Little Girls

by Nicholas Aflleje, Sarah Delaine (Contributor), Ashley Lanni (Contributor)

Sam and Lielet are two new friends living in Ethiopia who are dealing with the kind of problems that all kids judgemental social cliques, condescending adults, alienation, and a legendary brain-eating monster of folklore. Sure, it's not going to be easy, but all they have to do is live through it.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2019

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two outsider teen girls become mates in Ethiopia and get involved in an arbitrary conflict between lions and hyenas because Lion King! Also mythical talking monster hyena for reasons…?

Little Girls is crap because Nicholas Aflleje’s story is not very well put-together. I wasn’t sure who this mythical hyena thing was, why they’d come back (or from where), what they wanted, or why they were targeting these kids. Similarly, I’m not sure why the girls were involved in this mystery or why they made it their business - because that’s what kids do, I guess? Hmm.

The girls never felt in any real danger anytime, all of the characters were flat and uninteresting, the story didn’t feel like it had a point nor did it really go anywhere (beyond the predictable good triumphing over evil cliche). I think Aflleje tried at the very end to hint that it was a metaphor for the Eritrean-Ethiopian war but, if that’s what it was, it went way over my head (and likely will everyone else reading this who doubtless know nothing about that conflict)!

Sarah Delaine’s art reminded me of Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez’s style and I liked it a lot. The hyena monster’s design was genuinely spooky and the hyena body language was convincing and natural-looking.

Maybe if the story were more focused this’d be a good comic but, as it is, Little Girls is largely boring and forgettable.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam and Lielet are referred to as "two little girls" (they would seem to be 8-10?) by adults and animals alike in this story set in Ethiopia. They are not part of the in-groups in school, they are grounded by parents, one has an annoying brother, the usual kid stuff. But this is a slow burn atmospheric story about a legendary monster of Ethiopian folklore that has killed 8 people recently, a hyena-lion war, and a confrontation with all these critters where the girls save the day (and importantly, remain besties).

The back cover says it builds suspense like Nick Drnaso's Sabrina, which is to say it has a kind of contemporary horror vibe, I guess, and it does take its time getting to the scary parts, but I didn't see the Sabrina connection so mucht. They also mention Adrian Tomine, and this was even more out of left field for me in terms of any of his stories, but I think the references might be to the impressive art of Sarah DeLaine, a little like Tomine and Drnaso, maybe, though I think she is not quite in their league (yet!) and is better at drawing natural settings than humans.

I like the spareness of it, I like that there are many wordless panels, but the resolution doesn't come to all that much, frankly. There's (for me, with my little children's comics and mystery background) a bit of a Stranger Things feel to it: Let the kids solve the mystery, facing imminent death by the bared teeth of the mythological beast! And I thought of another graphic novel, This One Summer, by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, also about two little girls, though that one is not fantasy, but the two stores similarly take their time, are not afraid to let the images tell the story. Also, the girls in both graphic novels watch horror movies, which is interesting.

I liked this; some cultural aspects of it are unique (to me; my first comics story set in Ethiopia) and intriguing, and as I said, I like DeLaine's art. Not sure if Aflleje's story should have had more back story about the beast or beasts, but it would have helped me.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the character of Lielet. Sam was fine, too, really, I'm just a bit tired of "exotic" locations being translated through the viewpoints of displaced middle-class white Americans.

Mild cheers for using the mythical Kerit rather than a better known folkloric monster, although I've seen them around a bit recently and am guessing the author read the same stories I did.

The war between the lions and the hyenas was not interesting to me and I didn't see what advantage the hyenas expected from it, as so many of them were dying in the process.

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, I went into this thinking we were going to get a cool dark fairytale/folk lore story but instead I got a weird version of The Lion King and I'm not saying that in a positive way in the slightest.

