Clever if rough-hewn concept bearing at best a chancy resemblance to its literary models.
Four classic tales, considerably reworked to feature the Dark Knight and various foes and associates.
The creators of the Secret Hero Society series (kicked off with Study Hall of Justice, 2016) turn from middle school to another fertile milieu—classic tales. The creators follow wooden “Waynocchio” on his quest to become a “real Boy Wonder”; send the butler Alfred into Wonderland to rescue his costumed charges from the “Jokerwacky” and “Harley Queen”; cast Nora “Mrs. Freeze” Fries as the Snow Queen, who seeks help from Batman to thaw her captive husband, Mr. Freeze; and reimagine “The Princess and the Pea” as a series of interrogations by police seeking a hefty stolen diamond. As dialogue constitutes the only text in all but one of these, readers unfamiliar with the originals may have trouble following at least the first two. Moreover, Batman himself takes only a supporting role in all but “The Snow Queen.” Still, from the Cheshire Catwoman on, the characters (all white), though largely drawn as children or at least with young faces, will be recognizable to fans of DC comics and films. Being loosely drawn and brushed in transparent inks, the art has a quick, sketchy look reinforced by impressionistic backgrounds in both the spacious panels and unbordered larger scenes.
Clever if rough-hewn concept bearing at best a chancy resemblance to its literary models. (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8340-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Offer this winning adventure to young fans of Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl (2011)
This Cleopatra wasn’t born to rule over Egypt—she has a galaxy to save!
Fifteen-year-old Cleo is playing hooky from her algebra lessons when she stumbles across a mysterious tablet that takes her on a one-way trip to the future. Upon her arrival, she learns that it’s her destiny to defeat the evil aliens who have conquered half of the Nile galaxy. Cleo is remarkably nonchalant about her change in circumstances, though she grumbles about enrolling in Yasiro Academy. “Light years from my home planet, millennia in the future, and a supposed savior of the galaxy… / and I still have to go to school?!” At least the curriculum includes target practice, where her old slingshot skills prove to be transferable. Cleo’s easygoing confidence makes her a likable, if not especially complex, heroine, but the real star of the graphic novel is Maihack’s art. The cinematic paneling during action sequences skillfully conveys Cleo’s vivacity and flair. Moreover, Cleo’s novel surroundings—which include talking cats, ray guns and even a flying sphinx—feel fresh and immediate to readers thanks to Maihack’s character designs and backgrounds, which manage to be winsome without being cloying.
Offer this winning adventure to young fans of Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl (2011) . (Graphic science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-52842-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Just a quick side jaunt in the journey, but it’s a diversion that adds further depth to a particularly well-wrought tale.
Chantler puts his ongoing tale of magic, treachery, kidnapping and hot pursuit largely on pause to fill in some back story on the chief pursuer.
In previous episodes, royal knight Capt. Drake has shown himself to be as noble at heart as he is persistent in the chase. Here, he briefly catches up with his quarry, Dessa, a young circus acrobat hobbled (but not much) by a broken leg, and also looks back on his early days as a member of the elite but corrupt Dragons. Panels, pages and even sections in full color alternate with passages in monochrome, which signify these flashbacks. In his cleanly drawn action sequences, Chantler ingeniously links present and past with parallel acts or dialogue as Drake searches for Dessa in a castlelike “house of healing” while recalling the terrible night in the palace of North Huntington when heroic action saved Princess—now Queen—Magda but her father was assassinated. The author barely advances his main storyline about Dessa, but he does throw in several new clues and twists while giving readers even more reason to admire this scarred, intelligent, fundamentally decent character.
Just a quick side jaunt in the journey, but it’s a diversion that adds further depth to a particularly well-wrought tale. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-778-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
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