The Wise Little Girl (& Other Stories)

We Love Monsters #1
(and yes, I had an article (or two)
in this one 

So, I figured that it was (finally) time to get back to writing about funnybooks, especially Indie funnybooks that I like and that are produced by my friends. Top of today’s list is one from my pal Jim Ordolis who not only published this wonderful comic (The Wise Little Girl and Other Stories) but is also is the publisher of We Love Monsters, and the admin of the We Love Monsters Facebook page (where I have posted several reviews of monster films). 

So, yeah, we’re friends and collaborators, get over it. I work with people I like, and I’m certainly not hiding that here. Needless to say, when Jim sent me a copy of The Wise Little Girl and Other Stories, I was immediately attracted to it, as the 20 page B&W and Color comic (from Roger Keel’s Stone Island Comics) proved to be a real gem. 

The comic combines written word poetry and prose with at least one illustrated story and is wonderfully engaging. Now, I will admit that I’m not one for poetry, but the three short poems along with their accompanying illustrations were cute, endearing, and all, mystical in which nature — quite naturally adds to the attraction of the overall package, which is, after all, an anthology of fairy and folk tales, mostly written by Stephen Withrow and illustrated by Gary L. Shipman, Domenic Monteleone, and Scott Sawyer.

The illustrated story (The Wise Little Girl) is written by Steve, illustrated and colored by Jim, with lettering by Ron Kasman. This particular tale is an old Russian folk tale about a pair of brothers, one rich and one poor. When the rich brother attempted to cheat his poorer brother out of a foal, the poor brother disputed his wealthier brother’s claim to the foal. 

Eventually the dispute came before the Tsar himself, who proposed a series of riddles to the pair. when it was revealed that the poor brother was able to solve the riddles with the help of his daughter, the Tsar kept increasing the ante with more and more complex riddles until the wise little girl proved herself able to answer each of them. 

The book is rounded out with a pair of full-page illustrations by Jim, and a old Irish story of a bargain between a pair of Irishmen and a wily leprechaun that was written by Roger Keel, with spot illos by Jim. Roger’s story, while predictable for these types of stories involving mortal men and those with magical powers (including genies, leprechauns, demons, witches and the like). Still, Roger pulls it off with his usual gusto and style, causing us to chuckle at the ultimate resolution of the contest.

So, if you are looking for a fun comic to brighten your COVID-19 lockdown, we heartily recommend checking out The Wise Little Girl and Other Stories, from Stone Island Comics.  

And, while you’re there, you might want to look in on Stone Island’s other fun comics, including Super Mystery Comics, Jack Banyon, The Princess of the Trees, and O.T. Ferret, you’ll be glad you did.