Escape From Bitch Mountain: from Comic Book Slumber Party

by Hannah K. Chapman (Editor)

Comic Book Slumber Party is BACK! And this time they're taking on the dank dungeons of Bitch Mountain. Far famed for its cruel Warlock overlord, Bitch Mountain is easily the deadliest destination on any adventurers map, but with it's rumoured riches and guaranteed bragging rights it's an opportunity Greasy can't refuse. Edited by Hannah K. Chapman, with contributions from Korrinna Mei Veropoulou, Amy Lora, Liana Buszka, Lauren Burke, L�a Vera Toro, Barbawk, April Szafranski, Jenny Mure, Atla Hrafney, Ahmara Smith, Jenn Woodall, and Nicole Miles, CBSP: Escape from Bitch Mountain follows Greasy as she navigates a hangover from hell, battles foul beasts, and faces her direst peril yet... the Friend Zone! Can Greasy find her way out of the depths with her treasure (and her dignity) intact?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Queer, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor

108 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2019

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Dungeons & Dragons by way of The Hangover as Greasy the female dog warrior awakens from a blackout drunk in the center of a cavernous maze filled with monsters. As she struggles to make her way out of the dungeon in the framing sequences, various creative teams contribute the flashbacks of how she battled her way in. Fun and humorous with an ending that goes in an unexpected direction.

[Casey, with a book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for my boyfriend because he’s into small press comics, feminism, video games, and owns a couple Jen Woodall prints (she did the cover art). I think to say it was made for him would kind of undermine the “take down the patriarchy”ness of it — it was made for women who want to read about strong, diverse, non-conformist women in a male-dominant culture — but it was also kind of made for him.

The story follows Greasy (female dog/bitch) through a series of battles that are staged like levels in a video game, and a different artist takes over each level while the interludes between levels return to the primary artist. I loved seeing all of the different art styles and interpretations of Greasy. I usually don’t like when, say, web comics have guest artists, because it feels like an interruption. But each level in this book was visually stunning and not out of place.

The writing of the story itself was pretty bland (not to mention the errors on the back copy). And while I appreciate a rallying kind of feminism, I would have loved to see more depth and intersectionality like queer rep or body positivity. I think the point is to showcase the art and lean into a woman-centric video game culture, which it does.

[poet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has exactly the right vibes.

[J MaK · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.2) I chortled all the way through this anthology. It just works! The flashbacks build a common theme surrounding workplace dynamics involving an unhinged micromanager who disrupts productivity.

[Todd Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet :)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun. Usually different art styles within a book bother me but it worked in here because each one represented a different "flashback". However, my one complaint is the plot is a little hard to follow at first.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was good and I liked how the style switched up when someone different took over the narrative. But the plot was confusing. It reads like someone is retelling a d&d campaign but they're drunk and confused and everyone is an animal? Right from the start I felt like I was missing something and like maybe this was the second in the series. "From Comic Book Slumber Party" is confusing because all a quick google search yields is an out of date website that still has "Escape from Bitch Mountain" listed as TBA. This book was certainly written by feminists and LGBTQIA members/supporters but it didn't add anything. Using the c word doesn't make you edgy and cool and the use of explicit language wasn't consistent. There were maybe 2 swears and some nastier jokes but it didn't exactly have adult themes. Something about this reminded me of adventure time, it really could've been Finn and PB on a dungeon hunt except for instead it was a dog that got blackout drunk and had to have people recount her recent events to her?? Weird, but had potential. Had this been told in a linear way it would've been great. Had it there been any real plot and not just action and dialog, it also would've been great.

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greasy did a little too much drinking last night, but somehow managed to escape the mountain, at first. Thrown back into the dungeon she must confront the enemies she defeated again, while realizing she's not the greatest person to be around when she's drunk. Also, doing your job doesn't guarantee you the ability to get into someone else's pants. Illustrated by a bunch of different people, some of the artwork didn't mesh for me, some of it was okay. Still a fun read.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars really. It was engaging but not my favorite. It definitely is in line with the quirky female-kick-ass attitude from the show Tuca & Bertie so I loved it for that. I think what really let me down was the art style. I didn't mind it jumping from art style to art style but I didn't love really any of the styles and some were a little difficult to see properly.
But it was good and it's a quick, fun ride.

[Aviva]

It won me over. I started out like, "this furry sh*t is not for me," and ended up pretty charmed by the cast of characters and in particular the final boss being both The Asshole Boss AND a Nice Guy (TM). Two for one! The "slumber party" concept I guess is where a bunch of artists split up the story and illustrate a chapter each in their own styles. It definitely added a fun dimension.

[Darcy Roar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! I'm not super duper into comic anthologies, but I love interconnected short stories, especially when the artists are all as fantastic as these guys! The story is fairly simple, but I quite liked the overall effect. Would happily read more of Greasy's adventures if given the chance!

[Tristan Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The collaboration of styles from various artist was great!!!! If you have this at your local library, I recommend picking up quick just to have fun with the style shifts. I thought the plot was lacking, but it was a cute, whimsical tale.

[eHawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok but I could not get into the discombobulated storyline

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooo not sure what was going on here! I liked some of the illustrations but the story seemed all over the place.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun art style, funny sense of humor, and an enjoyable quick read

[Aoife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art. Fun story (though nothing special, I've seen plenty of things do a lot more with less time than this). This loser dog woman is quite cool.

[Jemmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cutesy & Greasy 🗡️🚬💗