Leave it to Chance by James Robinson and Paul Smith

Lucas Falconer is a world renowned paranormal investigator. Descended from a long line of 'ghost fighters' Mr. Falconer is famous for bringing down horrible unimaginable evils and living to tell the tale. Unfortunately this story is not about him, it's about his fourteen year old daughter Chance, who has decided that it is about time for her to step into her father's shoes and learn the family business. Unfortunately Daddy Falconer believes that because she is female she's not capable of being an investigator. It doesn't help that Chance is impulsive and tends to leap into trouble eyes shut feet first. This is never more apparent when Lucas Falconer leaves the city, and Chance takes up an investigation that leads to greater harm than she could ever conceive of.

I'd first like to give a shout out to Mike for loaning me the first to volumes of this series. Awesome. It's like a cross between Nancy Drew, Hellboy, TinTin, and Little Orphan Annie. So weird and yet so right. Chance could've been super obnoxious, but her precociousness was actually quite endearing instead of off-putting. I love the fact that her pet dragon kind of looks like a Nerf dart with wings, and that sometimes her beady eyes remind me of 1950s comics. It's all so weirdly right. I wouldn't say that there's a ton of character depth, but it's just such an enchanting plot-driven story that you don't really care. And unlike current literature, I didn't feel like my brain was leaking out my ears afterward. (I hope you feel shame Twilight). So far it's got thirteen issues and is ongoing. I've only read through eight and am hoping to find the others. Good times.