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Vertigo Resurrected
My Faith in Frankie
A digest-sized, black-and-white trade paperback reprinting the 4-issue Vertigo miniseries from writer Mike Carey (LUCIFER) and artists Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel, MY FAITH IN FRANKIE tells the story of a girl who discovers that having your own personal deity isn't all it's cracked up to be - particularly when you're trying to get a boyfriend and your god turns out to be jealous! But as Frankie moves precariously into adulthood and her god Jeriven tries to win her back, sinister forces are at work that could spell disaster far beyond a broken heart, and Frankie and Jeriven will both have to do some fast growing-up if they're going to survive. This collection also features sketchbook material from Liew and preview pages of Jill Thompson's upcoming VERTIGO title THE DEAD BOY DETECTIVES, guest-starring Death and presented in the same black-and-white manga format as DEATH: AT DEATH'S DOOR.
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Mike Carey
1,261 books2,967 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.
Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.
Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
August 22, 2025
this book was really, really fun! i found all 4 original issues in a bin at my favorite resale shop (shout out recycled books in denton, tx!) and decided since it was only $12 to buy the whole set. i’m so glad that i did! the characters, art, and plot were all so up my alley of things i enjoy, and even though i knew it was a mini series going in i would LOVE to see more of these characters one day, it was that good to me!
January 8, 2010
A quick, fun read, this book was interesting and surprising. Once you get the tagline of 'girl has a personal god,' you have a few ideas of potential directions that it could take, but I loved the idea that the god is jealous of boyfriends. The artwork was wonderful as well.
February 25, 2016
I am happy to confirm that this is still just as delightful as I remembered it being. :)
Mike Carey has written many excellent comics/graphic novels/whatever-you-want-to-call-them, but My Faith in Frankie might just be my favourite one. Much praise goes to the art-team of Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. The artwork complements the words perfectly, resulting in story that is funny, charming and deliciously over the top (in a very pleasing way).
Originally a four issue full colour mini-series in comic book format, it was then collected into a smaller sized black and white collection. If you have the chance, try to either get the original comics or the "Vertigo Resurrected" edition that reprinted them in their original format and in colour. The artwork is excellent and the small format doesn't do it justice and the colouring really contributes to setting the moods and black and white does not work quite as well for this. (If however the black and white digest version is all you can get, get it anyway, you will still have lots of fun.)
This definitely deserves more recognition (and a proper full size & colour trade paperback treatment)!
Mike Carey has written many excellent comics/graphic novels/whatever-you-want-to-call-them, but My Faith in Frankie might just be my favourite one. Much praise goes to the art-team of Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. The artwork complements the words perfectly, resulting in story that is funny, charming and deliciously over the top (in a very pleasing way).
Originally a four issue full colour mini-series in comic book format, it was then collected into a smaller sized black and white collection. If you have the chance, try to either get the original comics or the "Vertigo Resurrected" edition that reprinted them in their original format and in colour. The artwork is excellent and the small format doesn't do it justice and the colouring really contributes to setting the moods and black and white does not work quite as well for this. (If however the black and white digest version is all you can get, get it anyway, you will still have lots of fun.)
This definitely deserves more recognition (and a proper full size & colour trade paperback treatment)!
August 9, 2011
Rozó las cuatro estrellitas en casi toda la historia, así que aunque el final no me haya convencido del todo, lo promedio para arriba igual. Lo poco que leí de Carey, me gustó bastante, pero nunca me pareció tan divertido y ácido como acá. Al dibujante no lo conocía, creo, pero hace una labor de lo más adecuada para acompañar el desenfadado -pero no por ello no profundo- guion. Una buena muestra de que se puede hacer un cómic "adulto" perfectamente disfrutable por "adolescentes", y que , aunque no es particularmente ATP, creo que también divertiría a más de un "niño". Y ahora corto la review antes de seguir rompiendo con las "comillas".
