My Name Is Benny, Vol. 1

Gr 4 Up–This collection of short comics follows a girl named Benny, who always wears a gas mask, and her friends from her neighborhood and school. These strangely funny—or sometimes just strange—stories are only a couple pages each and will be most appreciated by readers who are prepared to venture off the beaten path. Originally released digitally on the Webtoon platform, the watchwords for this collection and the webcomic are “quirky” and “weirdo,” which can help to adjust readers’ expectations. Unfortunately, some of the comics work better in digital form, where vertically viewing one panel at a time allows readers to appreciate each beat separately. In print, overlapping panels may disrupt the pacing, causing confusion and diminishing the impact of the punchlines. The artwork uses digital watercolors to add visual brightness to the stories.