What a strange story - I feel like the author didn't even know where he was going with this when he started writing it. It started off as two little girls in Ethiopia befriending each other and becoming fascinated with the local monster legend of Kerit and if it's him killing all the people in their village. They decide to play Nancy Drew and investigate what is really happening. Sounds pretty cool, right? WRONG. Kerit turns out to be some big hyena with a lot of infection looking shit all over his face and he is pretty pissy at the local lions. Yep, it takes a weird turn about halfway in the book and this becomes a territorial war between the hyenas and lions. We get a lot of gory animal violence and the girls just watch, I guess... I can't even wrap my head around this mess.

The illustrations are odd, particular the illustrations of the people. I don't even know how to describe it other than plain odd. The animals were fine I guess - nothing awful but nothing to care about either.

[Rian *fire and books* · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this.


Firstly, let’s talk about the character drawings. The angles on some of these frames were... weird. The perspective was shifted sometimes to represent a character being bullied but it just came off weird. There’s even a couple panels where the characters resemble pop funko’s rather than people. Heck, in some panels the kerit was huge, and in others it looked the size of a normal hyena. It wasn’t consistent and it drew me out of the story.

Secondly, I had some issues with the story. I think we could have benefited from more of an explanation of what the kerit was and why it was there. Because of this I felt like we were slowly drawn into a creepy story and then given a rushed and not really great ending.

Thirdly, and this is where it gets spoilery so back out now...


what was the point? The kerit’s motivations were unclear, as was the precursor to the fight scenes. I felt like the story lacked direction.



I loved the gore in this and I think I would have preferred more, as well as more storytelling. Otherwise it’s just two girls who want to find a serial killer and instead end up almost getting eaten by a bunch of lions and hyenas.

There wasn’t enough to keep me engaged or even creeped out if I’m being honest.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice art, sort of reminiscent of Gabriel Rodríguez in Locke & Key, but the story is sloppy and makes little sense. A white girl finds herself in Ethiopia because of her dad's job and makes friends with a local girl. Of course they decide to Scooby gang it and solve the mystery when rumors say animals are being mutilated and people killed by a supernatural creature. It's supposed to be scary, but the creature looks too much like Sandy from Little Orphan Annie to be anything but ridiculous. And its main plan is some sort of war between lions and hyenas? Who cares?

The action is often confusing, especially when a battle begins and a running tally is included that is unclear as to whether it counting the number of combatants present or dead, because more seem to keep showing up as others die. Indeed the final tally far exceeds the numbers shown at the start of the scene. And if it is a tally of the dead, it really doesn't mean much if we don't know how deep a reserve each side has to draw upon.

So, no tension or excitement for me, but I wouldn't mind seeing the characters again doing something more worthwhile.

[Valéria. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seriously need a lobotomy after this.
1. This will haunt me in my dreams for a long time.
2. Why and how and again WHY this was made?
3. Somebody compared on the first page the artwork of this comic book to Geofrey Darrow's artwork. Please, go to your bathroom and put soap in your mouth immediately. Because this.. those drawings.. that monstrosity.. I really am in the mood to go grab forks and take my eyes out with them.
4. "a perfect graphic novel", "share this treasure with comic readers".. No! Stop lying to us.
5. Image, what the fuck, why?
6. Dialogues were bad. Not childish, not weak, bad. Really bad.
7. The parts with lions and hyenas were .... okay.
8. This should be free digital comics. It's really not worth the price.

I really do not want to rate this even with that one star because it does not deserve a star. But guess I'll go with that so people will see the rating and rather spend money on something better.

[Donovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could've been better. The art felt rough but unpolished, the characters flat. While I see the comparison to Killing and Dying, it isn't earned. What drove me to finish is the monster, which I think could have been more. I thought a huge plot hole was that their parents kept letting them go out monster hunting in the Ethiopian wilderness--sorry, but I don't buy it, not with townsfolk getting killed--the girls would've been on lock down. I also think the title (and characterization) is cliche and perhaps even sexist.