May 20, 2011
This was an enjoyable, quick read, even if the ending was rather strange. Frankie is a young woman with her own personal god who no one else can see. The deity is jealous, however, and continually interferes in her relationships, dooming them to failure. When she thinks she finds “The One,” she must choose between her god and her boyfriend—who just might not be what he seems.
Don’t be fooled by the “Archie”-esque cover and shelve this one as a children’s comic. Frankie has no qualms about dropping the F-bomb, hopping into bed with her boyfriends, or battling demons in Hell.
Don’t be fooled by the “Archie”-esque cover and shelve this one as a children’s comic. Frankie has no qualms about dropping the F-bomb, hopping into bed with her boyfriends, or battling demons in Hell.
March 6, 2008
This is a really cool comic about a girl (Frankie) who grows up with her own personal diety that she can see, hear, talk to, etc. The best part of the story is at the end...well, I shouldn't give away the ending. But let's just say it ends with polyamory and a group marriage type relationship. Totally cool!
October 9, 2007
Although this book came very reccomended by people on this website, I found it lacking. In particular, the plot was hard to follow and I didn't really identify with the protag. as much as I think I was supposed to. I also found the conclusion to be a little too pat. Very creative, however.
February 21, 2016
Una delicia, una pequeña fantasía sobrenatural que recuerda a ratos a un Sandman adolescente.
November 10, 2015
Cute, non-threatening (in the secular way), well-paced.
Good, but nothing to write home about.
Good, but nothing to write home about.
December 12, 2025
Oh! Just as I was sitting down to write this review I discovered that the Mike Carey of this book is the MR Carey of The girl with all the gifts, one of my all time favorite books. How interesting.
My Faith in Frankie was written in 2004 and reads very much like a comic book from that time period. The dialogue is a little choppy, the art a bit rough around the edges. I am glad that I read this book, but I know that there is no chance that it will leave a lasting impression on me. Frankie has her own personal God that adores her and has to practice a balancing act of encouraging her to love and worship him while actively interrupting her intentions of beginning a life of having sex. That's the plot for about the first half of the book, and then things go slightly more sideways and quite a bit more interesting. We have a revenge seeking dead alive boy who loses his manhood to a weedwacker. We love that for him. There are demons impersonating teenage girls in a comical phone call. We have polyamory laid out like it is completely normal. Love that for all of them. And throughout there is a low hum underlining current of religious devotion, sexuality, and how both of those things can come with a strong desire to possess and manipulate to keep someone for our own selfish reasons. As interesting as this all sounds, typed out, overall there was something that felt could have been added to give this more depth. Maybe a few more events, or more one on one conversations between the characters. It just lacked a hook to really pull this story up to one that was worth reading. Also one tiny critique is that the way that this book is bound, quite a few pages had to be spreading really wide to get the full detail of what was happening. As someone who has destroyed many many many a book being too aggressive with their poor little spines, I am now hyper aware of that.
My Faith in Frankie was written in 2004 and reads very much like a comic book from that time period. The dialogue is a little choppy, the art a bit rough around the edges. I am glad that I read this book, but I know that there is no chance that it will leave a lasting impression on me. Frankie has her own personal God that adores her and has to practice a balancing act of encouraging her to love and worship him while actively interrupting her intentions of beginning a life of having sex. That's the plot for about the first half of the book, and then things go slightly more sideways and quite a bit more interesting. We have a revenge seeking dead alive boy who loses his manhood to a weedwacker. We love that for him. There are demons impersonating teenage girls in a comical phone call. We have polyamory laid out like it is completely normal. Love that for all of them. And throughout there is a low hum underlining current of religious devotion, sexuality, and how both of those things can come with a strong desire to possess and manipulate to keep someone for our own selfish reasons. As interesting as this all sounds, typed out, overall there was something that felt could have been added to give this more depth. Maybe a few more events, or more one on one conversations between the characters. It just lacked a hook to really pull this story up to one that was worth reading. Also one tiny critique is that the way that this book is bound, quite a few pages had to be spreading really wide to get the full detail of what was happening. As someone who has destroyed many many many a book being too aggressive with their poor little spines, I am now hyper aware of that.
