Sunday, October 30, 2022

Donut the Destroyer - Sarah Graley

Donut the Destroyer - Sarah Graley

Donut the Destroyer, daughter of famous villain couple the Destroyers, lives in a world in which most people have some kind of power and are either heroes or villains.  Despite her heritage, she wants to go to Lionheart Academy and be a hero.  Her parents and best friend object, and once she attends, she finds suspicion from the instructor.  Luckily, she finds a couple of nerds who take her in, but will they be enough to keep away her scheming villainous ex-friend?  Yes.  This is not a meditation on morality, Watchmen or Irredeemable style.  It's for kids.  Donut's parents love and support her despite her decision.  It's basically a shiny happy story. The sketchy, cartoony art put me off, but the writing is fairly sharp and funny, and I wouldn't mind reading a sequel.  [3.5]

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Aster - Thom Pico

Aster - Thom Pico

  1. Aster and the Accidental Magic - This adventure for kids is translated from the original French in two volumes (Aubépine: le génie saligaud and Aubépine: le renard furax).  In a world not quite like our own, a couple bring their young daughter, Aster, to live in the countryside to avoid a race of intelligent and angry birds engaging in their annual migration, destroying everything in their path.  Exploring the "boring" countryside on her own, Aster discovers a very naughty genie who grants her three wishes with a monkey's paw style literality.  Also, she befriends an ancient woman who keeps a flock of woolly dogs and her frenemy, a distrustful fox that wants to rule the world.  It's entertaining enough, but a little too wacky and "anything goes" in its world-building; I'm not sure what the birds have to so with anything.  [3.5]
  2. Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic - Aster is alienating her older brother and her classmates by seemingly ignoring them, but in reality her duties as the magical Queen of Summer take up all her free time. Saving the town from a bureaucratic talking ram and his army of rebellious, albeit inept, sheep requires Aster to let Reed in on her secret, and seek help from her classmates and neighbors. Later, Aster explores a magical realm and continues her epic battle of wits against the valley's trickster spirit.  I thought this one was funnier and more carefully plotted than its predecessor.  I especially like how Aster devises clever, nonviolent solutions.  [4]

Monday, October 17, 2022

History Comics - various

History Comics  [First Second] 

The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy In the Skies - Pranas T. Naujokaitis
A thorough, informative look at the 1986 Challenger disaster, from the first plans to start up a shuttle program to the day of the tragedy itself and its aftermath.  The author uses the conceit of setting the story in 2386, on a space station orbiting Mars.  Four children have been tasked with a report on the Challenger disaster on its 400th anniversary.  While they have quirks, the kids are rather two-dimensional (the serious student, the nerd who gets sick at virtual reality, the slacker, etc).  I'm not sure how much the kid characters (or the future setting) add to its readability, but possibly it's a good hook to keep children readers interested.  The art is somewhat more cartoony than I like for something this technical, detailed, and, let's face it, somber.  But the information is good, and presented very clearly.  [3.5]
 
The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery - Chris Schweizer
An entertaining and comprehensive investigation into the famous lost colony. narrated by two historical Native Americans, Manteo, a Croatan, and Wanchese, a Roanoke, who traveled to England and eventually became, respectively, a friend and an enemy to the invaders.  It's absolutely fascinating reading; I didn't know half this stuff, or maybe had forgotten.  Schweizer doesn't spare the reader the atrocities that the English inflicted on the inhabitants, and ends the book with some plausible-sounding theories about what may have happened to the colonists (backed up by some hearsay evidence).  He also includes some rather fanciful theories involving aliens, which I thought was odd until I looked up some of the "sky battles" reported in 1561 and afterwards. He even includes some ideas on why Simon Fernandes may have been a traitor to the expedition, or (Rashomon-style) not.  Great art and superb story-telling.  [5]

The Wild Mustang: Horses of the American West - Chris Duffy
An extremely thorough and well-researched examination of the importance, use, and history of the American wild horse.  Told by a Pueblo-looking horse figure to a couple of Pueblo-looking humanoid figures, it covers an astounding amount of information, from the proto-horses of prehistory, to Apache raids on horses, to Wild Horse Annie's grassroots efforts to save horses,  to modern-day protections of mustangs on public lands.  Duffy is an accomplished writer with a breezy, witty style, and Falynn Koch, the artist, brings his words to life with truly beautiful horses, landscapes, ships, and so on.  A really superb summary that should be on the shelf of anyone interested in American history.  [5]