[Lukas Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as part of a box for the store of IMAGE books to check out advanced copies of. BLOWN. AWAY. This is a perfect meeting of several cultural crossroads at once. Middle-grade fiction, the resurgence of horror, African mythos, diversity, girl power and terrific supernatural stakes. The art is spot on. Simple, clear, easy to follow while blowing up a wider world. I instantly went online after I finished to read more about the "monster" in the story and Ethiopia itself. I really hope we see more of this world.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little Girls is a forgettable monster story starring two young girls in Ethiopia. They track down and fend off an Ethiopian monster that inhabits the local hyena tribe. The girls don't have much depth and the monster is wildy underexplained. The art is an extremely amateur version of Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key art.

Better art and a firmer sense of place would have improved the story immensely. I'd be curious to know more about Ethiopia and its native monster myths! Little Girls, oddly, doesn't provide much information in that regard.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone handed me an ARC of this book at a convention, and I'm never one to turn down free books. However, there is absolutely nothing to recommend about this graphic novel. The art is stiff and awkward, the plot is somehow simultaneously difficult to follow and nonexistent, and characterization is entirely absent. Nothing about this book works.

[João Teixeira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se no início ainda me senti "agarrado" ao desenrolar da história da amizade entre as duas raparigas, acabei por simplesmente ficar confuso com o objectivo da história em si... Por que razão dar algum ênfase ao facto de Sam ter vivido anteriormente no Japão? Nada relevante para a história... Por que razão mostrar Lielet como pragmática, para depois introduzir um elemento sobrenatural difícil de perceber e despropositado? Muito provavelmente hienas e leões são aqui metáforas para um conflito armado na região da Etiópia... Mas como nada fica explícito, isso passa completamente ao lado do leitor comum, que apenas observa aqui uma gistória um bocadinho descabida... Pena!

[Lecy Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of feelings about this book. I wasn't sure what I would be getting into by reading a young adult horror graphic novel, but it was more than I needed. I'll first mention that the illustrations were great, exactly the style I was expecting for this type of story. The writing, on the other hand, was atrocious. I wanted to like this but the story didn't piece together. There were large gaps in the narrative arc and things didn't make sense. Also, I don't know that I would have enjoyed reading this when I was a young adult. It was gory and sad.

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know how hard it is to get a book published at Image, so not sure WTF happened here.

[Laura Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a quiet horror story. Really dark subject matter that handled itself with a gentle touch. The attention to detail in the artwork is everything. The little crust under Kerit's eyes? Unnerving. Amazing, and unlike anything else I've read in a long time.

[h · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the premise of this, but I don't think it was quite successfully pulled off.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I just like the night, OK?" says one of the lead characters here. Well it's a shame then that the colouring and design really don't convey the darkness of the true African night – not the stygian starlight of the uncivilised plains beyond the village limits. White girl there because her father works all over the world, and village tomboy drop-out, unite as best friends and try to investigate whether urban myth has any connection with some vicious killings going on. It might be a collective imagination thing, or it might be something mysterious and nasty and oh so real, the subject of horror stories rather than legend. Well the book wants to be strong on the horror side, even within its very PG-friendly limits, but it fails, partly as I said because it's just too bright and coloured. I know we can't have every page being full of gloom, but these are supposed to be two young women in the wilderness hoping against hope they don't find something dark and nasty. Nobody finds anything dark here.

[Persy · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Lots of words for me in your head... lots of tricks...”

I wanted this to be darker. The moment with the hyena feeder... yowza, what a spine-chiller. But the majority just felt like two kids playing make-believe and a lot of the somber mood-setting was lost.

The art was beautiful, and I loved the folktale from which it drew inspiration! I just wish it had pushed the envelope a bit more.

[Coffeecups · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.7 stars. interesting but not enough content between the covers for me

[Hallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 2.5, bumping up. I liked the premise a lot, and the characters felt very realistically written. The little domestic scenes and snippets of friends hanging out were tonally perfect. The scene between Kerit and the old man was pretty great, although I wish it had either told us more or mattered again later. A lot of the plot was honestly confusing, and it felt like that was out of a weird desire to be "mysterious" or "moody"? Like, the entire battle between the lions and the hyenas felt like it came out of nowhere. Maybe it would have made sense if it understood the folklore, but there's an opportunity to have one of the characters explain it, if so, and they just don't. Then the tallies of lions and hyenas during the battle were confusing, too; it took me the third or fourth one to realize "adult male" meant male lion, and I assume it was listing how many deaths came in the fight? But what was the purpose of knowing those totals? Then at the end there's no discussion of how real the whole adventure was. They found dead animals, but what did that have to do with the repercussions of the war, or the palace lion? I wanted to like it, but I couldn't understand it enough to like the choices made.

I also couldn't settle on whether I liked the art or not. The things that were good were great - the animals, the closeups of eyes & faces, the general sense of place. The page towards the beginning about moving to a new place was brilliantly composed. But panels showing a character's full body often had them awkwardly positioned, the perspective felt a bit off, and there was a weird dedication to showing cross-sections of houses, with super specific details of bathrooms and closets. In some cases, like when Sam packs a flashlight, it feels intentional - other times it's just distracting.

Anyway, a generally forgettable story with a rich setting and cool monster art.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Komiksový debut, který měl možná ještě nějakou dobu zůstat v šuplíku a dozrát.
Ono je to až humorné, že komiks, který vám hned na začátku úvodu oznámí, že je to "perfect graphic novel" tak moc nefunguje. Jasně, onen úvod to myslí tak, že je perfektní zvolená forma pro tento příběh, ale i v tom se shodněme, že se neshodneme.
Za mě osobně tu nefunguje ani příběh, ani kresba. Na obojím je strašlivě poznat obrovská nezkušenost a nedokážu si představit, proč po tomhle Image sáhla kromě nějakého vysvětlení, že podporují mladé a nezkušené autory, jejichž příběh zapadá kulturně jinam (v tomto případě v Etiopii).
Příběhově tu máme horror, který najednou v půlce přestane být horrorem (a i do té doby moc napětí nebudoval) a hodně nedovařený scénář, který jakoby občas zapomínal, co chtěl vlastně autor vyprávět a co prostě jenom chtěli nakreslit.
Kresba je tu další velká špatná. Ať už jsou to charaktery, které vypadají prostě špatně a občas anatomicky mimo, tak prostředí, které si přímo říkalo o krásné scenérie a zajímavé prostředí a místo toho je tu většinou prázdná nuda.
Po tomhle na nějakou dobu končím s pokusy a vracím se k starému dobrému první přečíst a když to stojí za nákup, tak hezky do poličky s tím.

Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- je pro vás prostředí Etiopie dostatečné lákadlo na vyvážení všech ostatních nedostatků
- vyhledáváte věci, které jsou špatné

Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- čekáte horror nebo napětí nebo konzistentní příběh nebo konzistentní kresbu
- od Image čekáte jistotu aspoň průměrné kvality

[ashes ➷ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid plot that wrapped up a bit too quickly for me (how have our characters changed and developed as a result? why does all this matter in their world?) despite a fantastic sense of horror and a great Big Bad. The art also wasn't doing it for me-- the lineart is lovely and detailed but the sense of proportion and movement was all wrong:



I read this due to Sina Grace's blurb for it but otherwise wasn't impressed.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out with two outsider girls in Ethiopia who befriend each other and team up to solve a murder mystery. It sounded right up my alley but then things took a turn with the main story being a huge battle between large groups of hyenas and lions. There was a lot of disturbingly graphic animal death and it was not at all what I was expecting. The art and colouring seemed all good to me but the story ended up turning me off.