January 28, 2018
I was going through my old comics when I found this from my days of spending all my food money at Comics for Collectors in Ithaca, NY. There were a ton of comics I didn't even know I owned. My faith in Frankie was one of them.
Flipping through one of the issues, I was hooked and decided to read through it all.
My Faith in Frankie is about a young god, Jeriven, with one worshipper, Frankie. They get along fine until she discovers boys. See turns out Jeriven is in Love with Frankie but cannot spit it out and instead spends his time ruining Frankie's dates. Then Frankie and her best friend's male childhood friend comes back into their lives and all hell breaks lose.
The Good
Very humorous. I'm still cackling at 'Hast thou done it as a swan?'
The Bad
It's a good story but it doesn't really stick with you. The best friend I've already forgotten her name as well as the hot male childhood friend.
The Ugly,
The demons are gleefully ugly.
It's a quick read. I read it in under an hour and actually feel like I'm cheating a little adding this to my challenge.
Flipping through one of the issues, I was hooked and decided to read through it all.
My Faith in Frankie is about a young god, Jeriven, with one worshipper, Frankie. They get along fine until she discovers boys. See turns out Jeriven is in Love with Frankie but cannot spit it out and instead spends his time ruining Frankie's dates. Then Frankie and her best friend's male childhood friend comes back into their lives and all hell breaks lose.
The Good
Very humorous. I'm still cackling at 'Hast thou done it as a swan?'
The Bad
It's a good story but it doesn't really stick with you. The best friend I've already forgotten her name as well as the hot male childhood friend.
The Ugly,
The demons are gleefully ugly.
It's a quick read. I read it in under an hour and actually feel like I'm cheating a little adding this to my challenge.
Read
November 20, 2025For a Friend Who...loves old school indie comics and likes their urban fantasy light hearted.
So, What's the Story?
In a materialistic, non-believing world, a young god, Jeriven desperate for followers, becomes the personal deity for a new born baby, Frankie. It’s great for tween Frankie, getting all her prayers answered, but not so good when Jeriven decides to protect teenage Frankie from the sexual advances of boys (very much wanted advances). And it all comes to a head when a boy shows up with his one spiritual backer.
It's a Great Read Because... It’s cute and funny and the art style is that sketchy-expressive black and white American indie style.
Something Extra This is back in the days when the heroine could have short hair.
So, What's the Story?
In a materialistic, non-believing world, a young god, Jeriven desperate for followers, becomes the personal deity for a new born baby, Frankie. It’s great for tween Frankie, getting all her prayers answered, but not so good when Jeriven decides to protect teenage Frankie from the sexual advances of boys (very much wanted advances). And it all comes to a head when a boy shows up with his one spiritual backer.
It's a Great Read Because... It’s cute and funny and the art style is that sketchy-expressive black and white American indie style.
Something Extra This is back in the days when the heroine could have short hair.
February 26, 2018
Tiny, black & white, and wholly original. I really really enjoyed My Faith in Frankie.
The storytelling by Kay, the little comics (also by Kay), and Jeriven and his devotion to Frankie... I thought the whole premise of a jealous god kind of super sweet.
Two thumbs up!
Heads up, I found the art to be super busy and the pages small (a lot is happening on each page!), so I had to read this one close-up.
And, the only thing I didn't really love about this book was the (cop-out) ending. How are Frankie, Kay, and Jeriven going to keep that up? It just feels a little flat and not thought out, which doesn't match the rest of the book.
Overall, really fun! 4 stars.
The storytelling by Kay, the little comics (also by Kay), and Jeriven and his devotion to Frankie... I thought the whole premise of a jealous god kind of super sweet.
Two thumbs up!
Heads up, I found the art to be super busy and the pages small (a lot is happening on each page!), so I had to read this one close-up.
