There are no simple answers in this thoughtful outing.
A graphic novel slips home the fact that sports stars run the gamut of miseries we everyday Joes and Janes must confront.
Jeremiah “Jake” Jacobson is the world’s best hockey player, but he is a public relation man’s nightmare: He won’t do Q-and-As or sell products for the good of the marketing department. Indeed, though he may rack up points like a pinballer on a hot streak, he is practically a recluse. Tom Leonard, on the other hand, is a college sophomore in awe of Jacobson, and they become friends through a chance encounter. Tom soon learns that Jake gets some cool perks with the fame—private dining rooms, private screenings of movies—and he also learns that Jake does a lot of volunteer work on the down low. Jake also smokes like a chimney and drinks way too much booze. So starts the slow revelation of truths: Sports are only as good as your love of the game; secrecy and denial gradually core you like an apple; all of us must address painful issues. Shapiro does a good job of expressing how difficult—and important—it is to talk about our emotions and weaknesses and that good friendship runs deep with thoughtful honesty. Inoue’s illustrations are clean-lined if sometimes difficult to read, while Mossa’s coloring creates a moody atmosphere.
There are no simple answers in this thoughtful outing. (Graphic fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9912550-1-6
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Animal Media Group
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
As an agent for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, it is Frank Gallows’s job to catch ghosts on Earth and send them back to the afterlife. However, during one particularly tricky deportation, he accidentally zaps a young—living—boy. Garth Hale suddenly finds himself surrounded by mummies and goblins in a crumbling, ghastly city, with a skeleton horse and his long-departed grandfather as his only friends. Gallows comes crashing into the afterlife, as well, on a daring rescue mission. As this bumbling team tries to find a way home, they end up face to face with the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who doesn’t look too kindly upon mortals in his city. With a cast of characters that is sometimes one too many, in a world that includes seven kingdoms of infinite zombies, this ghost-filled graphic novel could easily overwhelm, but TenNapel reins it in by deftly illustrating each essential moment and emotion. Creepy details, quick quips and a wry, deadpan (pun absolutely intended) humor are sure to delight. (Graphic fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-21027-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
A sentimental mid-20th-century novel about child labor is given striking, graphic life by a modern illustrator. Set in the 19th century, the tale has all the characteristics of an industrial novel: sold to work as a chimney sweep in Milan, Giorgio endures frighteningly dangerous work, a master who is a drunken weakling, and a mistress who is a harridan. His twin consolations are a friendship he strikes up with his master’s invalid daughter and the brotherhood of his fellow chimney sweeps, with whom he escapes to Switzerland. The original story runs to some 500 pages, but illustrator Binder has drastically cut this, relying instead on dramatic black-and-white engravings to move the narrative along. Not so much a classic graphic novel, this offering instead relies on traditional text blocks accompanied by and interspersed with comic book–style panels. Their Gothic darkness complements the melodramatic text, depicting both horror and wonder with equally freighted emotion. In many cases, narrative gaps depend on intervening illustrations to advance the storyline, a device that, despite its innovation, is not always successful. Still: a haunting, praiseworthy effort that deserves recognition. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2004
ISBN: 1-932425-04-7
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
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