Jem and the Holograms, Vol. 1: Showtime

I think Kelly Thomson and Sophie Campbell did a pretty good job considering the mess they had to work with. Don't get me wrong - Jem and the Holograms is an all-time classic, but calling it problematic would be an understatement. The writer and artist duo had to do a lot of work to re-shape the story, so that it both has the best features of the cartoon, but gets rid various weird stuff.

If you're not familiar with the story: Jerrica Benton inherits a pair of earrings that allow her to make holographic projections of anything she wants through an interface system called Synergy. She created an alter ego for herself - a singer called Jem and, together with her foster sisters, starts a band called Jem and the Holograms. However, a rivaling band called the Misfits do all the classical shenanigans akin to 60s to 80s cartoon villains to get rid of them.

I like that they redesigned the characters and instead of having 8 Barbies, they gave the girls different body types. I'm not too crazy about Rio's character design, though - something about him doesn't sit right with me.

I also don't like how everyone behaves like teenagers, even though they're supposed to be in their twenties. Jerrica in the show was the owner of a record company and now she acts like she's 12 (she's seriously giving me Will from Witch vibes, both in terms of appearance and personality).

I'm very curious in which direction the story will go, because the cartoon is basically just action-packed crazy turns of events where the Misfits are trying to get rid of (sometimes even murder!) Jem and the Holograms and no one ever calls the police of they asses! I wonder if the plot of the comic will also depend of the Misfits doing crazy ass-sh*t, or will there be a different driving force.