These were picked out by my co-worker, they're super cute, and a fun way to highlight the general superhero craze!
Super Duck
Jez Alborough
ISBN: 9781933605890
Super Duck vs The Kite. I think the kite wins. Bonus points for very long-suffering friends who still manage to enforce boundaries on their super (excitable) friend.
What Goes Up
Paula Bowles
ISBN: 9781589251199
Martin is a big-boned dragon with very tiny wings, which means that he hasn't managed to fly yet. This makes him very sad, but the village children are on-board with all of his silly schemes to get him up in the air, and even add a stealth exercise regime of their own. When Martin finally goes airborne, it's surprisingly touching.
Arnold the Brave
Gundi Herget, illustrated by Nicolai Renger
ISBN: 9781441326508
Arnold is a Super Sheep, and he's ready and willing to defend his flock against the Big Bad Wolf, but even a Super Sheep needs a little sneaky help from a good friend. The spirit is willing, and gravity provides a big assist for this spunky sheep with a brave heart.
Showing posts with label superhero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superhero. Show all posts
Friday, October 19, 2018
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Juvenile Fiction/Graphic Novel: Rise of the Robot Army, Robert Venditti & Dusty Higgins
Rise of the Robot Army (Book 2 in the Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape series)
Robert Venditti, illustrated by Dusty Higgins
ISBN: 9781481405577
Miles gets addicted to the power of the cape and the kick of doing good, and gets kidnapped by a crazy guy with a robot army.
These are fun because they're set in Atlanta, they're prose novels for the most part, but switch into graphic novel format when the character of the Golden Cape is active, and because the author is trying very hard to purposefully subvert the tropes of a superhero narrative and show how hard it is for a normal person to always do what's right and what's best, when they're just normal people faced with powerful temptations.
Supporting Cast: A+. Miles' dad, poor guy. I just want to buy him a drink. At least he's got a girlfriend now. Doctor is cool but needs a bit more characterization. New girl is hella interesting and I hope she's permanent and not treated poorly by the author.
Plot: A. Emotional arc is dead-on and perfect for the age-group (honestly, it's perfect for most people all their lives, when you really look at it) and the physical plot/perilous situation is 1) creepy as heck, 2) very nicely built on the first book, 3) subverts superhero-story tropes where people have obvious names to show they're bad-guys or good-guys without actually making the storyline ANY LESS CREEPY (well-done, that is), and 4) is solved relatively rationally and by the characters making informed and purposeful choices instead of getting deus-ex-machina'd (although I do think perhaps dad had a bit of a mild ret-con to his character so that Miles doesn't get murdered at the end of the book).
Fun, silly, engaging, thoughtful, and peopled with fun and interesting characters that are tropey without being any less interesting and individual. I'm really impressed, and really enjoying this series.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Juvenile Fiction/Graphic Novel: Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape: Attack of the Alien Horde, Robert Venditti & Rusty Higgins
Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape: Attack of the Alien Horde
Robert Venditti, illustrated by Rusty Higgins
ISBN: 9781481405423
Interesting format choice: a prose novel when Miles is himself, and a graphic novel when he's posing as a superhero.
Read June 2015
I'm a little grumpy about the unweildy title (especially when the language and names inside are so clever and punny), but that's literally the only thing wrong with this fun foray into superherohood. Miles has moved to Atlanta with his dad after his mom divorces them, and he's trying to be a good kid and to keep from getting beaten up too badly at school. That is until the day the Atlanta superhero Gilded falls to his death inches from Miles, during a brutal battle with a nasty alien monster. Gilded bequeaths the cape to Miles, reveals himself as an ancient old man, and expires. Now MILES is the Hero of Atlanta, and he's got to learn on the job, because natural disasters, accidents, and of course impending alien invasion aren't going to wait for him to get a training montage.
The shift between Miles' prose life as himself and the graphic punch of his experiences wearing the cape is beautiful, and a great choice for this story. I love the contrast, and the ability of that simple format shift to make everything more impactful and immediate.
Love this start, and can't wait for the next one to show up!
Robert Venditti, illustrated by Rusty Higgins
ISBN: 9781481405423
Interesting format choice: a prose novel when Miles is himself, and a graphic novel when he's posing as a superhero.
Read June 2015
I'm a little grumpy about the unweildy title (especially when the language and names inside are so clever and punny), but that's literally the only thing wrong with this fun foray into superherohood. Miles has moved to Atlanta with his dad after his mom divorces them, and he's trying to be a good kid and to keep from getting beaten up too badly at school. That is until the day the Atlanta superhero Gilded falls to his death inches from Miles, during a brutal battle with a nasty alien monster. Gilded bequeaths the cape to Miles, reveals himself as an ancient old man, and expires. Now MILES is the Hero of Atlanta, and he's got to learn on the job, because natural disasters, accidents, and of course impending alien invasion aren't going to wait for him to get a training montage.
The shift between Miles' prose life as himself and the graphic punch of his experiences wearing the cape is beautiful, and a great choice for this story. I love the contrast, and the ability of that simple format shift to make everything more impactful and immediate.
Love this start, and can't wait for the next one to show up!
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