THE COOKOUT

Twelve-year-old Pax Samson has a supersized legacy to live up to, but he often prefers a simpler life in the kitchen.

Everyone in the whole Samson family is a superhero, and Grandma is perhaps the world’s best. Still, even she acknowledges that a new generation needs to be groomed and prepared for what the planet Soltellus and the precarious Tri-City partnership may face. Pax is still prone to mistakes, but Grandma and the rest of the family—Pax’s doting superparents, his adopted, not-quite-human big sis, time-traveling Aunty, and even his pestering, shirtless wonder of an older cousin—believe in his potential for heroics almost as much as they love his dragon noodle soup and his other culinary triumphs. Pax, however, doesn’t always believe in himself, and it’ll take learning of his family’s history fighting against enslavement, fascists, and the long-standing prejudices of Soltellus to inspire him to pave his own path. Doucet and Reeves tell a vibrant, action-packed story of a rather special brown boy and his big family, but before good and evil face off, nuance is presented in the impressive worldbuilding and thoughtful reflection on racial biases readers will find both different to our own world and familiar. Like the title’s reference to a Black American tradition, this series starter of a graphic novel features accessible yet unmistakably cultural humor throughout—some of it, sadly, on the ableist side.

A fun, superpowerful story of what’s worth fighting for.