I was perusing the comics available on NetGalley recently when this cleverly named collection jumped out at me. Cellies follows a group of retail employees at a cell phone store through midnight launches, parental drama and store romances.

Volume one of Cellies is a fun introduction to some interesting and varied characters. The staff feel like they’re your average underpaid and under-appreciated retail worker and their manager is a hoot. Though, I must admit, I never found myself really caring about the characters or what happened to them.

Interspersed throughout the main storyline are “real life” retail horror stories that have been drawn in the same style as Cellies. I think these in particular will resonate with anyone who has ever worked in retail. 

The art is quite cool and I loved the use of colour throughout the comics.

I enjoyed Cellies, vol. 1 as a very quick “slice of life” style read, but found it odd that the volume ended on a cliffhanger. Most collections I have read in the past end on the conclusion of the current story arc so that each collection can be read separately. 

While I did enjoy the first collection, I wasn’t hooked in enough to be super keen on checking out the next instalment in the series. I don’t feel like what I’ve read will be particularly memorable in the long run, but it was a quick read that gave me a few laughs.

Have you read Cellies? Is it worth continuing with or do you have another indie comic you’d like to recommend? Hit me up in the comments or on the Twitters.

– CJ