Lumberjanes

Lumberjanes
Publication information
Publisher	Boom! Studios
Genre	Action Comedy drama Coming-of-age
Publication date	2014–2020
No. of issues	75, plus specials
Creative team
Created by	ND Stevenson Grace Ellis Shannon Watters Gus Allen
Written by	ND Stevenson Grace Ellis Shannon Watters Kat Leyh Faith Erin Hicks
Artists	Gus Allen Brittney Williams Aimee Fleck Faith Erin Hicks Becca Tobin Casey Nowak AnneMarie Rogers Felicia Choo T. Zysk
Letterer	Aubrey Aiese
Colorist	Maarta Laiho
Editors	Dafna Pleban Bones Leopard

Lumberjanes is a comic book series created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus Allen, and ND Stevenson and published via the Boom Box! imprint of Boom! Studios. The story follows a group of girls spending summer at a scout camp, and the strange creatures and supernatural phenomena they encounter there. Originally planned as an eight-part series, the comic was made an ongoing series following strong sales and critical acclaim. The comic series came to a close after 75 issues with a one-shot finale in December 2020, ending its six-year-run.

Publication history

Lumberjanes came about as the result of Boom! Studios editor Shannon Watters approaching writer Grace Ellis in the hopes of creating a girl-centric comic series. After settling on a story set at a summer camp, the pair brought in Gus Allen for initial character designs and ND Stevenson as a co-writer. The series would be the second published on Boom! Studios' Boom! Box imprint, which aimed to feature experimental, creator-driven work by writers and artists from outside the mainstream comics industry. A single eight-issue story arc was originally planned, but shortly after the release of the second issue, Boom! Studios announced that Lumberjanes would become an ongoing series.

The Lumberjanes characters were featured in a six issue crossover miniseries with DC Comics's Gotham Academy series written by Chynna Clugston Flores with art by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. The series titled Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy, was released between June and November 6, 2016.

Overview

The story is set in and around Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types, a summer camp whose attendees are known as "Lumberjane Scouts". The five scouts of the Roanoke cabin — Jo, April, Molly, Mal and Ripley — witness a mysterious old woman transforming into a bear, and after following her into the woods, encounter a hostile pack of three-eyed supernatural foxes. As more three-eyed creatures start to appear, the girls task themselves with solving the mysteries surrounding the camp.

Over the course of the story, characters earn or refer to various Lumberjane scout badges. The characters frequently invoke the names of notable female pioneers, with phrases such as "Oh my Bessie Coleman!" and "What the Joan Jett?" Each of the first seven issues ends with a track listing for a mixtape prepared by one of the characters.

Characters

Collected editions

Novels

Author Mariko Tamaki and artist Gus Allen expanded the series into a four-book series of middle-grade novels, published by Amulet Books:

1. Unicorn Power! (3 October 2017, ISBN 9781419727252)
2. The Moon Is Up (8 May 2018, ISBN 9781419728686)
3. The Good Egg (30 October 2018, ISBN 9781419740923)
4. Ghost Cabin (10 September 2019, ISBN 9781419733611)

Tamaki and Allen also released The Lumberjanes BEASTiary, a guidebook about the creatures in the series.

1. The Lumberjanes BEASTiary (7 July 2020, ISBN 9781419736445)

Original graphic novels

Boom! Box released a series of original graphic novels, written by Lilah Sturges and drawn by polterink:

1. The Infernal Compass (23 October 2018, ISBN 9781684152520)
2. The Shape of Friendship (26 November 2019, ISBN 9781684154517)
3. True Colors (20 October 2020, ISBN 9781684156177)

Webtoon

In September 2025, it was announced that the series would be rereleased as a vertical scrolling webcomic on Webtoon. The webcomic premiered on October 1, 2026.

Reception

Lumberjanes launched to positive reviews. Many reviewers commented on the importance of the comic as an all-ages, female-led and female-authored title. Alison Berry of Comicosity said that "Lumberjanes is the book that so many have asked for, both accessible and girl friendly without sacrificing entertainment value for the older set... Girls doing for girls is important in comics especially, because it is traditionally dominated by male characters and creators."

