The award-winning BOOM! Box series Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar and Jim Campbell followed Esther de Groot, Susan Ptolemy and Daisy Wooton as they made their way through university and early adulthood, dealing with love, laughter, tears and the always unbearable Dean Thompson. The series ran for 54 issues and became the best-known story from Allison's Bobbinsverse, which includes the webcomics Bobbins, Scary Go Round, and Bad Machinery.
When Giant Days ended in October, it seemed like the Bobbinsverse may end with it, but luckily for fans, that isn't the case. On March 18, the creative team returns with Wicked Things, a mystery series that follows Bad Machinery main character and occasional Giant Days guest star Charlotte Grote, a teenage detective who has to solve a murder in order to prove she didn't commit it.
Charlotte -- or Lottie, as she likes to be called -- is the younger sister of Sarah Grote, one of the main characters from Allison's supernatural webcomic Scary Go Round. Charlotte is something of a latchkey kid and was, at one time, a worshiper of the hottest goth in Tackleford, Esther de Groot. Lottie took on Esther's style and tried desperately to be like her. In time, Charlotte found her own crew to hang out with: the Mystery Girls. The cases of the Mystery Girls were the focus of Allison's Bad Machinery series, wherein readers really got to know Charlotte.
Adventurous, friendly, but fond of vengeance and maybe a little too quick to act, Charlotte Grote has an instinctual need to make things right and get to the bottom of things. She also loves to gloat, which can be a problem when it comes to keeping friends. These skills served her well during her high school detective days, but when we last saw her in Giant Days, it seemed like Charlotte had left much of that behind.
While Esther was back home for a visit, she found that the world of Tackleford had moved on since she left for university. That included Lottie, who now planned out her days carefully -- including taking time to investigate a local vampire -- and was already looking ahead to her own time at university and her future career as a detective. This is a drastic change from Charlotte's early appearances in the Bobbinsverse. Gone was the impetuous girl who wasn't so much into academics as she was pop culture. This new, more mature Charlotte even shocked Esther.
While there's no direct mention of them in Giant Days, it appears Charlotte's former friendship with Shauna and her rivalry with Blossom Cooper continue to keep the Mystery Girls apart. Depending on how things go for Lottie in Wicked Things, readers may see these characters again (or for the first time, in the case of new readers).
Wicked Things is currently slated for six issues, released on a bi-monthly schedule through BOOM! Studios imprint BOOM! Box. Allison, Sarin, Cogar and Campbell will continue Charlotte's story and take her down a new path. Now 19 years old, Charlotte is too old to still be a part of a high school group like the Mystery Girls, but finds herself in desperate need of some fellow detectives because she's been framed for murder. The creative team has been mum on details, but readers should expect to see at least a few familiar faces from the Bobbinsverse showing up during the new miniseries.
Wicked Things #1 will be available March 18.