Fast-paced and entertaining.
The high school beginnings of favorite Batman comic characters.
Seventeen-year-old Bruce Wayne just got kicked out of the fancy boarding school his Uncle Alfred sent him to when his parents died. Now he’s back in Gotham City, living in the family home and attending Gotham High. Bruce runs into his childhood neighbor Selina Garcia Kyle, who invites him to a party where he meets cardsharp Jack Napier, who becomes a new friend. One day, high school classmate Harvey Dent is kidnapped while trying on Bruce’s leather coat, and Bruce gets shot with a tranquilizer dart. Bruce, convinced he, not Harvey, was the real target, goes on a hunt to find the truth. As he uncovers more information, he discovers that his new friends aren’t what they seem. Narrated by Selina, the story puts Batman, the Joker, Catwoman, and other Batman favorites into a teenage setting, giving them more of a backstory. De la Cruz’s (The Queen's Assassin, 2020, etc.) graphic-novel debut is dark and alluring. The characters do what they need to survive, creating suspense. Pitilli’s (Archie, 2019, etc.) vivid and captivating illustrations are the highlight of this graphic novel, and the darker palette adds to the ominous feel. Bruce’s mother was Chinese from Hong Kong, and his father’s ethnicity is not specified; Selina is Latinx, and there is diversity in secondary characters.
Fast-paced and entertaining. (Graphic fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8624-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny, heartfelt, and absolutely adorable.
A queer love triangle leads to an unexpected romance.
Belle Hawkins, high school senior and school mascot (she wanted a role where she didn’t have to show her face), finally finds the courage to ask out her crush, confident head cheerleader Regina Moreno. But she learns Gina already has a girlfriend, star athlete Chloe Kitagawa. Meanwhile, Gina has a Ten-Year Plan, and she refuses to let Chloe get them off track by failing her English class. Knowing Belle would be keen to please her, Gina gets her to tutor Chloe. Turns out, Belle and Chloe were friends when they were kids. As the school year progresses, Chloe and Gina’s relationship has its ups and downs, their friendships with Belle grow, and Belle’s romantic feelings change. With a palette of pink hues and strong black outlines, the cartoon art uses exaggerated elements for comedic effect and to cue heightened emotions. The three leads have well-developed personalities and are all lovingly imperfect and relatable. They are physically distinct with notably different body shapes, styles of gender expression, and ethnicities. Belle appears White and is cued Jewish, Chloe’s name implies Japanese heritage, and Gina is Brazilian American. Queerness is normalized, and the shifting dynamics of queer women between friendships and romantic partnerships are accurately depicted, making the happy ending believable. There’s enough conflict to propel the plot and give space for growth, but overall, this low-stakes tale feels like a warm, charming hug.
Funny, heartfelt, and absolutely adorable. (Graphic romance. 13-18)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-78412-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material.
An illustrated reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most memorable tragedies.
From the very beginning of this clever adaptation, effort is made to prioritize accessibility of both the manga form and the classic Shakespearean play: The frontmatter briefly highlights the reading direction of the panels, and characters are labeled when introduced, coming to life via a striking combination of early modern Venetian dress; quintessential manga hairdos and facial expressions; and pronounced linework. Like the rest of the series, this account of Othello remains faithful to the original. The black-and-white illustrations allow for Iago’s conniving manipulations to manifest visually as well as animating characters’ bigotry in impactful, distressing ways. However, there are shortcomings: Where the original text may use parentheticals and asides to progress the story, the occasional appearance of parentheses in speech bubbles are a distracting reminder that comics utilize storytelling tools that haven’t been fully adopted here. Likewise, panel after panel of Othello’s turn to violence and his enraged face obscured by shadow provide a poignant dramatic effect but seem to exacerbate prejudices inherent to both the play and medium. Not only is the titular character visually distinguished from other characters by his shading, hair, lips, and overall size, unfortunately neither Shakespeare nor the illustrator seem wholly prepared for a contemporary conversation regarding racial representation in one of literature’s most infamous depictions of othering.
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material. (adapter’s notes, character designs) (Graphic fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-947808-13-3
Page Count: 420
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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