Lumberjanes Vol. 5: Band Together (Lumberjanes, #5)

by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, and Grace Ellis

Brooke Allen (Illustrator) and Gus Allen (Illustrator)

Excited for the annual Bandicoot Bacchanal, Ripley recruits her friends to help her get ready for the dance. But before the Lumberjanes know it, something mysterious begins to bubble to the surface of the lake near camp! Will the Lumberjanes be able to bring peace to the lake in time for the Bacchanal? This New York Times Best Seller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series written by Shannon Watters with Kat Leyh, and illustrated by Carolyn Nowak (Rungs), follows the Lumberjanes as they face new challenges in their friendships and embark on fantastical adventures! And ever wonder how the Lumberjanes first met? Find out in the story written by Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Runaways), and illustrated by Brooke Allen (A Home for Mr. Easter), when they take a trip back to the first day of camp and witness how the Lumberjanes “friendship to the max” began! 

• ISBN10: 1608869199
• ISBN13: 9781608869190
• Publish Date: 12 January 2017 (first published 13 December 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Imprint: BOOM! Box
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

It had mermaids...excuse me...merwymn! Which is awesome, but other than that, this wasn't my favorite. It felt a bit like a filler volume, and I'm just not sure how this adventure works for the overarching story as a whole.

And then there was the art - this style just isn't for me.

[nannah]

I left Lumberjanes on a really positive note, and it's been just a bit since I've read the series. Luckily, it's easy to jump right back into this universe! ... Until the second issue in this volume.

This volume begins with each lumberjane just minutes before they get to camp. It's a nice little sneak peek into their lives before they all became friends and mixed up into all this fantasy Lumberjane epicness.

After that first issue things become a bit "ehhhhh" for me. The art quality drops significantly (only getting better in certain important panels), the story over the entire rest of the volume is REALLY lackluster, and the merfolk are definitely not as cool as what's promised on the cover. I think the story is actually the least interesting out of everything I've read from this series so far. Maybe because it's April-centric (who's very annoying here), and all the other characters are left to one-liners in the background?

Usually where Lumberjanes gets is strength is when all the girls are working together and off each other in a giant out-of-this-world adventure. Here, this adventure with the merfolk is April living out a dream with these punky musical merfolk and leaving her friends behind. In that way, the whole story loses its strength, charm, and everything that made it ... you know, Lumberjanes!

So, yeah, it's definitely the weakest in the series. I hope it'll be the weakest in the series, and things will go back up from here.

[inlibrisveritas]

Full review to come

[layawaydragon]

And the plot thickens!

Love this installment like I've loved all that came before it. I wish I could just finish the series in one sitting. But alas, life gets in the way. I'm excited to continue but don't want it to end!

It's cute and funny and silly and sweet and things keep happening. This issue teaches how to make a friendship bracelet and has Jo's Playlist at the end. The play lists are always fantastic 😊