I never read comic books as a kid but I'm a new fan of graphic novels which are basically highbrow comic books. My latest favorite is The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci. After a bomb explodes in the big city she lives in, Jane's parents move the family to suburbia to feel safe. She feels stifled by her new life and bands together with Jayne, Polly Jane and another Jane to form P.L.A.I.N.--People Loving Art In Neighborhoods, a sort of guerilla art movement. Jane's pain is the pain of every smart high school girl and I was easily swept up in her decision to make a statement of hope in a world full of adult paranoia and teen peer pressure.
