ShutterBox, Book Two: First School Quarter

Shutterbox #2

by Rosearik Rikki Simons (writer & co-artist), Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons (artist & co-writer)

Megan awakens during a rainstorm to find that she is back in Merridiah University, and now attending school in this afterlife as a full time exchange student. It is December 25th and she is told that she will remain a part of the Shutterbox Exchange Programme at Merridiah for a year. But what about her life on Earth? Megan is certain she has completely vanished from Earth and worries that he mother must be hysterical.

All is not right in the University of the afterlife, for a Banshee has been set loose, and it appears to be Megan's fault. While Megan and her sleeping friend, Dagny, are guided through the University by Dane (the Angel of Death Unbalanced), AJ (the Angel of Childhood's End) tries to find a way to save Megan from expulsion and doom. For to be expelled from Merridiah is a fate worse than death.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Comics Manga

174 pages, ebook

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Rosearik Rikki Simons is a voice actor, writer, and artist. He is most famous for being the voice of the robot in a dog suit, GIR from Invader ZIM. As an artist and writer he is known for science fantasy graphic novels such as Ranklechick and His Three Legged Cat, Super Information Hijinks: Reality Check!, and the unfinished six volume ShutterBox fantasy series, which he co-created with his wife, Tavisha-Wolfgarth-Simons. He is also a background painter in animation, most noted for his color design on Invader ZIM. The weekly web comic that he creates with Tavisha, called @Tavicat, can be read at www.tavicat.com

Reviews

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a twisted story, this one pulls you in every direction, and turns you every which way except loose.

[Stasi Apple (The Reads of an Apple) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still intrigued, but not very much happened here and none of my questions were answered. I think I'll be moving on for now but I might come back to the series in the future.

[Francine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is this girl EVER gonna go to school?
Maybe the story would work better as a YA novel. The pacing here is so slow.

[Chanté · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shutterbox Volume 2
Authors: Rikki Simons & Tavisha
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Manga
Synopsis: We get to learn more about Merridiah and AJ. We also learn that if you die in Merridiah, you stay in Merridiah. Megan must capture the Banshee she accidently set free to not be expelled from Merridiah; because if she is expelled, both her life and soul will cease to exist anywhere.
Review: I found that it was getting easier to follow the format of the manga. Learning more background information made the story easier to understand, and more interesting to me in the long run. I still didn’t understand why this manga is categorized as romance, as I have yet to see any.
Rating: ⁎⁎⁎⁎

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shutterbox, Vol. 2 was everything I was hoping that it would be. The plot begins to pick up, the secondary characters are more fleshed out... this is exactly what a second volume should be. Megan has returned to Earth briefly before beginning at M.U.S.E. Things are getting a little hectic for her: she realizes that things in her "real" life are not has they appear, and even things with her best friend, Dagny, are a little complicated.

In this volume, the reader really gets to know the characters from Merridiah, and some of the juicy back story is unveiled. In a way, the back story really surprised me. I was not expecting some of the elements to unfold the way that they did. This was a very welcome surprise since manga volumes can sometimes be come a little predictable. In addition to the the twists, the characters in this volume were hilarious. This was a fabulous addition to the series, and I cannot wait to start the next volume.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story conerns Megan Amano, a 19-year-old girl living in Los Angeles who has the ability to go to a place in her dreams called Merridiah University. The odd thing is that it's a school for people who are actually dead or never incarnated, a special school to produce muses (spirits who help authors, etc, in producing their works.)

She has a chance to become a special student at the school for a year, studying to become a muse herself. There are also a variety of other quite interesting characters and strange events going on all the time.

This is a really, really good manga. The story is fascinating, the artwork good, the lead female character somewhat different than the standard junior-high or high-school character, and there's also some good comedy. This is really enjoyable and absolutely worth getting.

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully drawn, magical, creative, enthrallingly poetic; the world of Meridiah is like a cross between Wonderland and Hogwarts, and more otherworldly than either. Turns of phrase become literal, and literal matters are turned into word play - a strange, alien, upside-down world full of whimsical and compelling characters. This is really such a great series, I'm thrilled to be reading it, and I can't wait for the next book!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not totally sure about this series, though I was totally excited when I read the author bios and realized that the guy was the background colorist for the Invader Zim series, and the voice of Gir. The idea for the series is interesting and it is going well so far, but I am looking forward and anticipating a decline. Maybe I shouldn't rate books when I'm in a bad mood!

[Yana]

because the story is so beautiful and so rmantic..

[Gregory K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refer to the first volume for my review of the series.