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
Immensely enjoyable.
The debut graphic novel from Mohamed presents a modern Egypt full of magical realism where wishes have been industrialized and heavily regulated.
The story opens with a televised public service announcement from the General Committee of Wish Supervision and Licensing about the dangers of “third-class wishes”—wishes that come in soda cans and tend to backfire on wishers who aren’t specific enough (like a wish to lose weight resulting in limbs falling from the wisher’s body). Thus begins a brilliant play among magic, the mundane, and bureaucracy that centers around a newsstand kiosk where a devout Muslim is trying to unload the three “first-class wishes” (contained in elegant glass bottles and properly licensed by the government) that have come into his possession, since he believes his religion forbids him to use them. As he gradually unloads the first-class wishes on a poor, regretful widow (who then runs afoul of authorities determined to manipulate her out of her valuable commodity) and a university student who seeks a possibly magical solution to their mental health crisis (but struggles with whether a wish to always be happy might have unintended consequences), interstitials give infographic histories of wishes, showing how the Western wish-industrial complex has exploited the countries where wishes are mined (largely in the Middle East). The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle. Charts and graphs nicely break up the reading experience while also concisely building this larger world of everyday wishes. Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout.
Immensely enjoyable.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-524-74841-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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