[Christine Jump · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a high school teacher I am always on the lookout for the next book that I just know will be made into a movie. I feel so cool when it comes out and I was smart enough to read it years prior. This is one such book. This was so well written, the artwork is amazing. It appeals to all ages. The friendship between the characters is awesome. We need more female heroines for girls to look up to! I can’t wait for this movie!!!!

[Tabrizia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt that the story really didn't go anywhere. There was really no explanation, one that I could clearly see, that explained the existence of this monster. Although the dynamic and the budding friendship was great between the two girls, it wasn't enough to carry out the story. Also, the illustration was very stilted and unappealing to anyone who is a lover of graphic novels.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Ethiopia, this follows two young outsiders who bond over investigating the cause of grisly deaths. I liked it, but the writing and pacing was a tad disjointed.

[Ionarr · Rating 1 out of 5]

What? I..... What?

This is just terrible. It's so bad I'm genuinely confused about what I read, but from what I pieced together:

I was expecting, based on the blurb (by far the best part - I want to read whatever book that was based on, because it certainly wasn't this one) a spooky, atmospheric, mythology-meets-urban-legend tale with hints of Buffy or 80s teen sci-fi. What I got was a story, if it can be called that, about a girl who is in Ethiopia for a reason we never find out and makes friends with another outsider, by making a face at someone she was arguing with. Although given she doesn't seem to have had time to pick up the language (all languages other than English are helpfully denoted with awkward asterisks, and rude words blacked out) who knows how.

Anyway in a conversation I'm assuming they have although it's not in the book, girl tells new girl about some killings(? again, not clear), then they hunt for the culprit, and then halfway through this very boring and terribly executed storyline we discover that this is actually a book about a hyena vs lion war and if you think that sounds bonkers, boy you do not know the half of it. It's an ambitious plot, to say the least, which I can only assume was aiming at some great metaphorical point or possibly a moral about war or the environment or... Folklore? Friendship? Internalised misogyny and weirdly friendly racism? Sadly I couldn't tell you because there's nothing in the book to hint at why they decided to take this route. I am left guessing at artistic insanity or desperate need of an editor.

The art... Oh, the art. This is a very art-heavy book, possibly due to the apparently missing bits of dialogue and story (except at the end, where suddenly the book starts monologuing in what may be English but makes absolutely no sense). You would, therefore, expect the art to be the high point. You would be wrong, unless by high point you mean the thing I will inflict upon my friends so they can marvel at who thought this was a good idea and also have nightmares about the fucking teeth, in which case you would be 100% correct. It's not quite terrible enough to be a style or artistic statement, it's just bad. There are some very weird things attempted with perspective, which just makes the whole thing painfully 2D. Proportion also suffered, with everyone having a giant head that makes the adults look like children, and bodies drawn to look like stick figures. If you've seen those pictures of "if Barbie was a real human" or the diagrams comparing Disney princesses waists to the size of their necks, then think that but without any of the curves. Sadly there is no real description of the art style that quite captures the uncanny valley nature of it, although again I stress THE TEETH. Oddly enough, I think the artist can draw - I enjoyed the depiction of the Kerit and there's one panel which was really captivating and what I hoped the whole book would be like. Sadly I can't tell you what the panel was of, because this was during the part of the book where panels seemed to have randomly switched order - granted this could be because I have an advance reader proof, but I think that's hope talking.

Anyway. I expect - hope - that this will become a cult classic, in the way The Room is a cult classic movie - so oddly bad, so incoherent, so clearly convinced of its own superiority yet missing every point it's trying to hit so very hard that people just have to see the trainwreck again and again. I have visions of viewing clubs, of panels projected onto screens to be studied in great detail, of reproductions on t-shirts, of memes with the text replaced with the latest jokes, of the piecemeal dialogue reproduced, in full, on niche merchandise that will be greatly sought after. That is by far the best use for it, and I do hope it comes true. I will certainly be doing my part by showing this to everyone I know, not least so they don't foolishly spend money on it themselves, and because one of my favourite past times is giving people I love nightmares.

