Tweet

| Reader Comments

City of Spies
Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Pascal Dizin. Roaring Brook/First Second, $17 paper (172p) ISBN 978-1-59643-262-8
This graphic novel takes the kid detective genre to the world of WWII espionage. In this case, the role of Nancy Drew is being played by Evelyn, a 10-year-old girl who's recently come to live with her free-spirited aunt in New York City. Imaginative and bored, Evelyn and her friend Tony see spies everywhere, with decidedly mixed results. Unlike the Hardy Boys or Boxcar Children, they don't always get it right, and their false alarm about a surly doorman makes for embarrassing headlines. Eventually, they do happen upon a real Nazi spy, and they're off on an exciting adventure, hiding in bakery vans, sneaking into parties, and decoding secret messages with a little help from Evelyn's Aunt Lia and a friendly policeman. The writers manage the difficult trick of writing real children into a terrific adventure story, and the book is completely age-appropriate without ever talking down to its readers. Dizin's loopily expressive art has a period feel while still looking fresh and kid-friendly. His work on "Zirconium Man and Scooter," Evelyn's comic about herself and her absent father as superheroes, is particularly charming. City of Spies is a good old-fashioned adventure story and rip-roaring fun. Ages 12-up. (May)

To Teach: The Journey, in Comics
William Ayers and Ryan Alexander-Tanner. Teachers College Press, $15.95 paper (144p) ISBN 978-0-8077-5062-9
Quinn is a pudgy and energetic boy, whose enthusiastic embrace of snack time prompts a school administrator to label him "hyperactive disordered." His teacher, however, notes, "it's too easy to caricature every excitable African-American boy as ‘at risk' " and goes on to identify Quinn's many strengths and then persistently encourage them. That teacher is Bill Ayers, the school reform activist and a cofounder of the Weather Underground who got so much attention during the Obama campaign. Ayers is all teacher in this graphic novel ode to the power and potential of his profession. Alexander-Tanner's black and white ink drawings show a classroom in full bloom with activity and learning, while Ayers's text offers pointed discussions of what's wrong with the current state of education in this country. Ayers doesn't just present critiques like the one relating to Quinn that "labeling students has become an epidemic in our schools"; he also shows the methods he uses "to develop a permanent readiness for the marvelous" in his classroom. With plenty of anecdotal examples, he demonstrates ways of opening up a child's eagerness to learn. This fascinating and, yes, educational book will certainly be of interest to teachers, but it will also teach, inspire, and entertain anyone else who picks it up. (May)

High Soft Lisp
Gilbert Hernandez. Fantagraphics, $16.99 paper (136p) ISBN 978-1-60699-318-7
From the pages of the venerable comics institution Love and Rockets come 11 stories that loosely revolve around the emotional and sexual misadventures of psychoanalyst, sci-fi fanatic, and heroically voluptuous grade-Z film star Rosalba "Fritz" Martinez. Originally a minor character in Hernandez's expansive Palomar universe, Fritz doesn't exactly take center stage in her own book, either. In fact, we're introduced to our ostensible heroine as merely the fourth of world-famous motivational speaker Mark Herrera's six wives. The ensuing leaps in chronology and POV can be jarring for those not familiar with Hernandez's episodic style (not to mention the daunting mythology built up over 25-plus years of Love and Rockets), but the stories' offbeat humor and manic sexual energy make the adjustment more than worthwhile. Fritz's hypersexuality, bizarre fetishes, rampant vanity, and burgeoning alcoholism provide many of the volume's finest comic moments, but the ample sex on view is rarely sexy. Rather, the characters' libidinous pursuits are tied into an affecting strain of loneliness and regret that pervades even the most outlandish panels. Add to that Hernandez's characteristically thick, expressive line and character design that owes an acknowledged debt to Archie comics, and the result is a charmingly incongruous, occasionally titillating collision of poignancy and pulp. (Apr.)

The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis
Ian Boothby and James Lloyd. Abrams, $24.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-8109-8837-8
Two classic animated series are brought together in a comic that offers many surprises, including how well it all works when transported to a new medium. Although both sources are the creation of cartoonist Matt Groening, the broadcast runs of each series referred to the other as works of fiction within their own universes, perhaps seeking to avoid the temptation of an attention grabbing crossover. And yet somehow this assemblage ably accomplishes just such a task while remaining faithful to the source materials. When Futurama's crew from the Planet Express delivery service become trapped in the fictional world of a Simpsons comic book, they must escape from Springfield. But shortly afterward they open a rift that brings the Simpsons characters into the Planet Express world, where the fictional characters must be rescued and returned to the pages of their comic book. Boothby's writing excels at letting each universe and the characters in them maintain their subtly distinct identities even when they blend. The overarching story for the book is designed to easily allow opportunities for affectionate references to comics, to science fiction, and to notable works of fiction. While the Simpsons comics included in the collection are not as strong, the crossover story takes what could have been a simple throwaway gag and instead crafts a funny, intricately detailed story. (Apr.)

