Lumberjanes

Lumberjanes is a graphic novel series; this first volume, collecting issues one through four, introduces the main characters and establishes a growing supernatural mystery at a summer camp for girls.

At Miss Giunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, a summer camp modeled on scouting traditions, five campers from the Roanoke cabin sneak out one night to investigate strange occurrences. Jo, analytical and science-minded, and April, enthusiastic and strong-willed, spot a strange old woman outside their cabin who transforms into a bearwoman in a flash of bright light. They wake their cabinmates: the anxious but loyal Mal, the quiet and capable Molly, and the youngest and most impulsive of the group, Ripley. Together, the five pursue the bearwoman into the woods under their shared motto, "Friendship to the Max."

By the lake, before the group can execute a pre-planned tactical maneuver, a pack of three-eyed foxes ambushes them. The girls fight back: Jo and Molly engage the foxes directly, April tries to organize the group, and Ripley hurls herself at the creatures. The brawl ends abruptly when enormous supernatural hands reach down from the sky and the foxes vanish. The cryptic phrase "Beware this kitten holy" appears above the scene. April notes the message for later analysis, and the group rushes back to camp before their cabin counselor, Jen, wakes up.

They do not make it in time. Jen catches them and is furious, noting they have violated eight camp policies plus the Lumberjane Scout rule forbidding the punching of animals. She marches them to the office of Rosie, the camp director. Rosie is relaxed and unbothered, a sharp contrast to Jen's frantic energy. She sends Jen to fetch hot cocoa and listens carefully as the girls recount their story. Rosie asks detailed questions about the foxes' appearance, then warns the girls they are going to see things this summer they might not understand. She tells them to remember their Lumberjanes pledge and stick together. Rather than punishing them, Rosie awards them Up All Night badges, signaling she takes the experience seriously.

The next day, Jen leads the group on a canoe trip so they can earn their Naval Gauging badges, a camp award for boating skills. Mal, terrified of water, is especially anxious, but Molly gently coaxes her into a canoe. Jo and Molly, who already hold their badges, serve as boat captains, and the trip begins calmly. Without warning, the river turns into dangerous rapids. Ripley falls overboard, and a giant serpent-like creature surfaces, attacking and capsizing the canoes. April uses a scrunchie as a makeshift slingshot to strike the creature, buying time for the group to reach shore. On the bank, Ripley is not breathing. The others attempt CPR until she revives and coughs up water. The ordeal deepens Mal's fear of water but strengthens her bond with Molly, who apologizes for the danger even though Mal insists it was not her fault.

Walking back to camp, an eagle snatches Ripley's candy bar. Ripley chases it and, from a high vantage point, spots a distant tower near the lake. The group discovers a cave entrance nearby and, despite Mal's reluctance, decides to enter. They slide down a tunnel and land in an underground passage lined with ancient stone statues, with no way to climb back out.

The tunnels present a series of challenges. A talking stone statue blocks their path and demands one of them defeat him in arm wrestling. April volunteers, and despite the statue's mockery of her size, she wins through leverage and determination. Further in, a large creature chases them until they reach a sealed stone door. Mal directs the others to launch Ripley at the door in a maneuver they call the "Fastball Special," and Ripley smashes through.

Beyond the door, they encounter a floor of numbered tiles, some of which collapse underfoot. Jo recognizes the numbers as the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, and guides the group safely across. On the far wall, they find scrambled text that April identifies as simple anagrams. One reads "The truth is out there." April connects these clues to the "Beware this kitten holy" message from the opening night, and Ripley recalls the tower she spotted earlier. Solving a final anagram, "Open Sesame," opens a sealed door and frees them from the tunnels.

They emerge to find Jen in hysterics, believing the girls dead. Rosie calmly assigns the girls moose stable duty for the rest of the week, and Jen orders them to bed.

Days later, on a nature hike led by Jen, April spots the tower again and Jo connects it to one of the tunnel anagrams. The group encounters a large creature in the forest, and in the chaos they fall into a patch of poison ivy. A troop of boys from the neighboring camp, known as the Scouting Lads, arrives and offers help, bringing the girls back to treat the poison ivy. Among them is Barney, a kind scout who reveals that the lighthouse the girls seek is right outside the boys' camp. He offers to keep Jen distracted while they investigate. Jo is suspicious of the boys' convenient appearance, but April insists they accept the help. The boys' camp director storms in, an aggressive man who berates the boys for hosting girls and insults everyone before leaving.

The girls sneak to the lighthouse, where yetis have been hired to guard it, though the creatures refuse to say by whom. Ripley bribes them with cookies, and the group enters. At the top, they discover a special bow and arrow, which they take as the artifact the foxes' clues have been leading them toward. Molly keeps it since she is the only one who has earned her Robyn Hood archery badge.

Back at the boys' camp, Barney's distraction fails when Jen notices the girls are missing. The Scouting Lads' eyes begin to glow and they become aggressive, apparently possessed by a supernatural force. Barney and Jen flee and meet the returning girls. The possessed boys chase the group through the woods. Molly uses the bow to fire a warning arrow, helping them cross a rickety bridge to safety.

Jen, who has until now dismissed the girls' stories, witnesses the supernatural events firsthand. Shaken, she accepts the reality of what is happening and joins them as an ally. In a final scene, an unidentified figure, apparently the force behind the possessed boys, declares they have failed and promises to be better prepared next time, establishing a threat that continues into subsequent volumes.