While the story is not unique in itself, it is different for comics. This makes Emiko Superstar a welcome addition to the bookshelves of graphic novels. It follows the MINX line of making different comics in hopes of attracting new readers of a different demographic. The story was very well paced and the dialogue was believable. The ending was your typical coming of age story ending and could have used some improvement.

I enjoyed Rolston's artwork quite a bit as it's very clear, easy to follow and makes reading the story an enjoyable experience. Most of the story is drawn at straight on angles which worked really well and draws you into the story. My only quibble with the art was the parts described as freaky and colourful, but is presented in black and white. It would have been nice to let loose a talented and committed colourist and see if they could come up something that matched the imagination. On the other hand, perhaps it was best left to the imagination as I'm sure different readers would have had their own versions of what is wild and colourful.

I give the book a 4 out of 5 stars. I want to see more from these two creators.

This book picks up where the last one left off. New readers who just buys this book will quickly realize there's some back story in play. There is no formal introduction to the characters either. The new readers will end up figuring out who is who along the way, sorta. There was no Volume 2 on the spine of my advanced copy so I'm lead to believe they are selling this as an individual book, so they don't limit their readership to just those that read the first Janes book. If so there should have been more done to introduce the relative back story and characters to those new readers. An editor should have thought about this.

The plot was the next logical step for the characters and what they are doing. I won't give away the details away though. The more interesting part of the book are the interactions and frictions between the Janes. Cecil does a great job of giving all these characters a unique voice. The Janes come off as very 1 or 2 dimensional, but that works in a book with a cast as large as this one. Like Emiko Superstar I thought the dialogue and pacing was very good.

Jim Rugg's artwork clearly tells the story. He also gives the individual characters body language that fits their personalities. I also like the variety of faces and body types too. My only real problems with the art is the constant use of a gray background which makes the book dreary and darker than it needs to be. White backgrounds where it could be done would have made the book much more inviting to read.

I don't think it's fair to compare this book to the previous Janes. The first book had the development and execution of random art attacks across the city, which on its own was a great idea. That aspect is the norm here and not as exciting when it was first introduced. I can recommend this book to those that bought the first book. Regarding potential new readers, I'd tell them to buy the first Janes book as well as this one.

As somebody who bought the first book I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.