Readers should be eager for further developments in this promising superhero series.
This graphic novel tells the origin story of how two Black teenage brothers become superhero fighters for justice.
In 1999, Los Angeles fire battalion chief Ashley “Ashtray” Jones dies of his injuries after heading back into a blazing apartment to perform a final rescue. He leaves behind his wife, Inez, and two boys, Romeo and Jay. That was 14 years ago. Now it’s 2013, and drug kingpin Dexter Dre is finally going on trial for arson (retaliation against a rival dealer) and manslaughter charges in the fire that killed Ashtray. The brothers are in high school, where Jay is quarterback on the football team while Romeo produces rap music with his best friend. A new drug on the scene called Maze can grant different powers to its users, such as walking through walls or superstrength. Jay’s pressured by team members to try it, but his father’s spirit talks him out of it. When Maze-enhanced thieves violently strike chez Inez, the brothers vow to take revenge. They face a learning curve—but they’re just getting started. The Johnson brothers, who have collaborated on other creative projects, now offer this first installment of a graphic novel series. The setup is intriguing, providing a potent motivation for the Jones brothers and whetting readers’ interest in learning more about the storyline’s several strands. Dialogue, too, is a strength, deftly revealing plot and character across a range of voices: firefighters, a pastor, urban teenagers, a TV broadcaster, and more. The artists provide cinematically dynamic, varied compositions in rich, crisp colors that portray emotions, actions, and momentum with great effect. Lettering, too, is skillful; a villain’s acoustic attacks, rendered with soundwavelike jaggedness, are practically audible.
Readers should be eager for further developments in this promising superhero series.Pub Date: July 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5255-7837-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.
Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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