2: TBR
—
This was really fun! I love the treasure hunting and the girl power, and how wondrously diverse this is! All the characters are cute and charming and so different from each other! I'm really excited to see where this goes!
—
I read this book as part of my 2018 Library Love binge, where I read as many library books as possible to take advantage of my great local library network before I move interstate!
___
│Blog│Instagram│Twitter│Tumblr│
December 31, 2021
I can't explain it but this had immaculate Teen Wolf vibes.
September 7, 2018
Bullet Review:
This world is stressful; sometimes I just want to not think about anything too serious, veg out, enjoy some fluffy form of media. "Misfit City" is that sort of media.
Because if you think too hard about just the characters in this book...there aren't nearly that many nonwhite people in Oregon. Oregon has a pretty shady history. In fact, while the Portland metro area and the college towns are very liberal, you can't say the same about the rest of the state.
But let's put that aside and follow Wilder, Karma, Dot, Mace, and Ed, a motley crew of young women of all sorts of ethnicities, body shapes and sexualities, on an adventure of a lifetime! In the style of the movie, "The Goonies" - I mean! - "The Gloomies", these young women find a map and must evade two ruthless, rich city folk and find the treasure of the dread Pirate Black Mary! The women may be your archetypes, but hell, it's a fun ride.
Get your eyepatch out and practice your "ARGH"!
This world is stressful; sometimes I just want to not think about anything too serious, veg out, enjoy some fluffy form of media. "Misfit City" is that sort of media.
Because if you think too hard about just the characters in this book...there aren't nearly that many nonwhite people in Oregon. Oregon has a pretty shady history. In fact, while the Portland metro area and the college towns are very liberal, you can't say the same about the rest of the state.
But let's put that aside and follow Wilder, Karma, Dot, Mace, and Ed, a motley crew of young women of all sorts of ethnicities, body shapes and sexualities, on an adventure of a lifetime! In the style of the movie, "The Goonies" - I mean! - "The Gloomies", these young women find a map and must evade two ruthless, rich city folk and find the treasure of the dread Pirate Black Mary! The women may be your archetypes, but hell, it's a fun ride.
Get your eyepatch out and practice your "ARGH"!
July 25, 2019
It’s been about a year and a half and I still love this graphic novel. Absolutely cute and adorable as heck. The artistry is some of my favorite as most of the time the characters normal faces, but every now and again they get these very cutesy expressions (like when they blush). So clearly the artist is having some fun!
Each of the girls are unique and amazing in their own ways. There’s a book loving nerd, a protestor and sheriff’s daughter, a sassy musician, the chill one (lgbt rep!), a new age queen, and THE BESTEST DOG EVER. So yeah, a cool cast.
The girls live in a small town which depends on tourists as it’s the former shooting location for the movie The Gloomies. Yeah, you can guess what it’s a riff on. Mary - aka the musician and best museum tour guide you’ll ever meet - finds an old treasure map and soon the group is working hard to find out where it leads.
Just hopefully they won’t be hampered by ghosts, an old captains first mate, their sheriff parent, or some treasure hungry trust fund kids.
Each of the girls are unique and amazing in their own ways. There’s a book loving nerd, a protestor and sheriff’s daughter, a sassy musician, the chill one (lgbt rep!), a new age queen, and THE BESTEST DOG EVER. So yeah, a cool cast.
The girls live in a small town which depends on tourists as it’s the former shooting location for the movie The Gloomies. Yeah, you can guess what it’s a riff on. Mary - aka the musician and best museum tour guide you’ll ever meet - finds an old treasure map and soon the group is working hard to find out where it leads.
Just hopefully they won’t be hampered by ghosts, an old captains first mate, their sheriff parent, or some treasure hungry trust fund kids.
February 26, 2018
This all-girl version of the Goonies is too meta for its own good. The story takes place in the town where the movie "The Gloomies" was filmed and has a similar pirate history and threat of urban development going on. There's also has a hidden treasure that a group of local teens stumble onto a map for. Smith seems to think by having the characters pointing out all these parallels to each other, and to you, that that's all you need to evoke that '80s adventure feel. But the clues are solved too easily, or by accident, and the characters are broadly drawn and verging on the obnoxious (Looking at you, Karma). It's aiming for the Lumberjanes' formula of girl power and adventure but is nowhere near as charming.
I'm hoping that now all the setup is out of the way, volume two can start being it's own thing.
