GIRL TAKING OVER continues the DC INK's track record of reimagining classic characters as diverse, contemporary teens. Sarah Kuhn's Lois Lane is everything DC's ace reporter would be if introduced today. Recommended for junior high, high school and public libraries.

Lois Lane knows exactly where her life is going. She will be the best student, daughter, reporter and summer intern CatCo (think news/lifestyle startup with Teen Vogue vibes). Her internship will propel her career and speed up the timeline to becoming the Daily Planet's best reporter. As an Asian American, the idea that she must be the best to make it has always been a part of her. Lois embodies the success, struggle and stress of the "model minority" myth.

Lois's summer plan to fast track her life plan is thrown out the window when her mom and aunt arrange for her to share an apartment with her seemingly aimless, artsy cousin Miki. And then there's the hostile takeover of CatCo by an exec who is the embodiment of the patriarchy. Her dream of writing about how the banalities of life reveal our ideals and great societal structures is replaced with picking up coffee.

By rolling with the punches, meeting new people and rekindling familial connections, Lois's life plan will be replaced with something better. Along with a ragtag group of data nerds and indie actors, Lois and Miki will build a social justice movement within the local art scene. For teen and adult readers, GIRL TAKING OVER will have you dusting off your megaphone, discovering your voice and dedicating yourself to righting wrongs.

I have not read much Lois because I am not the biggest Superman fan, but this was really cute. Lois has to stay with her "weird" cousin while doing an internship that will put her on the road to becoming a reporter. I loved the art, the bright colors really added to the story. I really enjoyed the story and think kids will too.

4 stars

Really entertaining story with Lois Lane finding out while live doesn't always go as planned it can be even better.

I'll be honest. I'm not much of a Superman fan. As such, I don't have a lot of reference for Lois Lane. The only Lois Lane I'm even vaguely familiar with is from the TV show "Lois & Clark." My main memory of her in that iteration, was that she could do better then Clark Kent. Much to my delight and surprise, Clark Kent/Superman isn't a part of this story!

First of all... this Lois lane is Asian American. I know so little about Lois, that I had to check to see if this was a new change or something that had just been white washed away over her man incarnations. And it is a new take. That doesn't bother me, but I know some folks will be upset cause its an "unnecessary" change. However, this change is integral to this story. Yes they could have just forgone the name of Lois Lane, But, if the goal is to get kiddos reading and learning about other folks pov and experiences, I understand using a Big Name to get folks to even pick up the story.

The story itself is solid. But I find the little moments to be more meaningful. I'd include specifics but... Spoilers.

The artwork is out of this world! I'm not much of a bold color person, but my goodness. I felt like I stepped into the 70s, or into a Lisa Frank piece. The illustrations felt modern, but yet some panels felt as if they could have been lifted from Golden Age comics.

This book is such a joy! Lois is such an incredible character, and getting to see her discover her power like this is just perfect. I love the idea of your dream being able to change to fit you as you grow, that sometimes you need to let yourself outside of the confines of the plan you've created. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself and break the boundaries you've been placed into.
That said, there is a bit in this book where another character begins to call Lois Analog, because she likes to use a pen and paper. This is the same exact nickname and reasoning behind Cindy Moon aka Silk being called Analog while she was an intern at The Daily Bugle. Which is odd.

Gonna be honest, the only way I got through this story was by pretending that they weren't massacring my very favorite DC Comic character. But, that seems to be what a lot of these YA "Reboots" do to their characters these days unfortunately. Pander to the non fans (of any age) who they think are stupid I guess instead of at least throwing a half a bone to those fans who have been with them through thick (Lois in the awesome DC Bombshells series) and thin (Superman Returns... oof).

To the story. "Lois" gets a rude awakening to the real world when her internship isn't perfect and those in power don't immediately see how perfect and better than everyone she is. Oh, and she 'puts up with' her former friend and current roommate because, she's just that magnanimous don'tcha know (but, of course, they do get close once again as the story goes on). Maybe this is too harsh (since I was given the book for free through Netgalley by DC, thank you DC), but, honestly 1 star is probably too many.

Oh, and how could I forget. There was also the horrible horrible small town, because, of course, all small towns are exactly the same and, of course, all just horrible places, but, that's ok because "Lois" overcame that perfectly too. You know, if DC had just let Kuhn write a new character, that would have been great. Seriously, honestly, I love love love Kuhn's Heroine Complex series. They're amazing. This. Was not. And as a life long Lois Lane fan from Phyllis to Margot to Teri to Erica and even Kate (just a little), I really wish that I'd liked this book.

Such a fun graphic novel on Lois Lane! I went into this thinking it would just be about how Lois gets her start as a reporter but it’s so much more. Friendship, family, first job, romance, making a difference - there’s so much to this story. Lois, an Asian American, fights stereotypes and searches for her truth. The themes and challenges Lois face are relevant and relatable. It’s a story that will resonate with a lot of young readers and one I wish I had growing up. The art is bright and colorful; a perfect fit for the story. I’m hoping there will be more of Lois’ story to come! Thank you NetGalley and DC Entertainment for the arc.

Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story
Written by Sarah Kuhn, Illustrated by Arielle Jovellanos
208 pages
Release Date: April 4, 2023 by DC Comics
5/5 Stars
*An ARC of this title was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Receiving a copy in no way influenced my review*
Two important things you should know before I start the review: 1. I am not the demographic for this graphic novel (pretty obvious but thought I should put this out there)2. I am a very tradition comic nerd, so when you change a character from who they have been in the past, I normally will not read it/give it a chance/will complain to my long-suffering wife over it (she will not watch comic movies with me for obvious reasons).Now, onto the review:
Lois Lane, an Asian student who has not fit in to the small town that she grew up in, has big plans for her summer. In fact, this is her Big Plan. She has an excellent internship job at CatCo where she can write articles instead of fetching coffee that will lead to her being able to skip some of the classes in college and will impress those at the Daily Planet so she can get a job there where she will write amazing articles and win Pulitzer(s). Not that she has big dreams or anything.
Now if this is how everything turned out, we would have a really boring story. First, when she gets to the apartment she is staying in by herself, she finds her old best friend who abandoned her already there. Turns out, there mothers had planned to try to get them back together as friends by forcing them to live together this summer. Then, her amazing bosas/mentor Cat Grant is fired from her own newspaper after it is purchased by a corporation. Now, Lois is not writing articles, she is fetching coffee and and watching her boss yell at people every day. This is not her Big Exciting Summer that she was suppose to have. Can she somehow save the summer?
While I normally prefer the darker style graphic novels, this very bright and dedicated to the eighties feeling artwork fit well within the story to where it was natural. Like I said, I am a traditional comic nerd, so the idea of Lois not being from Smallville and not being in Metropolis was very different and would normally have turned me away before I started reading, but luckily Netgalley forced me to and I had the chance at an interesting, if not at times overdone, story.
This will hit you over the head. Kuhn pulls no punches on her intentions with the story or what she is trying to say through Lois and Miki's storyline on dealing with being Asian, a kid and female. But, she makes it work and after a little bit, I found myself drawn into the ride-or-die gang and their struggle and friendship they developed. Kuhn's writing for the comic is very natural, which is great for a typical novelist (let's face it, they often want to say too much and forget that a lot is said by the artist). Jovellanos's illustrations add to the flair and struggle of the two girls, definitely bringing out the personality and fun of the character of Miki.
While this is not the traditional Lois Lane, nor is it in the canon universe that we see of DC Comics, it is a fun, engaging tale that speaks to some issues that we have in our society right now and does so in a fun and engaging manner.

Meet teenage Lois Lane, way before she paired up with Supes. Often an overlooked character, Lois takes center stage in this stand alone comic (btw, I am loving all the one shot stand alone comics from DC lately). Taking on a role as a summer intern from CatCo is all part of the life plan. With everything planned out in her notebook, Lois is sure that her internship is going to pave the way to her future job at the Daily Planet. It was definitely not in the plans to move in with Miki, her best friend turned nemesis and find out CatCo had been bought out by a larger corporation. Louis is finding herself serving coffee and taking lunch orders rather than writing killer news articles. Not to mention her live in "nemesis" seems to be having some problems of her own. When the both of them find themselves marginalized and shoved to the sidelines, Lois and Miki start writing an underground news webpage, exposing the dirty deeds of those in power.
Bold, colorful, with a striking story. You won't be able to get enough of this new and improved Lois Lane. You'll be rooting for this ambitious young lady and her crew as they pack a powerful punch. A modern take on girl power and fighting for those who need a voice.

This is so cute! And not just cute, but powerful and real too. This is the sort of thing I wish had existed when I was a teenager. For a short little graphic novel, Girl Taking Over takes on some powerful themes and powerful issues without losing sight of its fun, upbeat personality. I loved the range of characters and the art style. Possibly not a popular opinion but I also *love* that there was no mention or even hint of Clark Kent shoe-horned in at all. This story was entirely about Lois (and Cat Grant a little too, always love a Cat Grant moment).

Oh my god. I loved this graphic novel so, so much. I'm usually really picky about how Lois is written (in my defense, it's often by men who haven't interacted with a woman besides their own mother), but this? This is my new favorite rendition of her. Kuhn's writing perfectly captures Lois' spirit and her desire for the truth, without turning her into a two-dimensional prop for Superman (who wasn't even in this!). Don't get wrong, there have been some great Lois Lanes, but this one just really fleshed her out into her own person. Jovellanos's art worked so well for this story too. She perfectly captured Lois as a teen, with perfect expressions, outfits and body language. All of the side characters had such great designs too, each one was uniquely their own person, which is something that get lost sometimes. Miki, Jasmin, Noah, and the whole ride-or-die gang were so much fun, and had such nice connections to one another.

