This beautifully absurd, sometimes maddening comic book gives new meaning to “Can’t we all just get along?” (Graphic science...
This time-travel story poses a philosophical question: If you could meet yourself, would the two of you get along?
In this graphic adaptation of Lem’s 1957 short story (first published in English in 1976), a solo astronaut named Ijon Tichy is stuck in a time loop, and he keeps meeting past and future versions of himself. But rather than helping one another out, the multiple versions keep squabbling endlessly, for so long that, eventually, there are elderly Tichys onboard the ship. The many arguments make the story—almost by definition—a little repetitive, but they give Muth an excuse to paint dozens of hilariously baffled, nearly identical (all white) people in matching jumpsuits. For a story with only one character, the panels are surprisingly crowded. His artwork is as expressive as usual, but he’s adopted a different style from the one so recognizable in his Zen Shorts picture books, not quite realistic, not quite cartoonish. It’s almost as though he created a new, constantly befuddled species just for the book. The central joke is strung out a bit too long, and the introduction, written by A. Fraude on April 1, is mildly amusing but feels like padding. The solution to Tichy’s problem, though, when it finally arrives, is poetic, funny, and rather sweet.
This beautifully absurd, sometimes maddening comic book gives new meaning to “Can’t we all just get along?” (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-00462-6
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
PROFILES
Triumphs, mishaps, and revelations kick this adventure into high gear.
Two young superheroes start a search for their missing mom at a summer camp built next to a volcano. What could go wrong?
Enlisting their friends Beto Moreno and Nara Jenkins—respectively, an aspiring magician and a medal-winning wrestler—to help, fledgling secret super sibs Adeline and Wyatt Flynn enroll at Camp Igneous, conveniently situated at the base of the volcano where their mom might have disappeared four years before. Along with pursuing an investigation, though, the team faces serious competition vying for the titular cup in a series of mentally and physically demanding obstacle courses and other challenges, all while keeping their special powers hidden. The art’s bright colors, overlapping panels, and expressively posed cartoon figures ramp up the pacing and visual energy for a plot that features a series of suspenseful contests capped by encounters with “radioactive goop” and other surprises in the volcano’s crater and hints of a connection between the missing parent and a clandestine group of bad actors called the Quadrant. Stay tuned. Gapstur builds preteen banter, team building, frustrated romance, and even a nearly catastrophic eruption that tests the superkids’ abilities to the utmost into this lively sequel. Wyatt and Adeline are White; the supporting cast includes racial diversity.
Triumphs, mishaps, and revelations kick this adventure into high gear. (Graphic adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781534480322
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Will satisfy fans but could be better.
Young CIA agent-in-training Benjamin Ripley switches sides—or is he just going undercover?—in this graphic version of the third Spy School caper.
Sticking to the plot of the 2015 original, this episode sees the talented math whiz recruited by nefarious organization SPYDER after being (unjustly, he fumes) kicked out of the CIA’s academy. While training in a hidden school for evildoers with other prospective villains, including Ashley Sparks, a gushy former competitive gymnast with a fondness for portmanteau words (sweet + awesome = swawesome), Ben gets wind of a dastardly scheme to make billions on government construction projects. Hot if inept pursuit by both rival espionage agencies takes Ben from a secret underground command center to the top of the Statue of Liberty. But while the action has a rapid flow in the art (Sarkar is good at portraying fights, high-speed chases, and explosions), several characters are drawn with generic features and such a limited range of expressions that even with help from the cast gallery, it’s hard to tell them apart easily. Still, along with coming through in the suspenseful climax—thanks to clever deductions and quick thinking—by the end, Ben has also achieved a long-sought breakthrough with Erica Hale (code name “Ice Queen”), a superbly omnicompetent schoolmate who has his heart as well as his back. The cast largely presents white.
Will satisfy fans but could be better. (Graphic thriller. 8-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781665931946
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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