Though the storyline’s lacking, the bold art—shivery, cute, exciting—will keep pages turning.
A shuttered amusement park holds a portal to its magical mirror world.
In the abandoned theme park Adventure Kingdom, a boy hoping to livestream his exploits runs into a girl on the broken-down carousel. Clark and Karoline each carry half of an old coin, given to them years ago by Karoline’s grandad, who ran the park before he vanished. When the kids meet, their half coins pull them through a portal into the original Adventure Kingdom, a magical amusement park full of exciting creatures. Like the mundane world’s park, the magical one has fallen on hard times, and Clark and Karoline must flee the brutish minions of the mysterious Iron King. The tale relies extensively on genre shorthand, and rarely do the emotional beats have any payoff. Why does Clark have such a strong reaction to betrayal, for example, and how is it connected to his parents? Not only do readers never learn, but it’s irrelevant to his action-oriented character arc. The hook isn’t in the sketched outline of a plot but in the appealing illustrations. The comic panels are bright, well composed, and dynamic, making excellent use of gutters and color (courtesy ofMaruno). Adorable animate fuzzballs, a looming fortunetelling robot, and various talking animals people the Adventure Kingdom. The motivations of the Iron King may be thinly drawn, but his illustrated megalomania is gleefully intimidating. Karoline presents White; Clark has olive skin.
Though the storyline’s lacking, the bold art—shivery, cute, exciting—will keep pages turning. (Graphic fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5248-7078-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A classic sibling rivalry tale that still satisfies to the last drop.
In this graphic novel adaptation of Davies’ 2007 book, hurt feelings propel an intense business battle.
Fourth grader Evan can’t stand the thought of his brainy younger sister, Jessie, skipping a grade and joining his class this fall. Intelligent but emotionally immature, Jessie sometimes misses social cues and wishes she could be more like the gregarious Evan. These insecurities set the stage for a contest to see who can raise the most money selling lemonade this summer. Will Jessie’s book smarts beat Evan’s people skills? The beauty of this story lies in how each sibling’s strengths rub off on the other: Evan brushes up on his math, while Jessie tentatively makes a new friend. De la Vega’s polished cartoon artwork creatively translates Davies’ metaphors to a visual medium. When the author compares the “mean words inside Evan…fighting to get out” to bats, illustrations depict the furry animals emerging from beneath his shirt; Jessie’s negative thoughts take the form of a tiny purple creature irritatingly tapping her shoulder. Tender scenes depict flashbacks of the siblings supporting each other through their parents’ divorce. The book has business savvy to match the emotional beats (each chapter opens with an entrepreneurial definition that relates to the plot), and several scenes feature math problems that readers can solve for themselves. Evan and Jessie appear white; both have friends of color.
A classic sibling rivalry tale that still satisfies to the last drop. (business tips) (Graphic fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780063310407
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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