The story is an excellent coming of age story, tackles some difficult subjects (racism, sexism, ex-friends), and made me cry a few times because of how heartwarming some of the moments in it were. It's something that teen me would have loved, and I'm so happy that it's going to be out there for other teens to read now. Kuhn and Jovellanos did an excellent job, and I'm really hoping that we'll see either a sequel from them, or have the two team-up to work on another project together.

At first, I thought this was going to be some cutesy book about Lois becoming the reporter we all know. But then, it became so much more. Is about the rude awakening a lot of people get when getting their first job or internship, which is not always what was expected. Making new friends out of school, and reconnecting with the ones that had left. And more importantly, is about finding and reclaiming your own voice when things seem impossible.

Lois Lane has an internship at CatCo for the summer so she can get one step further in her Life Plan to become an intrepid reporter for the Daily Planet and win tons of Pulitzers! Though how she'll do that while she's stuck living with her over-the-top cousin who stays up to all hours practicing her one-woman show is beyond her! But when she finds people being marginalized, their voices silenced, Lois refuses to stand by quietly and works to get the word out any way she can.

It's been a while since I've dived into DC comics at all, and I never really LOVED Lois and often found her a bit pretentious. This book does help with that. It's a younger Lois, so she's still starry-eyed and hopeful rather than cynical and pretentious. I like her here more than many of the older versions of her I've read before.

However, I'm not going to lie: I don't ever remember reading that Lois was Asian-American, and that seems like a ret-conned race change just for the sake of having a person of color because her name makes it vaguely convenient. And there's a couple pages in this book that feel pretty hypocritical, because it shows the new editor of CatCo gathering a group of "marginalized staff members" for a publicity photo and Lois gives an angry/startled face as she realizes who she's grouped with in the photo. You do realize your Asian Lois is doing the same thing, right?

The art is cutesy and fun. It's not quite Lisa Frank's usual color palate, but it's close. The majority of the book is very bright and vibrant, and if comics were my thing in my teen years, I probably would've eaten it up. I LIKE the storyline. It feels like an early Lois storyline where she pushes to find the truth no matter what, but she still has the fears of an unproven journalist, and voices her insecurities. It's almost cute that she falls for the boy that looks like a young Clark Kent.

I can see preteen and teen girls enjoying this.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

This vibrant, youthful, fun, and feisty story is a great addition to DC comics. I love the graphic novels for young adults series and this one is one my favorites that I've read! Lois is amazing!

Lois Lane has her whole future planned out and the first stepping stone is to crush her summer internship. When she arrives in the big city, nothing goes as planned. Her roommate is a less-than-friendly face from her past and her job leaves much to be desired. She soon finds herself tangled in a local scandal and the only way she can share her side of the story is to start her own blog.

Sarah Kuhn brings a young Lois Lane to life in this refreshing origin story. Lois is often shown as just a love interest or side character, but this gives her some much needed background. The storyline is complex and engaging while remaining within YA parameters.

The fun, bright graphics fit perfectly with the plot. The illustrator, Arielle Jovellanos, captured the overall mood without making the art too cutesy. I love her style!

Overall, Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story, is an excellent graphic novel. Although I may be a little over the YA age range, I look forward to adding it to my collection once it releases.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and DC Entertainment (DC Comics)!

Not going to lie, I was not going to request this but then DC auto-approved me on NetGalley (my first and boy was I stoked!) after I requested the new Robin book. I tend to find Superman and Lois a bit boring compared to my superhero favorites of X-Men and the Batfam, but this looked appealing to the me I was as a kid - big into mysteries and the unapologetically feminine girl power persona of the iconic Spice Girls. I get a little annoyed sometimes with all the in-your-face girl power stuff these days because so much of feels patronizing because it's clearly just execs throwing out buzz words to make a quick buck... but Girl Taking Over has a strong team of women behind it and you can tell.

Sarah Kuhn's Lois Lane is unapologetically (sorry not sorry for using that again) ambitious, reminding me strongly of my own high school self. I also don't think I knew Lois is Asian, but props to DC for hiring not just a woman, but an Asian woman, to write her. That own-voices experience lends to a more genuine and authentic voice for Lois and Miki for sure.

The art by Arielle Jovellanos is bold, colorful, and full of fun energy. Cartoony in a Fairly Odd-Parents way that I enjoyed, and which gave the story a slightly demented feeling that amused me lol The story itself leans more cartoony and childish, like the stuff of 90s cartoons, which I didn't hate!

Honestly, I thought the whole thing was adorable and heartwarming, even if it's a bit cheesy and childish at times. This is definitely something the target audience will very much enjoy!

*And I kind of want to read a whole series of this*