Nutmeg #1 (Action Lab)

CREDIT: Action Lab

Rating: 4.5/5 – Teenage Angst and Weaponized Spice!
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.

Nutmeg is a great entry in the “all ages” category that is really all ages; entertaining for whomever reads it without talking down to younger readers.  The creative team of James F. Wright on words and Jackie Crofts on art quickly set the stage with the essential elements of any teen drama.  We’re introduced to our heroines Cassie Caraway and Poppy Pepper, students at Mason Montgomery Middle School.  The “bad guys” are embodied in the Lady Rangers club, led by a standard mean rich girl named Saffron.  The beauty of this comic is taking all the standard teen tropes and giving them a flair so that I didn’t mind seeing them trotted out again.

My favorite part of the story was what was hinted at and that caused me to look something up on Wikipedia and learn something new about nutmeg poisoning.  I’m fairly sure this will play out as the series progresses and am really looking forward in how Wright & Crofts tell the story.  This could range anywhere from horribly dark to very comedic and will likely (and hopefully) land somewhere in the middle:

In low doses, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response, but in large doses, raw nutmeg has psychoactive effects. In its freshly ground form (from whole nutmegs), nutmeg contains myristicin, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and psychoactive substance. Myristicin poisoning can induce convulsions, palpitations, nausea, eventual dehydration, and generalized body pain.

This is the kind of comic we need more of; intelligent accessible and creative that is perfect for getting young adults into reading comics.  If you know someone who is into reading the various YA novel series that are out there and want to get them into comics, get a copy of Nutmeg for them.  Get a copy for yourself!  I’m absolutely not the target demographic for this, but I loved it.  Perfect for the young at heart and spirit as much as it’s suited for the young in years.  I look forward to seeing how the “nutmeg initiative” plays out as the story unfolds.

Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
https://comicspectrum.com/ Covering the full spectrum of comics culture

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