And, the only thing I didn't really love about this book was the (cop-out) ending. How are Frankie, Kay, and Jeriven going to keep that up? It just feels a little flat and not thought out, which doesn't match the rest of the book.
Overall, really fun! 4 stars.
May 30, 2021
Kind of a combo between a comic book and a graphic novel. This book is really sweet - it's about a girl with her own personal (jealous) god and what happens when she hits puberty. Very much a freudian story, but without the focus necessary to make it exactly an oediopal thing or something. Also there's a little tiny bit of "Dawson's Creek" (of which I saw the pilot some years ago before I stopped watching TeeVee) but done much better. A good afternoon's read with a glass of iced tea, also good in the bath.
September 15, 2021
So, I love the art by Hempel and Liew, and the story is ok, a nice change, a minor success from the late, great Vertigo imprint. Mike Carey succeeds in delivering a charming story. It's a little YA and a little not; I'll leave it there. But there was a time when off-the-wall charm could work, in a story like this, and here's an example.
Nice hand lettering and color art, too.
This edition, a Vertigo Resurrected reprint of the miniseries, is printed well, and reminds that it's sort of a shame when good work goes out of print.
Mildly recommended.
Nice hand lettering and color art, too.
This edition, a Vertigo Resurrected reprint of the miniseries, is printed well, and reminds that it's sort of a shame when good work goes out of print.
Mildly recommended.
July 13, 2022
It's a fun and goof look at religion, faith, sex, and the human condition. Really, all I can really say about it is that apart from a few F bombs, it doesn't really seem like it deserves DC Vertigo label. I'm not saying it belongs in the super hero line but... considering what post comic code DC was doing... it that's really the only thing that makes it 'mature readers'. This read was a lot of fun.
June 29, 2017
What a weird little thing. Quite surprising, story wise, and fun! It's basically a fantasy religious exploring belief, faith, sex, and jealousy. Its got some steamy bits in it & an ending I did not expect at all. A fresh and goofy read.
July 18, 2022
I bought, and read, the individual issues so long ago (2004) and I remember finding it very interesting. Still true though its also immensely condensed feeling. I liked how Kay told the narrative but I also feel like everything happened so very quickly that it didn't have time to breath.
November 15, 2023
Ok, I’ll confess (appropriate for a review of a story about a god, right?) that I didn’t read the black-and-white republished collection. I have all 4 of the original color comic books. They are great, and this quirky little story is a quick read, a fun time, and fully enjoyable.
January 16, 2020
3.5 stars
It was a cute and fun little story. My favorite parts were the pages that show Frankie when she was a little kid. Those bits felt very Calvin and Hobbes to me.
It was a cute and fun little story. My favorite parts were the pages that show Frankie when she was a little kid. Those bits felt very Calvin and Hobbes to me.
February 14, 2022
Hieman sekavahko, mutta muuten kiva tarina.
February 8, 2023
Frankie me recordó mucho a la adaptación que hicieron de Sabrina en Netflix. Siempre saliéndose con la suya a costa de sus amigos.
October 5, 2025
Cute and relatable kinda got a bit weird at the end and ending was sorta dumb
March 3, 2017
Pretty fun :)
January 4, 2012
Jeriven is the god of the Heart's Fires and he has a very small following - one worshipper, one sole soul who believes in him - Frankie. Because she's basically had her own personal god, she's been pretty lucky for most of her life. Until she hits puberty and gets interested in relationships with other men. Jeriven is a bit jealous. Also, he may be secretly in love with her. It's causing problems, and Frankie is getting a little desperate to lose her virginity (to someone, anyone). When her old childhood friend, Dean, comes back into her life, Frankie falls for him hard. Unfortunately, he's only using her to get at Jeriven for a little revenge on behalf of his own personal god. Will Frankie's heart survive the fallout? Will Jeriven survive at all? Funny with a dash of distracto-bunnies and romance. I'm not sure Frankie's all that, but I sure loved her god and her best friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2015
I didn't know what to expect with this comic. The friend who lent it to me described it as a "girlie" comic, which really, could have meant anything. And I was surprised to find that "girlie" involved a crap tonne of swearing, a girl with a great sex drive, and a jealous god.