Zebrafish
Peter H. Reynolds and FableVision. S&S/Atheneum, $16.99 (121p) ISBN 978-1-4424-0454-0
This slow-paced and melancholic graphic novel for children opens to kids goofing around with musical video games and ends with them actually making a difference with music. This is in part thanks to Vita, a girl who dyes her hair and wants to have a rock group named Zebrafish, thus explaining the name. One member of the group is a girl who announces she has leukemia, a proclamation that spins Vita's thoughts to dark and sad places. Rather than take the news lying down, Vita wants to see if her music can raise awareness and funds for a children's research hospital. Surprisingly, it takes a while for this part of the story to come in, but once it does, it's quite powerful. The rest of the book is taken up by the usual hijinks and fun of keeping the band together. The sketchy art has the stylized look of a cable cartoon, which is fitting since the characters are also being adapted as a Web cartoon. The lack of backgrounds and details keep the focus squarely on the characters and their motivations. Ages 10-14. (May)

Guinea PIG, Pet Ship Private Eye: #01 Hamster and Cheese
Colleen AF Venable. Lerner/Graphic Universe, $6.95 paper (48p) ISBN 978-0-7613-5914-2
This promising new series opens in a pet store where a smart guinea pig named Sasspants spends her time reading the many books she keeps around her. Her smarts-in addition to the fact her cage accidentally says GUINEA PI instead of PIG-gets her tapped as a crime solver. When sandwiches go missing, a hamster becomes convinced the local pet private investigator will be the one to solve the case. While initially against getting involved, Sasspants nevertheless starts an investigation. Children can look and guess for themselves about the clues and red herrings the book presents. The humor in the characters' personalities and dialogue makes this a lively and entertaining book. Ages 7-11. (Apr.)

Max Finder Mystery Collected Casebook #4
Craig Battle, Ramón Pérez, and Liam O'Donnell. Owlkids, $9.95 (96p) ISBN 978-1-897349-80-9
As a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in junior high, Max Finder runs through the pages solving short but interesting mysteries and encouraging readers to help him. While the fourth book in the series, it's easy for new readers to dive right in thanks to character explanations in the beginning. There are 13 mystery tales in all, three of which are short stories; the rest are in comic book form. Each story has a central mystery-like "Who stole the museum's painting?" "Who cheated at chess?" "Who planted the stink bomb?"-that gets solved on the last page, right after Max asks the readers if they've figured it out. On the last page of each story the perpetrator is named, along with how and why he or she committed the crime. Clues are laid out for the sharp eye and clever reader in everything from dialogue to art details in the background, which the clean, inviting art by Perez makes a pleasure to search for. This series is aimed for children and up, so in general younger readers might sift for clues while adults find them with much more ease. These stories previously ran in Owl magazine. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

Foiled
Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro. Roaring Brook/First Second, $15.99 (160p) ISBN 978-1-59643279-6
Aliera Carstairs attends a small high school in New York City and feels like an outcast in its crowds of cliques, jocks, goths, nerds, and preps. She's always been a loner and doesn't know where she belongs. The only control she has is fencing and the role-playing games she plays with her disabled cousin. Then the gorgeous and flirtatious Avery Castle becomes her lab partner, and a crush quickly ensues. Plus there's her mysterious practice sword with the irremovable ruby in the hilt. Famed YA author Yolen weaves a familiar tale of the heroine's journey, while addressing Aliera's helplessness before Avery's glamour. But Avery has some secrets of his own-cutting up frogs in lab class is his idea of fun-and all the threads converge at Grand Central Station in a botched first date that turns into a high fantasy adventure. Cavallaro's art is rounded and cartoony, handling action and the fantasy elements well while skimping a bit on characterization-his Avery is just a sorta cute cartoon boy, not a devastating heartbreaker, but Aliera is a strong and likable protagonist. Yolen weaves her knowledge of fencing vividly throughout the plot, powerfully creating romance, mystery, adventure, fantasy, and drama, all rolled into a strong narrative. Ages 11-up. (Apr.)

Also on PW

PW Picks for May 21, 2012 more...

PW's Best Books of 2011

Get ready for BEA with PW!