WJHC

Another collection of comics about the wacky teens running high-school radio station WJHC. While a few of the episodes remain within the bounds of humorously exaggerated realism—coping with an interfering faculty advisor, for example—the capers in this installment tend to the outrageous and offbeat, ranging from a Survivor–style reality program to hijinks among high-fashion models. Still, the entire cast remains familiar and likable, with a few new quirks to round out their personalities. Fisher’s writing is sharp and fresh, filled with a sly meta-humor continually bursting through the fourth wall. New penciler Staton lacks the cheerfully anarchic panel layout of original artist Kirsten Petersen, but adds a fluid grasp of cartoon gesture and a dazzling facility with perspective, accentuated by crisp inking and bright colors from the rest of the art team. Smart, fun and hip, yet utterly wholesome with an occasional dollop of redeeming moral value; a welcome counterpoint to the general trend towards the grim, angst-ridden and graphically shocking in more “mature” comic titles. (Graphic novel. 4-8)