A must read - you WILL be disappointed.

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this volume from Image Comics and was intrigued by the central premise and the book cover. However, the content of the title did not live up to expectations. The dialogue was natural but occasionally seemed disjointed. The art was a little to simplistic as well.

I am not sure about setting a story in Ethiopia but making one-half of the protagonists a white girl - it borders on the white saviour trope. The creators should have established Sam's globe-trotting existence from the get-go. Also, demonizing most of the other native Ethiopian characters was insulting.

I liked Sam and Lielet as characters - it's not often you read a book about two young girls outside of the realm of romance. I loved their adventurous spirit and easy camaraderie. I think young people will see themselves in these characters.

The book seemed to be in a rush to get the plot underway, which resulted in the story lacking any character or atmosphere. There are pages of speech-less panels, but what's missing is any sense of motion or movement forward be it physically or story-wise. Motion isn't easy in a comic, but it can and has been done; this book needed momentum.

Youngsters may enjoy this, but this is a mostly forgettable title.

[Alex Sarll]

Two girls in Ethiopia dealing with a mythical monster the adults don't believe in: classic children's fantasy set-up. Except why is it a Kenyan monster in Ethiopia? Mention is made that it's far from home, so this isn't ignorance, but that never really goes anywhere. Maybe it's meant to parallel one of the girls being an out-of-her-element American import? Because again, otherwise that doesn't seem to serve much story purpose beyond the uncomfortable white saviour overtones, which I'm sure wasn't the intent. Also, it's particularly noticeable on the two white characters, but once you spot it on them you realise that the humans all look a bit like Patrick Fischler, and the lions often look like derpy housecats, though the landscapes and hyenas are pretty good. Oh, and the Nandi bear itself is unusually cute for a brain-eating monster, though that may be me more than the artist to blame there. In summary: huh?

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Mister (B)aranowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

To forward Little Girls with the statement that it is the perfect graphic novel is a disingenuous and frustrating move. The setting of the text- Ethiopia, a place of rich wildlife, culture, and individuality- feels squandered by middling art and ambiguous storytelling.

Not every text needs some deeply rich theming and/or symbolic purpose, but outside of its short reference to several important historic events within the country and a folkloric creature, Little Girls doesn’t have much to say regarding its female protagonists, their environment, or man’s relation with nature, which would be great topics to explore given all of the elements that contribute to its story. What purpose to its dual protagonists serve as young women? Neither seems well-versed enough in folklore or worldly perspective to give meaningful solution to the problem at hand- a problem that is planned for, but is haphazardly resolved. It offers no particular message about anything, which might be an attempt at realism. Perhaps. This might be an example of a non-Western narrative lacking appeal for a Western reader. I don’t want to be too critical of this part, as there are more concerning elements to cover.

Artistically, the text breaks a number of visual storytelling rules without intention, coming across as sloppy. Characters talk across panel gutters without a sense of priority, text boxes are used inconsistently and without purpose, and the coloring and art come across as flat and lacking detail. The most damning example of this lack of artistry is a single repeated panel in a single dialogue sequence, existing only to further pad out the art with the amount of dialogue in the conversation. If used with consistency, it would be a technique. Without consistency, it feels lazy.

There is some evocative art here, though mostly relegated to the animals of the text, while everything rooted in civilization lacks authenticity and richness. There is potential in this storytelling duo, but at the time of publishing, it is unpolished. There are clear areas to address, and with practice and purpose, this team could do far better than Little Girls.

1 Star: Poor craftsmanship, unappealing subject material, lacking substance.
2: Unappealing subject material, lacking substance
3: Average craftsmanship, lacking substance, enjoyable subject material
4: Enjoyable subject material, possesses substance
5: Enjoyable despite subject material, excellent craftsmanship, deeply substantive