Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Art 1.jpg

By Lisa Gullickson — To grow up with a sibling is to grow up with comparisons. I am the sensitive one in my family. I cry the easiest, I take things personally, but I am pretty thoughtful and the best gift giver. Of the four of us, my oldest brother is the best at the piano, and my youngest brother is the least likely to be an embarrassment in public. My sister is the smartest one, but I am about an inch and a half taller than she is. In childhood, these distinctions were petty but important. They spoke to our individuality, perspective, and functionality. It’s the same for Rainbow and Jonna. Rainbow is the older, artistic, slightly bossy one. Jonna is athletic, less cautious, and fiercely independent. I think the most crucial distinction between Rainbow and Jonna is that when there are giant monsters, Rainbow is more likely to run away from them. Jonna is the sister that runs towards them.

In Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Chris and Laura Samnee offer a breathtaking adventure story, a passionate campaign for siblinghood. Before the monsters, Rainbow and her sister enjoyed a lush, green, abundant environment where their relationship was mostly contented proximity. Two people doing two different activities together. Sure, there were disagreements, but dad was always nearby to soothe and arbitrate. After a year traveling from camp to camp through a desolate landscape looking for Jonna, Rainbow’s memories of her are mostly idyllic and tender. She sincerely misses her nimble, if frankly ferile little sis. Their reunion is hardly warm, however, when she finally finds her sibling thriving by tooth and claw in the wilderness, hardly needing her at all. With dad still missing, Jonna is all the family Rainbow has, and besides, it’s like dad always said - families stick together.

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Art 2.jpg

Jonna wears the “all-ages'' label as a badge of honor. “Young readers” is an audience, “all-ages'' is a boast. Without the crutch of violence and gore, the Samnees raise the stakes through a combination of vibrant art, dynamic sequential storytelling, relatable characters, and squelching onomatopoetics. Just like the cinematic kaiju that inspired them, these beasts are oversized hodgepodges of evolution's most terrible inventions. They move through civilization with the discretion of a tsunami. You don’t need a swath of red carnage to know that these behemoths are scary. A well-placed “KRRAKKATCHCKK” will do the trick. Destruction has reigned, and people have died. Hold on to your sister.

There is also an optimism that is inherent in the very best all-ages comics that is not compulsory in gritter, more “adult” fare. Jonna does not by any means guarantee that every character that we meet is going to make it to the end of this adventure, but we know that Rainbow and Jonna have everything they need to survive in each other if they can look through what makes them different to find what makes them courageous, strong, and ultimately good. We come from the kaiju. We stay for the hope.

If I was compelled to make one complaint about this first volume of Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, it is that four issues of what I’m itching to be an epic tale are just not enough. It is teetering on the fine line of “leave them wanting more” and “leaving them wanting.” We may exit this volume with a complete cast of characters, but I would argue that it is not a complete thought. I’ve been reading Jonna in singles, and each one left me with the momentum to launch me back to the stands. Issue 5 is on the top of my to-read pile right now, but there is something different about a volume that ends on a cliffhanger versus a single issue. For me, there has to be something narrative that binds single issues into a volume rather than just a spine.

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Art 3.jpg

There is one moment in Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters that perfectly illustrates the power of siblinghood. Rainbow and Jonna are walking, and Jonna thoughtlessly squashes some bugs. Rainbow turns to her sister and asks, “Hey, what was that for?!” and Jonna indignantly proffers, “Just bugs!!” Rainbow goes on to explain that since the monsters showed up, she and Jonna are also just bugs. To have a sibling is to have another perspective that you cannot ignore. You can distrust it, or not believe it, or dismiss it for a time, but you are going to have to grapple with it at one point or another. Rainbow and Jonna’s differences may make them individuals, but by being sisters, they must somehow be the same. Not by blood, nJot by any quirk or characteristic, but by pure declaration.

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters is an exhilarating start to what I am anticipating to be a thrilling and exuberant ode to siblinghood. I can see two siblings, after consuming this adventure, in their bedrooms or backyards fighting the terrible monsters of their imaginations, inevitably arguing over who gets to be Rainbow or Jonna. Chris and Laura Samnee dedicate this volume to their daughters and explain in the authors’ note they wanted to make something for them that was inspired by them. I can’t imagine a better message to sisters than to look out for each other, be in awe of each other, and hold on for all their might. Because together they can do, dare I say it? -- the unpossible.

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Vol. 1.jpg

Graphic Novel Review: Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Vol. 1, by Chris and Laura Samnee

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Vol. 1
Writer: Chris Samnee and Laura Samnee
Artist: Chris Samnee
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Crank!
Publisher: Oni Press
Price: $12.99
Rainbow has been looking for her younger sister, Jonna, for over a year--since the monsters appeared and their world began to dry up. Going from settlement to settlement, Rainbow asks every survivor she meets: Have you seen my sister?
Then, one day, Jonna's spotted out in the wild: filthy, but strong. Strong enough to knock back a towering monster with one punch. All this time, she's been surviving. On her own. Without Rainbow. Without anyone.
But there are more dangers in the world than monsters, and when the two sisters reunite, they'll discover the secrets of this new and terrifying world firsthand.
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
More Info: Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Vol. 1

Read more great graphic novel and trade collection reviews!

Lisa Gullickson is one half of the couple on the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast, and, yes, the a capella version of the 90s X-men theme is all her. Her Love Language is Words of Affirmation which she accepts @sidewalksiren on twitter.