Of all the new comics writers who've come up through the net over the last couple of years, Antony Johnston has shown the most range. In fact, he seems to be quite deliberately trying everything at once. Horror, crime, romance - and Young Adult adventure, here, with the story of a young geek-girl who lives her life in her room with her computer and the door shut. And you can't really blame her, because on the skate to school - probably the only sunlight she sees - she bumps in to someone, and finds later that their backpacks got confused in the tangle. She's got the wrong backpack.
She knows this because it's talking to her.
Cartooned with great humour, character and energy by Drew Gilbert, this is for girls. This is for any girl who saw Harry Potter and wanted to be the hero instead. Any girl who wants to like cartoons but just finds them too dumb. Any girl who likes computers, adventure stories, and giant robots kicking the snot out of New York City.
And if you're reading this and thinking, "well... I'm not a girl"... well, I bet you know more than one who'd love this book. I'm getting one to read with my daughter.
Warren Ellis has written around thirty graphic novels, comics, prose fiction, journalism, videogames and screenplays. Sometimes he take photographs. He also creates and co-creates websites, including this one. He has awards and stuff, he's been in big magazines and newspapers, and he's been published in Nature, which he always mentions because it makes him laugh. He's on the web at warrenellis.com and diepunyhumans.com.
