Funny and clever, but most likely to only satisfy fans who have been with the gang since the beginning.
A group of students at a British school all become friends with a strange new boy who eats onions; one student suspects something odd’s afoot and must discover the truth before it’s too late.
Shauna, Lottie, and Mildred are all second-years at Griswalds Grammar, ready to tackle a new term. This year, however, a new student—orange-haired, onion-eating Lem—has arrived, and despite his aloofness and strangeness, he’s slowly winning over the student body. In fact, soon Mildred and Lottie have fallen under his spell. Shauna is instantly suspicious, since every student befriended by Lem identically affirms that Lem is a "right good laugh when you get to know him." She takes up her cause with a group of bespectacled loners, and suddenly Lem and his secrets might not be her biggest problem. This small-press charmer, based on an ongoing webcomic, is a stylish jumble of pop-culture references, sly humor, eye-catching characters, mystery—and, oddly enough, aliens. As the fourth volume in the series, the mystery itself stands alone well enough, but an abrupt and ambiguous ending may frustrate new readers who aren’t already invested in the series.
Funny and clever, but most likely to only satisfy fans who have been with the gang since the beginning. (Graphic mystery/sci-fi. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62010-212-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A graphic-novel treatment of Shakespeare that fails miserably where others have succeeded. In this brutally savaged graphic adaptation of the play, the Bard’s lines have been transformed into conversational banality (“How is it going, Shylock?”; "That goes for me too!") within often-misplaced dialogue balloons. Astonishingly, there’s nary a mention of Jews, leaching all the power from Shylock's "Has not a Jew..." speech ("And why has [Antonio] done this? Do I not have eyes like everyone else..."). Actually, just about all of the set speeches are nearly unrecognizable: "The quality of mercy is not strained" becomes “You don’t need to have a reason to show mercy.” Visually, the floridly dressed Venetian figures in Kumar’s showy illustrations just stand about in panel after panel, gesturing awkwardly and looking past one another’s shoulders. Portia’s taste for revealing, off-the-shoulder gowns may give adolescent gawkers pause, but as an invitation to read the original or see it performed here’s sure proof that all that glisters is not gold. A closing set of riddles is offered as an activity link to Portia’s three boxes in the play. Skip. (Graphic adaptation. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 17, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-59-0
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
Despite plenty of spattered blood and armored warriors sporting the oversized thews of Conanlike barbarians, this fictionalized graphic rendition of Xenophon’s Anabasis fails to give the renowned retreat much life or drama—or even to tell a coherent story. The narrative of foot soldier Eustachius opens with the realization of the Greek mercenaries that they’ve been suckered into taking on the entire Persian army and then follows the core that survives the battle of Cunaxa (and the death of Cyrus, their employer) on its more than 1,000-mile march through hostile territory back to Greece. It is brought to grinding halts first by an overlong flashback to peaceful times and later by a lurid but superfluous dream. Not only does the soldiers’ relentless bickering form a distracting backdrop to the exhausting marches and costly battles, but much of the visual action is squeezed into small inset panels where it shares space with boxes of wordy dialogue and commentary. Furthermore the art looks sketchier in some panels than others, and the characters (particularly when their faces are obscured by wraparound helmets) tend to look alike. Fans of Frank Miller’s epic 300 (1999) may be lured by the similar title, but will come away disappointed. (Graphic novel. 12-15)
Pub Date: May 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-61-3
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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