MINX - a two-fer

I read my first two minx titles tonight. You know me, I like everything. I have been wanting to read these things since the imprint started, but I haven't ever found myself without something else I wanted more. My most recent trip to the library yielded two books from the line, Blabbermouth and Clubbing.

Clubbing is the story of a London goth who makes a fake ID and gets picked up by the police, and subsequently sent to live with her grandparents way out in the country. The story is weird, but not without some nice elements. I am generally in love with Josh Howards art. This book is no real exception, and it pretty much looks decent start to finish, but doesn't knock my socks off.

The story is ok,  but seems a bit hurried.  It also has a plot twist that sort of makes me long for the movie Hot Fuzz. Sadly, I don't think it does quite enough of any of the things it touches on, and our female lead isn't particularly endearing, while not really edgy enough or strong enough to pull off the main character role.  Over all, I think it's just ok.

Blabbermouth is another story set in England (with a vacation to the US in the middle of it). The story is credited to Mike Carey and his daughter Louise. I am a fan of his work on Lucifer, and I have not read the Re-Gifters, his other book for minx. It is fantastically illustrated by Aaron Alexovich.

We get characters with flaws, but none of whom are irredeemable(well not our main cast at least). It's a little bit like an after school special, but not annoyingly so. It is actually a bit like parts of several after school specials rolled into one, but not quite. Ultimately, girl empowerment and standing up for yourself and your friends are showcased and things end up much better than how they started.

The thing I don't love about these books is the Vanity Fair quote that they both carry which proclaims 'You don't have to be a comic book geek to dig... MINX' I just hate that sort of thing.