Magical emotion dimensions. [The Girls of Dimension 13 by Graham Nolan]

Four young women are brought together by a mysterious invitation to live in a creepy building in NYC. They soon learn that the building houses a portal to the other twelve known dimensions, and that a malevolent creature known as Abraxis has bound these dimensions together, enslaving them to his will. For centuries, the portal has been guarded by a gatekeeper to prevent the evil on the other side from gaining access to OUR dimension.

Now the gatekeeper, Anna Nightlinger, is missing, and the only thing standing in Abraxis’ way is a quartet of young women with powers and abilities they don’t even know they have…for now.

Written by Inkpot Award-winning writer/artist Graham Nolan (The Chenoo, Return to Monster Island, co-creator of Bane) and illustrated by Emmy Award-winning artist, Bret Blevins (Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League), THE GIRLS OF DIMENSION 13 is a fantasy tale of discovery and empowerment, proving that sometimes all you need is a little help from your friends

The first half had me going. The pulpy art style, the inviting premise. The second half let me down though. Graham Nolan's The Girls of Dimension 13 started off promising but failed to deliver. But as I've aged and my tasted refined, I've come to the conclusion that magical adventures with a "chosen one" don't deliver what they aim to. Why gather a group of promising people with rare magical gifts, have them come together, and then near immediately single out one of them as better than the rest. If it's gradual, that's one thing, but when it's obvious immediately that takes away the suspense. Why build a team dynamic to immediately transform it into a lead and sidekicks one?

The story unraveled as to be expected. The big bad threatening all existence had to be defeated and not eradicated, because of balance. Realism or not, the threat of sexual violence to further character development is never fun, especially in a fantasy setting. It was a quick read, but it was a bit of a let down. The story was as expected and the best thing for me was the art style. 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Girls of Dimension 13 (ISBN:9781949028812) was published December 21, 2021.