The New York Four

Nice little coming-of-age story of Riley, a girl from Brooklyn who travels to Manhattan to attend NYU. Along the way she meets some friends, reconnects with her estranged sister, and meets a guy - someone who drops an email address in her pocket at a club. They start texting each other and quickly fall in love, forcing Riley to make some interesting choices about who she is as a person.

Overall this was a really fun read, despite not being my usual sort of flair. I had been expecting something a little more ensemble-y given the title, but Riley's an interesting character and her story, while not unique, is well-told and captivating. The set-up at the end is obviously asking for a sequel, but the line was unfortunately shut down by DC before one could get made.

One of the things that made this story special for me was the use of setting. New York feels alive and vibrant throughout - not just because of the little Scott Pilgrimesque info boxes dropping New York trivia in places, but also because of the obvious love and affection that Wood has for the city, its history, and its neighbourhoods. A lot of comics are set in New York, but this captures it better than any others in recent memory - the only real equal to it that I can think of are the films of Spike Lee.