Publisher: Image
Writer: Michael Stock
Artist: Sina Grace
Colourist: Tamara Binvillain
Release date: OUT NOW!!!!
Price: $2.99

Be careful what you wish for. Wishing, like time travel, has rules, and those rules must be followed or risk the consequences. Penny Dora and the Wishing Box is about a pretty, typical young girl trying to figure out for herself those what those rules are. This seemingly simple conceit revolves around Penny Dora Jefferson and a mysterious box granting the aforementioned wishes. But once the wishes are put to use, the results are not Penny Dora Jefferson expects.

Penny Dora Jefferson’s friend Elizabeth takes the box and starts making outrageous wishes, simply fulfilling a young child’s seemingly benign desires, the town of Cuesta Verde, Calif., suffers attacks from fire-breathing dragons and wild beasts. Elizabeth, who has wished herself into a princess, has started a process she cannot control and like any selfish child refuses to learn from the mistakes she makes.

At a certain point the story becomes a metaphor for concepts of politics and societal and personal responsibility; the impact of technology and relative morality (Penny Dora Jefferson compares the box to a gun, and the eternal debate about whether guns kill or not); and the process of maturing and growing up. The story ends with her stuck with the questions but no answers. And after all, isn’t that what growing up is all about?

Michael Stock’s metaphysical wonderland is well-explained, using only dialogue, which gets clever when it needs to be. “Does a princess castle even have gas?” asks a fireman. And the writing saves the loose art. Sina Grace is better at storytelling than faces and figures. The cat’s wings (yes, the cat) never look right.

Looking beyond the simple plot Penny Dora and the Wishing Box tells a story that both kids and adults can enjoy on different levels. And that’s something we all wish for.

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker