Bone 1: Out from Boneville
Bone 2: The Great Cow Race
by Jeff Smith
ages: 10+
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Bone has been around for YEARS and I’ve heard that I should read it for YEARS, but I’ve put it off. Don’t ask me why.  But, on a whim a while back, I threw Bone 1 and Bone 2 in my library pile, just to see what the fuss is all about.

The story is basically about these three Bone cousins: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. Phoney has a propensity to come up with get-rich-quick schemes, and one involving bad prunes got him run out of town. Fone helps him get away; Smiley is along for the ride (not being very bright). They get lost in a desert, and end up crossing over some mountains into a valley far away from Boneville. They get separated, and you follow Fone through the winter. He makes some friends — most notably a red dragon, whom no one seems to believe exists — and some enemies — most notably some rat-like creatures who are always chasing him. (Except they disagree on how to cook and eat him; one seems to be fixated on putting him in a quiche.) Eventually, Fone meets Thorn — a beautiful girl — and she takes him back to her Grandma Ben’s place. They run into Phoney and Smiley in town (they’ve taken up with a tavern owner as his employees, since they don’t take the money Phoney has tucked away).

In the second, there’s a bit with a fair and Fone falling for Thorn (and being jealous of this hunky but kind of stupid boy she falls for). And Phoney and Smiley try to rig the great cow race so they’ll get rich (quick). But, of course, things don’t go right: the race is interrupted by legions of rat creatures, who seem to be working for a hooded man who is after Phoney Bone for some reason. And Thorn keeps having dreams about a cavern and the dragon Fone has made friends with.

I enjoyed these. I’m not sure I loved them, but I recognized the appeal. There’s humor and suspense, and I liked how Smith has multiple story lines going on at once.  I liked the drawings, the cartoonish quality of everyone (Grandma Ben was my personal favorite). And yes, I’ll probably pick up the rest just to see where the overall story line is going. Maybe I’ll learn to really love them.

by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre
ages: 9+
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This won the Cybils Middle Grade Graphic Novel award this year, and so I knew I had to read it. I ordered one in at the store on Charlotte’s recommendation but no one seemed to be interested in it (though I tried to sell it). Good for me, though: the library didn’t have a copy so I bought it and brought it home.

And everyone who’s picked it up has loved it, from Hubby all the way down to A.

The basic story: Claudette is a bloodthirsty young girl living in this town in the shadow of giants. She wants giant blood, and will do anything to get out there and get at them, even though she knows the dangers (her father, the town blacksmith lost both his legs and one of his arms in the Forest of Death). Determined, she convinces her younger brother Gaston (a budding chef, and a swordmaker want-to-be: “I’ll call it Gaston’s Sword and Sweets Shop.”) and her best friend Marie (a princess in training) to sneak out of their town and go giant  hunting. What they find is an Adventure in the grandest sense.

It’s an absolutely delightful graphic novel. It’s got bright and bold colors, and nothing (not even the Forest of Death) is terribly frightening, making it great for the youngest of readers. It’s also terribly funny (we all loved Gaston best), and worth reading over and over again (as A has done).

I’d love to read more of Claudette’s adventures, but barring that (yay! A Graphic novel that isn’t a series), I’ll be happy to read more of what Rosado and Aguirre offer up.

by Nathan Hale
ages: 9+
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I suppose if your name is Nathan Hale and you are an illustrator, it’s probably inevitable that you do a graphic novel series on American History. And,  as part of that, do one on the Revolutionary War spy, Nathan Hale.

On the one hand, I found this graphic history to be highly entertaining. Hale framed the story around the execution of Revolutionary Hale, allowing him to tell his story to the hangman and a lone British soldier. They weave in and out with commentary and gallows humor (har har), but get all the basic historical facts in there. It’s history and at times it’s entertaining.

On the other hand, though, it’s cluttered. It’s not laid out very well — chapters would sometimes start in the middle or near the end of the page. I found it really hard, visually, to get into the story, to keep track of each of the players. Half the time, I didn’t know whether or not Hale was even a part of the action. It didn’t draw me into the story, and it sure didn’t often keep me there.

It’s a good idea, telling history in graphic novel form, making it more accessible to the younger kids that way. I just wish it could have engaged me more.

Amulet, vol. 5
by Kazu Kibuishi
ages: 10+
First sentence: “You’ve never heard about the Great Erlking?”
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Others in the series:The Stonekeeper, The Stonekeeper’s Curse, The Cloud Searchers, The Last Council

To catch you up (this is as much for me as it is for you):

Emily and Navin’s father died in a car crash, and their mother has been kidnapped. They follow her into this strange world, and discover that their grandfather was a stonekeeper, a role that has passed on to Emily. In this world, the Elf King is a tyrannical ruler, someone who needs to be overthrown. Except he, too, is a stonekeeper, something which gives him unlimited power. It’s up to Emily, Navin, and the friends they collect to work together to overthrow the king.

Up until now, the books have been about Emily learning about her powers, and the kids making and collecting friends as part of the resistance. But (finally!), in this one, I felt like the plot was actually moving forward again. We’ve got an actual physical bad guy, rather than a distant one (kind of like the difference between Sauron and Saruman). We’ve got a battle. We’ve got a gorgeous two-page spread of a monster attacking a ship. (Seriously: it’s amazing.) We’ve got a backstory explaining how the Elf prince became exiled and how the bad guy became the bad guy. We’ve got (some) ANSWERS.

And, as always, my thoughts on the book are the same: gorgeously drawn, brilliantly plotted, and the next one can’t come out soon enough. (I think I need to break down and buy these!)

by Ben Hatke
ages: 9+
First sentence: “Zita the Spacegirl!”
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Others in the series: Zita the Spacegirl

Picking up right where the first installment left off…

Ever since saving the planet from the asteroid (sorry, mild spoiler there), Zita has rocketed to Fame. She’s flying with Piper and her robot friends from planet to planet, signing autographs, looking for a jump crystal so she can return home.

Then, on one far-reaching planet, she discovers a robot that is such a big fan that it dresses up like her. Then it really kind of looks like her. Then, while Zita and Mouse are off enjoying the circus, it takes her place, leaving her stranded yet again. She steals (well, “borrows”) a spaceship, which puts her on the wrong side of the law, and manages to get rescued by non other than Pipers ex (girlfriend? wife?), who helps Zita catch up with Piper and the impostor robot on a planet that needs saving from the Space Hearts.

A pause right here: the Space Hearts? So very clever. Evil hearts (yes, really) that attack a planet until its completely devastated, controlled by a Queen Heart. Too cool for words.

Like Zita, this one is colorful, creative and a whole lot of fun to read, from the oldest person in my house (yes, Hubby did pick it up) down to the youngest. Zita’s a great heroine, and there are some surprising twists and turns as we follow her adventure and her ultimate quest to get home. Another quick side note: I didn’t pick up the first before diving into this one — I know: silly — but I didn’t need to. Hatke got me up to speed quite quickly, and I was able to take off and enjoy this story.

But much like the Amulet series, the next one can’t come out fast enough for me.

by Christopher Ford
ages: 11+

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Review copy provided by the publisher

First off: this is the second in a series. I have no idea how I ended up on a list to have this one sent to me — I didn’t request it! — but I’m sure glad I did. I’m definitely going to find the first one now.

For this reason alone: it is one of the more clever interpretations of mythology that I’ve seen in a long, long time.

It’s been forever and a day since I’ve read the Odyssey, and I don’t remember squat from it. The good news: you don’t really need to have read it to enjoy this one. In fact, you don’t really need to have read the first one in the series, either. I’m sure it helps if you have, but it’s not truly necessary.

What I really liked was the combination of Greek mythology, a really cool adventure story, and base humor. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading a for a long(ish) time this weekend, but I found lines like “I am Artemis, the Huntress Goddess of this forest and all wild things including bears!” and “I’m so hungry, all I’m pooping are farts!”  and “Did you dim, little mortals EAT my beloved sheepies?” to be really funny. (They are in context, promise.)  This graphic novel has Boy written all over it. Not that I minded.

As for the art: the stick figures (because it’s the Stickman Odyssey) work. Honest. It’s not great art, but it’s a gimmick, and in this situation, it’s a good one. It’s silly, it’s fun, it’s interesting, and maybe it’d even get someone to look up who the heck Nyx is.

Here’s to more Stickman adventures!

The Dark Knight Returns, Dark Knight Triumphant, Hunt the Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Falls
by Frank Miller/Klaus Janson/Lynn Varley
and
Batman: The Killing Joke
by Alan Moore/Brian Bolland/John Higgins
ages: adult
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My husband picked up these comics, first run, back in the mid-1980s and has kept them in pristine condition (yes, in plastic sleeves) ever since then. He has been after me to read them since the first Dark Knight movie came out in 2005, and since my only frame of reference for Batman was the movies (yes, I did see the ones with Michael Keaton, though I’d bailed by the time George Clooney took a turn), I agreed. And then stuck the comics on my shelf for years.

So. Since the last of the three movies is coming out this year, I told Hubby that I’d finally get around to reading them. And as I was hunting around for something to read, he reminded me of my promise.

I’m not really going to give a plot summary, since I’m not sure I really comprehend fully what went on, but how about some thoughts:

1. The Killing Joke is totally the 1989 movie. Tim Burton totally ripped if off. That said, it was a pretty intense stand-alone comic. I liked the interplay between Batman and the Joker, the ways in which they were connected. And, honestly: the Joker scared the heck outta me.

2. The other four were fascinating. I liked the idea of Batman being older — in his 50s — and coming back to the… gig… after a long time away. I liked the use of the old villains — Harvey Dent and the Joker — mixed in with newer ones. I liked the interplay between Batman and his third Robin (first one left, second one died), a 13-year-old girl named Carrie Kelley. That made for some interesting dialogue, especially since he kept trying to fire her.

3. I liked the constant discussion going on in the background about whether or not Batman was “good” or “bad.” As Hubby pointed out when we were talking about this, he’s both. And that’s what makes him interesting.

4. What really surprised me was the role that Superman played. I guess it’s common knowledge in the comic book world, but obviously people showed up in others comics. And the interactions between the two superheroes are quite fascinating.

And from all this, I saw just how much Christopher Nolan respects and uses the Frank Miller comics as his inspirations for the movies. Which leads me to two conclusions: 1) the movie will be pretty awesome, and 2) don’t expect it to have a happy ending.