Having been raised in Europe, I didn't actually grow up with Jem and the Holograms. In fact, I learned about them quite late in life from my American wife, Stella. She thought they would be just my thing. And she was very right (she nearly always is).
Alas, I missed out on the original series. As with most things, I'm a late bloomer. Don't be like me and hold out until it's nearly too late. That's why I was thrilled to learn the series would see its resurrection via a new Jem and the Holograms comic book series. And a spectacularly queer resurrection it would be! Come home and get your shit together, you idiot. Kimber, always a favorite of mine, is allowed here to shine in all her gay glory (we all knew, right?) What I particularly love about the woefully short 2015-2017 run of this series is its re-imagining of the old Jem tropes without going overboard to the point of being unrecognizable from the former franchise. I love your man but he's what can only be described as a hot mess without you. See the miserable 2015 film offering that tries to re-imagine Jem into a Hannah Montana figure to understand what I'm getting at. (And what was it with 2015 that lead to such a multi-modal Jem resurgence?) Stella says it's time to put on your big boy pants and tidy up ffs. The art alone (courtesy of Sophie Campbell) in this ambitious offering is truly exquisite. I have to confess however, that the lyrics for the songs remain positively atrocious, but I'll forgive this flaw as everything else about it is perfection. I'll continue by giving my opinion of the individual volumes in later entries, but now you know I'm a fan. Don't make me come after you. Pictured: my own well-worn copy of the first volume.