Honestly, it caught me by surprise. But in the best possible way.
The plot wasn't too intense; not too deep, not too dark, but enough to make it interesting. The characters didn't get a whole lot of time to develop, but they didn't seem two dimensional either.
The art was clear and consistent, with slightly different styles, when it was another character telling the story. And in some ways the book is aware of the fourth wall, and nudges at it from time to time to remind you that it's there.
It might be nice to one day see this in colour, but even in black and white print, it works really well.
Honestly, it caught me by surprise. But in the best possible way.
The plot wasn't too intense; not too deep, not too dark, but enough to make it interesting. The characters didn't get a whole lot of time to develop, but they didn't seem two dimensional either.
The art was clear and consistent, with slightly different styles, when it was another character telling the story. And in some ways the book is aware of the fourth wall, and nudges at it from time to time to remind you that it's there.
It might be nice to one day see this in colour, but even in black and white print, it works really well.
January 25, 2014
cute! i mean there's also the part of me that's like 'blasphemy! you can't date god! it doesn't work that way!' but then i remind myself that this is fiction and almost no one actually writes religion in a realistic way in american lit so. chill all your godly feelings child
anyways this is story about a girl named frankie, her personal god jeriven and what happens when frankie hits the age to want to start dating. for jeriven is a jealous god and lo, he's not down with it
the tone is very chick-lit style, it's a nice relaxing read. reminds me a bit of maureen johnson's devilish actually! light hearted tales of high school girls combating demons. :)
also the ending is p. cute. date all the loves frankie! 3 stars
anyways this is story about a girl named frankie, her personal god jeriven and what happens when frankie hits the age to want to start dating. for jeriven is a jealous god and lo, he's not down with it
the tone is very chick-lit style, it's a nice relaxing read. reminds me a bit of maureen johnson's devilish actually! light hearted tales of high school girls combating demons. :)
also the ending is p. cute. date all the loves frankie! 3 stars
August 5, 2009
Hm. I thought this was Minx, and then it had swears!
Ummmmmm yeah I liked this pretty well. It was about a girl with her own personal god, and about how love is better than sex because sex will awake all of the fiery underworld demons you could ever imagine (I don't think that was actually the point). The pace was good and the story sufficiently complex, the illustrations were a little bit too cute, and the idea was just on the crazy side of weird for me (religion-wise). But cuteness should probably not steer me away from this teen-girl genre. It's pretty great.
Ummmmmm yeah I liked this pretty well. It was about a girl with her own personal god, and about how love is better than sex because sex will awake all of the fiery underworld demons you could ever imagine (I don't think that was actually the point). The pace was good and the story sufficiently complex, the illustrations were a little bit too cute, and the idea was just on the crazy side of weird for me (religion-wise). But cuteness should probably not steer me away from this teen-girl genre. It's pretty great.
October 17, 2011
Another collaboration between Carey, Liew and Hempel - and just as fun. Where Re-Gifters existed firmly in reality, My Faith In Frankie is all about the impossible. The story revolves around Frankie, her best friend Kay, and her personal god Jeriven. Yes, god. (His official name is Jeriven, God of the Heart's Fires.) While generally benevolent and sweet, Jeriven doesn't like the boys Frankie tries to date and tries to thwart them in bizarre ways - and things snowball from there. Again, I am in love with Liew's style and Carey's irreverent sense of humor: I really recommend this one.
June 4, 2014
This quirky book was surprisingly great! Since she was a little girl, Frankie has had her own personal god named Jerivan. Now, as she becomes a university student, her romantic life threatens to shake her faith in her little deity/bff. Matters are complicated by the involvement of her best friend Kay, long lost friend Dean, Jerivan's parents, and a few pesky demons. The drawing style is lovely! I wish there more Frankie stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews