Strawberry Noire! A smooth-talking salesman tries to convince Strawberry Shortcake her café needs an overhaul and the Berry Bitty baker tries to sort out her decision in dreamland in the midst of a tense mystery. Detective Shortcake and her able assistant Orange Blossom are hot on the case!
Writing
The blurb isn’t wrong about this issue. Strawberry falls asleep and has a dream about being an old fashioned gumshoe detective. Her friends are recast as persons of interest in her investigation. It’s a fun little issue which really shows an inventive use of the comic book media and offers a story which wouldn’t have made it into the actual series. Writer Georgia Ball is telling the best kind of stories when it comes to books based on a franchise.
The comic also provides a backup story by Kristen Gudsnuk. The story features Sour Grapes and Sweet Grapes and Sour realizes even though she has a twin doesn’t mean she can’t still have individuality. It’s a good lesson which doesn’t get told enough to children.
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Artwork
The art by Amy Mebberson is still very expressive. It allows the characters to be very comical at just the right moments in the story. The quality of her work hasn’t diminished a bit between issues and here’s hoping it will stay at this level of excellence.
The backup story, drawn by Nico Pena has a bit more of a subdued style to it. Not as energetic or comical as Mebberson’s work but at the same time has its own distinct feel. Her work helps to tell a more serious story and it would be interesting to see her draw an entire issue like this. An issue of Strawberry Shortcake with a serious story sounds like something issue fans would love to see down the line.
Conclusion
This book is starting to show a level of consistency which makes it worth noticing for a distinct demographic. Once the first trade comes out it will be a great book book to give to young readers to see if comics will help them to improve their reading skill. For now, try picking up an issue and giving it to a younger reader who you think would enjoy the wonders of reading comic books.
