Not the easiest to follow but a properly percussive climax.
DOOM-studded battles continue in this all-action, manga-style sequel.
DO-OM! Compiling seven more segments originally published as webcomics, the ongoing adventures of Stud, a light-skinned, black-haired human lad, or Swirl, who comes with the ability to turn his extremities into enormous hammers, reach the end of an underwater story arc in which he helps dark-skinned merfolk allies bring a terrifying lawbreaker to bay. Though each chapter opens with a color tableau, the art then switches to small panels crammed with dizzying monochrome scribbles of lines around mighty blasts, grimacing faces, and thunderous noises crowding, or often drawn as bursting beyond, the page borders. The bad guy, Steele—a sort of monstrous shark-squid—in particular, seems too big to be visible all at once. But after his menacing minions are reduced to sushi and despite sporting giant, writhing tentacles and seemingly invulnerable ink armor, even he falls at last with a mighty DONG to his diminutive nemesis’s ultimate weapon, the awesome HAMMER HEADBUTT! Of course, hints of an even more powerful foe in Stud’s future drop (cue a final, melodramatic DOOM) in the last panel. The work is cluttered and confusing at times, but this volume may appeal to fans of the series.
Not the easiest to follow but a properly percussive climax. (Adventure comic. 10-13)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7603-7692-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Rockport Publishers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Briskly paced, expertly crafted, and stocked with surprising twists and nuanced characters.
A young warrior battles inner ghosts and a rival to the throne in this series kickoff.
Switching to a graphic format, Myklusch returns to the elusive island of Imagine Nation, the setting of his Jack Blank novel series, where belief is the ruling principle. Dreaming of measuring up to his dead parents, Skerren takes center stage in a battle for the crown of Varagog, where it’s always 1404. He faces Zorn, the son of a displaced ruler who fled years ago following the cybernetic Rüstov’s invasion attempt. Orlando’s art effectively showcases Imagine Nation’s racially and culturally distinctive residents and settings as the high-action plot shifts scenes beyond Varagog to Faerie and futuristic Hightown—until an evil alliance in the Night Lands that threatens everyone on the island is revealed. In combat scenes, the artist also substitutes sprays of black Night Lander goop for red blood, rendering swordfights somewhat less gory. To the pleasure of returning fans (and comics readers in general), Jack and his fantastically rubbery-blue friend Allegra step in to help, and in a Marvel Universe–style twist, a conflicted older retainer nursing a devastating secret later plays a crucial role. Happily, for those readers who aren’t fans of never-ending plotlines, this volume offers enough of a resolution to work as a stand-alone.
Briskly paced, expertly crafted, and stocked with surprising twists and nuanced characters. (Graphic fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665928182
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
More excitement in the time stream—but always with time to party in between.
A mission back to 18th-century France traps Delia Bean and her Epoch Squad in a time loop from which they have to be rescued by their later selves.
Hidden agendas and wheels within wheels begin to emerge in this follow-up to the 2017 opener as the newly fledged squad is trained by genial time traveler Richard Nixon (“They always guess JFK!” he booms) in various seemingly random skills that turn out to be oddly useful later on. They are then sent to a ball in 1778, where their mysterious nemesis, the Grey Earl, first traps them, then secretly allows them to escape as part of some larger scheme. Meanwhile, nascent romances bloom and wilt, troubling revelations about the Time Museum’s origins come to light, and the squad shows its mettle in first battling a plant monster and later an outsized armored warrior. Though his panels tend to be small and tightly packed, Loux shows rare talent for depicting thrillingly dangerous-looking adversaries and cranking up both action and comedy with close-ups of wide-eyed, wide-mouthed faces. Nixon, who often looks more like Bob Hope (and behaves more like Robin Williams), is a scene stealer, but Delia and her team are lively enough to keep the plot moving along briskly. Except for new addition Pauline, a dark-skinned British rock guitarist with a thing for Delia, diversity markers are present but barely visible in the cast.
More excitement in the time stream—but always with time to party in between. (Graphic science fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-850-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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