This is easily one of the greatest graphic novel series (3 tomes) I’ve ever read. It’s by Lewis Trondheim, creator of the brilliant Donjon mega-series, plus Ralph Azham, McConey / Lapine, and countless others.

FIRST THOUGHTS: Maggy initially struck me as a likeable ‘Bridget Jones’-type youngish woman, in many ways charmingly trying to figure out how best to apply her canny bag of talents to modern life. A talented ingenue, as it were? But good gracious-- the series is so much more than just that.

Our story begins with Maggy freshly hired, yet due to unexpected events, she swiftly goes from ‘boring part-time secretary serving a boring PI’ (i.e. a dick, a detective), all the way to finding herself deeply embroiled in a painful lottery-ticket-gone-wrong web of murder.

Who is Maggy, anyway? She’s young, but canny, resourceful, cynically humorous. She’s bold as brass, on the verge of going DOWN… or NOT, really?

In strolls a new character:

Now we got two. Let’s DO this.

Time to get these barstids!

Yeap… bit of an old spoiler, dammit.

Protect yourself, sure… unless someone ‘protects themselves even better!’

Any last thoughts, my friend…?

For me, Maggy’s such a fun, revelatory, multi-dimensional character, the likes of which we rarely ever see. And especially as a female character! I must say I’m deeply proud of Trondheim for realising this nuanced, realistic series… deeply-satisfying as it is.

CONCLUSIONS? This is an absolute masterclass of a 3-book crime-off-the-rails series. Please check it out if you can. And personally? What particularly impresses me is Trondheim’s typically ‘light-hearted touch’ upon every component, from story to art. It is a level of ‘loose mastery’ I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before across comics.