If, like me, you're a fan of newspaper comics, it's somewhat annoying to have what are often called "zombie comics" wasting space. You know the ones I mean--the ones that continue being published long after the original artist/writer died, or the ones that have lost their inspiration long ago, or the ones that are on seemingly their 100th artist and/or writer.

Until recently, Nancy was in that category. That is somewhat understandable--the original strip it spun off from, "Fritzi Ritz", debuted in 1922. But in April 2018, the pseudonymous writer/artist Olivia Jaimes did the impossible. She brought Nancy back to vibrant life. This book is the first collection of Jaimes' "Nancy" strips. It spans the first 9 months of her run.

Jaimes has attracted both praise and criticism in the past year and few months. She is one of the few women writer/artists on the comics page, and it shows. Jaimes made Nancy's aunt Fritzi, who cares for her, look more like a pretty soccer mom than the bombshell she had been previously. She added new friends, like Esther. Nancy began to speak in modern slang and wear pants occasionally. She often broke the fourth wall and made meta jokes. Most importantly, Nancy became extremely tech-savvy. She is addicted to her cell phone and social media. She's part of her school's robotics club. Aunt Fritzi shops online. These changes alienated fans, mostly older men, while attracting many new ones. This resulted in a hilarious strip in which Jaimes put Nancy on a hoverboard with a cell phone in each hand and Aunt Fritzi in a head to toe snowsuit.

However, Jaimes didn't throw away everything. She recognized the elements that made Nancy iconic. Nancy and Sluggo look much the same. The famously spare environments that Nancy and company travel in remain. Nancy stayed sassy and grumpy. She loves Sluggo, distracting adults, and food. (The first Jaimes strip has a woman observer saying that Nancy is "a sweet girl...and a salt girl...and she's going in on that cornbread!".)

In addition to the strips, this collection features an essay from the editor, an interview with Jaimes, and some bonus Nancy art. This provides some insight into the changes Jaimes has made. There are many comic strips featuring little boys, with little girls as sidekicks or nemeses. Nancy is one of the comparatively rare strips that puts a little girl front and center. With Jaimes at the helm, Nancy is relatable for modern girls. The vocabulary can be easily understood by a child at a fourth or fifth grade reading level. Adult women may see their childhood selves in her, and relate to Nancy's teachers and Fritzi. This is a great collection for anyone who appreciates the art of comic strips.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and laugh at an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I vaguely remember reading Nancy comics from when I was younger, so when I ran across this I thought why not give it a shot. These comics were so simple, but so entertaining. They had me laughing out loud and occasionally taking a moment to think about things. Theses comics are so entertaining and for any age group too. No matter how old you are you can have something laugh about on every page. Overall I loved this book and I may just need to find more Nancy comics to read in the future.

The Nancy (and Sluggo) cartoons are classics. I don't recall when the first comic strip was published but I know that it was many years ago. Olivia Jaimes more recently took over at the Nancy desk. What a good choice she was! The comic strips in this book are modern, relevant, cheeky and yet still feel like the Nancy that readers may remember of old. If you are looking for a smile of recognition and a bit of relaxation, get this book. You will grin as you read about everything from cell phones to computers to school to...life. Enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review. I know that I will be leafing through it many times.

Joyful, cheeky, and incredibly smart, I have loved Olivia Jaimes' work on Nancy (the first woman to write and draw the strip)- so I was pleased to see it in a collected edition. Jaimes successfully blends the old style of the original Nancy comics with a cleanness that makes it almost resemble a webcomic, and she has a real gift for intelligent jokes that exploit the medium she's working in ( recent example: a comic set in a basketball game that offers hints on reading the climax 'in slow motion'). There's also a real emotional core to Nancy, Sluggo et al– maybe not *much* of a one, but I at least can understand, for example, Nancy and Esther's mutual reluctance to admit fault when they fall out, and root for them to get back together.

All of these elements mean that the first run of Jaimes' Nancy strips reward re-reading, and this collected edition promises to be a great way of doing that.

Iconic comic strip updated for the modern times, I love it! There is something so empty and wonderful about these comic strips.