I'm hoping that now all the setup is out of the way, volume two can start being it's own thing.
July 14, 2020
** relecture 14/07/2020 pour pouvoir enchaîner sur la suite. Toujours aussi sympa !**
SO CUTE. J'adore, le dessin est très sympa, l'histoire choupie et pleine d'aventure, j'adore j'adore j'adore.
SO CUTE. J'adore, le dessin est très sympa, l'histoire choupie et pleine d'aventure, j'adore j'adore j'adore.
March 26, 2019
There's nothing new that this bring to the table from my perspective. Still the same old 'kids found a map & they go on an adventure' type story. I want something new and hoping volume 2 will have it!
December 28, 2018
Great cast, love the moody art! Oh and there's a fun dog!
January 2, 2019
Not bad but kinda slow paced....Goonies type adventure....
February 26, 2018
Ahhh this is the CUTEST comic! Here are some things it has:
—a cast full of girls of various races and sizes
—references to a movie that is basically The Goonies
—a dog who plays poker
—a treasure map and A LADY PIRATE
—written by the woman who wrote 10 Things I Hate About You AND Legally Blonde!
—adventures and fun!
So good!!
—a cast full of girls of various races and sizes
—references to a movie that is basically The Goonies
—a dog who plays poker
—a treasure map and A LADY PIRATE
—written by the woman who wrote 10 Things I Hate About You AND Legally Blonde!
—adventures and fun!
So good!!
April 15, 2018
So cute and fun! Loved the setting and the girl gang. I want to watch all the Pirate movies now.
February 15, 2018
Misfit City tries hard to replicate an 80s adventure movie and mostly succeeds. The characters are caricatures, but they're fun and mostly funny. The story revolves around a treasure map, although far more time is spent on sideplots than the barely-fleshed-out central plot. Really, we only see the map in use at the very end, leading to a classic cliffhanger. The art's the real draw here, though - crisp character designs, skillful scene-setting, and a color palette that perfectly reflects Oregon coast gloom.
February 22, 2018
This is an obvious homage to action/adventure mystery classics like The Goonies and all in all, it does okay, but not great. I liked the art (it kind of reminds me of Faith Erin Hicks) and the effortless diversity (BOOM does this so well) but the characterization was very thin. I didn't really care for any of these characters and their motivations for wanting to solve the mystery in their small town were murky and undefined.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking to read something after they've finished with Lumberjanes, but this is a pale imitation imo.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking to read something after they've finished with Lumberjanes, but this is a pale imitation imo.
May 15, 2018
This story basically draws its plot from the movie Goonies, so there are few surprises in it. The art is attractive, but the story doesn't really have any punch to it. The characters don't feel well developed either. They are basically defined by what they like--one likes rock music, one likes to read, one likes new age stuff, and so on.
January 2, 2018
I loved the art in this but as far as character and plot, it felt like it was trying really hard to be Lumberjanes. The characters, setting, and plot could have been better developed. The action started happening before I felt invested in the characters and cared what happened to them.
May 19, 2017
A Goonies reference wrapped in a Goonies reference covered in everything you love about the Boom! Box imprint of comics. Great first issue.
May 1, 2018
This was a very interesting comic, and I loved it! It had an amazing plot, and had characters that many people could relate to.
August 14, 2019
rep: black mc, wlw mc, fat mc
- I loved everything about this except for the annoying fandom/Gen-z lingo and the cliffhanger
- There’s a fat character who actually looks fat and isn’t just a girl with a tiny waist and big boobs!!!!
- I only read this because it was labeled as lgbt but the f/f couple is so minor and has no development that it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of situation
September 25, 2018
4.25/5 stars
Imagine I pick up this series and I see a fat girl who looks like me on the page who is smart and driven and fucking cool. That's such a great feeling.
I love this series. I love the goonies so I love this inherently because it's about really dope girls looking for treasure instead of boys who laugh at their fat friend (the goonies is my favourite film but b o i the fatphobia)
Imagine I pick up this series and I see a fat girl who looks like me on the page who is smart and driven and fucking cool. That's such a great feeling.
I love this series. I love the goonies so I love this inherently because it's about really dope girls looking for treasure instead of boys who laugh at their fat friend (the goonies is my favourite film but b o i the fatphobia)
June 8, 2018
I like it so far. Reminds me of The Goonies yet that's as far as similarities go? The girls have their own character and I do like a female nod and not exactly a remake.
I need Vol 2.
I need Vol 2.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 331 reviews