Whistle was a mixed bag. Some aspects of the graphic novel were unique and engaging, but it was ultimately too underdeveloped to hook me in completely.

The comic follows Willow Zimmerman a Jewish Gotham teen struggling to get by. Her mother is terminally ill and with medical bills piling up, Willow accepts a job offer from her estranged uncle E. Nigma as a runner for his weekly gambling ring. On one of these runs, she's attacked by Killer Croc and gains powers she uses to protect her community.

Willow is an interesting character. There's a potential moral ambiguity to her willingness to work with E. Nigma despite learning pretty early on about his shady business dealings. Plus I found her competence as a runner fun to read about and I was hoping to see her use her shark-like qualities more. Unfortunately, this book doesn't explore the contradictions of her work as both a vigilante and her work with E. Nigma in any depth.

The storytelling in general left a lot to be desired. I could tell that this was E. Lockhart's first graphic novel. Her over-reliance on narration boxes and inability to work with the visual medium of comics to convey emotion made the story a bit trite to read at points. I did still enjoy Manuel Preitano's art despite this. His style is perfectly suited to YA graphic novels so his youthful bold imagery went down well.

This story likely won't stay with me for long but I enjoyed reading it well enough. I could definitely see more interesting stories being told with Willow in the future.