Forget the capes and tights: this is an entirely accessible and richly imagined superhero tour de force.
A teenage superheroine vows to destroy the monster that killed her mother but discovers vengeance doesn’t come without dire consequences.
Following The Rise of Aurora West (2014), Aurora and her notorious superhero father are still haunted by the long-unsolved murder of her mother by a nefarious seven-fingered monster. Determined to solve the mystery herself, Aurora also yearns to break free from the shadow of her famous father. Venturing out alone, she stalks a fiendish syndicate of masked monsters that has been terrorizing her home, Arcopolis. Through her unrelenting search, she discovers a shocking truth—could she have played a role in her mother's murder? Now imbued with her newfound dangerous knowledge, Aurora must make a decision that could not only save her family, but the city at large. Rubín's frenetic black-and-white illustrations stylistically complement Pope and Petty's breakneck-paced plotting. True to the genre, the story explores notions of good and evil but provides no easy answers. Aurora is a powerful heroine who is refreshingly free of sexualized buxom stylings, instead relying on her intelligence and strength. This is a must-read for readers tired of traditional superheroes with endlessly shifting storylines and vast back stories. With their wholly original worldbuilding and cinematically explosive pace, Pope and Petty have created a strong female protagonist that should easily appeal to both genders.
Forget the capes and tights: this is an entirely accessible and richly imagined superhero tour de force. (Graphic adventure. 13 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62672-010-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Makes The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (1989) look positively wholesome in comparison.
In this “origins” tale, a slug of liquid courage prompts nerdy Albert the wolf to seek justice as a costumed superhero against the three porcine Honeyroast brothers and their gangster dad Al Prosciutto.
Years after being bullied by the Honeyroasts at the Snobtown Academy, Albert has grown up to realize his dream of working for Wonder Comics (albeit as a janitor). Albert no sooner learns that his former nemeses are living high off the hog than a suspicious fire in one of their buildings kills all of his school buddies. Predictably depressed, he is fired up after a hobo offers a drink from a bottle in a brown paper bag (“It’s mighty powerful stuff. It’ll give you all the strength you’ll ever need…”). He dons a mask and cape made in his youth and sets out “to topple the towers of tyranny and to huff and puff and blow all asunder who stood in the way of righteousness.” Lie pairs cramped-looking blocks of small type with full-page or multi-paneled cartoon illustrations infused with murky red tones and printed on rough paper in grainy textures, giving them a dim, pulpy, retro look. “Yes, Albert would become the Lone Wolf,” the author concludes. “Hear his whistle.”
Makes The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (1989) look positively wholesome in comparison. (Picture book. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-907704-03-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nobrow Ltd.
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
This bland techno-thriller has plenty of action but not quite enough style.
A teenage hacktivist and her online comrades encounter danger and betrayal when they begin investigating a fashion mogul’s business operations in Hong Kong.
Lian leads a double life. Offline, she is her parents’ “Little Panda,” the studious, obedient daughter of an affluent family; online, she is Komiko, a trusted member of 06/04, a pseudonymous group of hackers dedicated to exposing government and corporate wrongdoing. Her two worlds collide with a vengeance after a corpse washes up on Big Wave Bay Beach, as Lian soon stumbles upon a link between the dead girl and one of her father’s business partners, Rand Harrison. Her situation becomes even more complicated when Harrison’s smarmy son, Matt, transfers into her school, where their paths cross regularly. Lian’s readiness to risk her own safety to secure evidence of Harrison’s crimes makes for a fast-paced story, marked by narrow escapes and high-speed chases. Alas, the technological action fizzles in comparison, as Lian’s elite hacker research appears to consist mostly of basic Web searches. In addition, the novel’s Hong Kong feels more like a movie set than a lived-in city, and it doesn’t help that even the non-American characters often speak colloquially American dialogue.
This bland techno-thriller has plenty of action but not quite enough style. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62324-023-3
Page Count: 285
Publisher: Scarlet Voyage/Enslow
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
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