Entertaining and upbeat fantasy fare.
A fairy and her friends battle an army led by a former comrade in Cuartero-Briggs’ YA graphic novel, one in a series.
Bloom Peters, a teenage fairy, could not have returned from her exile in the Realm of Darkness at a more contentious time: A corrupted Stella (Bloom’s erstwhile friend) is leading a red-eyed animal army against the Winx crew of fairies and all their friends. (If that wasn’t bad enough, Stella is leading the attack masquerading as Bloom). Bloom’s friends are already miffed at her for pulling a disappearing act, but they can sure use her help fending off the wolves, tigers, and a nasty pterodactyl let loose upon their school. (They don’t know that poor Bloom had to relinquish her mighty Dragon Flame in order to make her way out of the aforementioned Realm of Darkness.) Bloom is carrying around a ton of guilt and remorse as she valiantly looks for a way to defeat the evil forces; she’s also got a lively romance with classmate Sky to navigate. It’s a lot for any teenager—magical fairy or not. The play of action across illustrator Peri’s panels is smooth and propulsive, easily conveying the flow of the story. Splash pages emphasizing big reveals or especially dramatic events are deployed to good effect. The art itself is clean and expressive, with a “cartoony” feel appropriate for the target audience. Also appropriate for the age range is the teenage drama and romance liberally mixed in with the threatening menace. The dialogue is consistently strong and reflective of teen sensibilities and humor: “Oh, good, now I’m going mad” a character named Musa tells her ghostly paramour. “And here I thought that’s just what you do to me,” he replies. Another ally quips, “I dream of a day when I understand what in Zeus’s name is going on with you Winx girls.” The creative team behind the teen fairies never leaves the reader confused, despite the frantic pace of the narrative; they even include a mini-primer on making comics for readers whose own creativity has been ignited by the fiery proceedings.
Entertaining and upbeat fantasy fare.Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781545818169
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Maverick
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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