Mey Rude of Autostraddle praised issue 17 of the comic where Jo, a "girl of color with two dads", talks about how she is a trans girl, and how it will affect other trans youth. She added that representation like Jo gives kids an opportunity to see themselves in a new light, calling her appearance and role in the comic "something radical", while wondering what this would mean for then-"upcoming Lumberjanes movie", later turned into a series. Caitlin Chappell of CBR argued that the comic easily appeals to kids who like Scooby-Doo, Gravity Falls, and Adventure Time. She further argued that the cast includes several LGBTQ characters like Jo, a de facto leader and trans girl, while saying that Molly and Mal are an "adorable couple." At the same time, she stated that those behind the creation of the series not only talk about the "wonder of camp", but prove that "accepting queer identities should be the norm for children and adults." Finally, Tina Howard of Teen Vogue pointed to "queer leads" in the comics as a whole. She specifically stated that the series writes "LGBT stories that are completely appropriate for young people", while calling it funny, smart, and noting that "features queer and trans young women". She also called it "vital for LGBT kids".

Animated adaptation

In May 2015, 20th Century Fox announced it was working on a live-action adaptation. In August 2016, Emily Carmichael was announced to direct the film. In August 2019, the film was canceled by Disney after its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. In October 2020, HBO Max won a bid against Apple and Peacock to release an animated television adaptation of the series. The one-hour animated special introducing the characters will be executive produced and written by ND Stevenson. He will also write and direct episodes for the main series, while serving an executive producer. Additionally, Ross Richie and Stephen Christy, from BOOM! Studios, will be executive producers, as will Mette Norkjaer, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Gus Allen. After the adaptation was announced, fellow animators, like Matt Braly of Amphibia, Rad Sechrist of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Aaron Waltke of Tales of Arcadia, Shadi Petosky of Twelve Forever and Danger & Eggs praised the development. There were similar sentiments from voice actors Liam O'Brien, Sam Riegel, Aimee Carrero, Felicia Day, and Cissy Jones, comic artists Alex Z. Zhang and Victoria Ying, TV writers Shane Lynch and Benjamin Siemon, and comic writers Jackson Lanzing and Dan Slott, among others.

On October 22, 2020, Stevenson stated that the show is in "development, not production" and that there is "no crew at this time." In January 2021, Gumroad said that Stevenson is "steering" the animated Lumberjanes adaptation. as did Morgan Shaunette of CBR. In 2021, Out, ITV, and Polygon described the series as in development, noting the role of Stevenson. In December 2022, Multiversity Comics reported that they were "still waiting for the Lumberjanes TV show", with no news in 2022.

In a June 2023 interview for Deadline Hollywood, Stevenson said he was still "developing Lumberjanes" and "figuring out that world." A New York Times profile of Stevenson, also in June 2023, described him as working on developing the series. In February 2025, ComicsBeat noted that there has no word on Lumberjanes for many years nor any confirmation that the "show was canned" due to the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. into Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022. In April 2025, Liz Wyatt of Comic Book said that people were "waiting very patiently" for the animated adaptation, noting that "the project isn't dead", said it was likely that "ND Stevenson is still working on adapting the script," and stated that if Max did scrap the series, Netflix could pick it up. The following month, Wyatt wrote that fans are "eagerly awaiting any and all news" about the adaptation.

On September 17, 2025, Stevenson told Comic Book Club that production of the animated adaptation had ended, noting adaptations of the comic went through "many iterations," saying certain issues, including corporate mergers, made working on it "untenable." He noted that the most recent adaptation is "sort of on ice," but opined that it is "a long way from dead" and that he is down to "keep playing with different iterations of it" with the possibility of a stage musical, an RPG, or something else, adding "those conversations are happening. It's just there's nothing solid at this point."

References