When I first started writing about books over a decade ago, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I loved the idea of publishers sending me books to read and review, and it was particularly delightful to receive advance galleys well before the publication date so I could get a head start! What I wasn’t prepared for was that once you turn that tap on, there’s no way to shut it off. Even though I hardly write about picture books anymore (my youngest is wrapping up elementary school and is mostly interested in graphic novels, but our days of sitting and reading picture books to her are long past), hardly a week goes by without at least a few picture books arriving in the mail. And even though I started my Stack Overflow column a few years ago as a way to check several books off my list each week, I never feel like I’ve actually made much progress. My office shrinks daily as more boxes of books accumulate on the floor (next to the overflowing shelves). I imagine my kids will continue getting books in the mail long after I die (hopefully not anytime soon).
I don’t like to complain, because I know I’m really lucky! It’s a mixed blessing—sometimes I end up spending more time managing my books than actually reading them. For now, though, I’m doing what I can to work through these stacks. I’m making good progress this year so far by focusing on the boxes of comics, which I can usually read a little more quickly than prose (non-fiction prose is especially slow reading for me). The downside is that comics are often the books I most want to keep for future re-reading (haha, right?) so it doesn’t necessarily help me clear out as much space in the house, but at least they get moved from my office to-be-read piles up to the family library already-read piles. (Yeah, there are piles on the floor there, too.)
With that in mind, let’s dive into today’s stack, a smorgasbord of comic books that I’ve read recently: some new-ish, some not-so-new, and some so new they’re not even out yet!
Gina and the Last City on Earth and Hilo: Rise of the Cat by Judd Winick
These two are books 9 and 10 in the Hilo series. (Books 7 to 9 focused on Gina so her name is in the titles instead.) If you haven’t read any of these yet, you probably want to start at the beginning, but the tl;dr is that my kids and I have really enjoyed this series a lot. Although it is a bit goofier than the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, one of the things it shares is that the stories have a bit of nuance when it comes to “good guys” and “bad guys.” At first it all seems pretty straightforward, but as you progress through the books you understand that what we’ve seen is through a limited perspective, and that there may be more information that the characters didn’t know yet. Plus, people can change and grow. It’s not all about blasting enemies with magic or energy beams, but it’s also about talking to people and correcting misunderstandings and building empathy.
Book 9 concludes a story arc about Gina and her great-great-great-grandmother, Reggie, involving some sort of weird time-related accident that changed Earth’s history. Earth is full of magic and magical creatures, and has been for thousands of years. Except Gina knows it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Time is running out, though, because the current Queen of Earth keeps talking about the “coronation” of her two kids and it sounds like it’s more than just a fancy ceremony.
After that plot line is wrapped up (minor spoiler: Earth isn’t destroyed), we jump to another story featuring Polly, the warrior cat from another planet. She is one of the youngest apprentice sorcerers ever, but now her adventures with Hilo and the gang—and in particular, teaching Gina some magic—have gotten her in trouble, so she’s being sent to Wombatton, the magical boarding school where all the trouble kids are sent. While she’s there, she realizes some weird things are happening—weird monsters keep appearing on the school grounds and threatening the students. There’s so little of Hilo and the rest of the gang in this particular volume that I’m surprised it didn’t have “Polly” in the title, but it seems like maybe by the next book we’ll be back to the whole gang again.
I really liked this last book a lot: not only do we get to see a bit more about Polly’s home planet Oshun, but we see a bit more of her family and her interactions with them. I loved the way that her parents teach her what’s important, often with a wink and a nod when they don’t agree with a rule but are forced to follow it. One of the subplots in the book involves a robot student, Noria, who can do magic—she faces a lot of prejudice from both the other students and the faculty at Wombatton, because the animal people of Oshun simply don’t believe that robots are capable of magic. Polly and her family are quick to welcome Noria, and it’s clear that even though they can be trouble-makers, they try to do the right thing.
If you’re a fan of the Hilo series, it’s definitely worth catching up on these two latest volumes. (And if you aren’t yet, no time like the present to discover your next favorite series!)
The Mighty Onion by Mark Crilley
Eliot Quigly has a great idea for a superhero comic, one that he’s sure will bring him fame and fortune … but the problem is, he can’t draw at all. Fortunately, he’s found the perfect illustrator in his class, Pamela Jones. It takes a little convincing, but she finally agrees to illustrate his script, and everyone agrees it’s pretty great. But then the creative differences start to arise. As the comic gains fans among their classmates and even some teachers, Eliot gets angry that nobody recognizes how the writer is so much more important than the artist. And can you believe the nerve Pamela has, making changes to his sound effects or adding her own ideas when she draws the comic?
The superhero comic itself is pretty silly—the Mighty Onion is a kid who got his powers from eating radioactive onion rings—but the real story is about Eliot and Pamela learning to work together to create something that neither of them could do on their own. To be honest, though, it’s mostly about Eliot learning a lesson—the story is told from his perspective but it’s clear that he’s a self-centered jerk and Pamela’s not at fault in most of the conflicts. I guess that’s not too far from the truth, though, that often society expects women to do the work to appease short-tempered men who think too much of themselves. Sigh.
Eliot’s own writing and drawing has the feel of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and I was worried at first that it would just be a sort of knock-off of those, some kid who can’t draw illustrating an entire book. But as it turns out, the book does show off Crilley’s illustration chops—not only in the comic book sequences (which look like something a talented student could pull off) but in the many extras pictured throughout the book: the various notebooks and stationery that Eliot uses, crumpled up wads of paper, the greasy bag of onion rings that inspired the story. It does come together in the end, and there are some fun laughs along the way.
The Dog Knight written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Bre Indigo, colors by Melissa Capriglione
While trying to protect a stray dog from some bullies at the park, Frankie gets conked on the head, and wakes up in a weird magical doghouse. They learn about the Pawtheon, a group of dogs who protect humans from supernatural evils—and they want Frankie to be the Dog Knight. All they have to do is pass the trials to prove they have the six dog virtues: loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell. Oh, and they have to wear this weird helmet so they can understand dogs and see the gremlins and shadow creatures that wreak havoc in the world.
Frankie isn’t sure about the idea at first—particularly because their mom is very allergic to dogs—but after seeing the gremlins in person and what they’re capable of, they rise to the challenge. This book feels a bit like the origin story—it’s about the six trials, which Frankie has to pass while also juggling things like school, an upcoming band concert, and dealing with a former friend who didn’t handle it well when Frankie came out as non-binary. Note that there is a warning at the front of the book that it does include some bullying, misgendering, and transphobia because not all of the characters in the story are kind to Frankie, but ultimately it is a positive story. I’m not sure if there are more books to follow, but this volume is more about Frankie becoming the Dog Knight (and discovering a bit more about who they are in the process) and opens the door for more adventures as the Dog Knight in the future.
The Well written by Jake Wyatt, illustrated by Choo
Lizzy and her grandfather live on a small island in an archipelago that is beset by monsters. Her parents and grandmother had tried to vanquish the leviathan when she was just a baby, but they never returned. Now, Lizzy is a young woman, ready to run errands to the city on her own. When she takes just a few coins from a well to pay for the ferry home, her world is upended. The well must be repaid, because each coin represents a wish that somebody made, and now Lizzy is responsible for granting those wishes or the minions of the well will come to claim Lizzy. As it turns out, the three wishes are intertwined with Lizzy’s own past, and granting them involves digging into some old secrets. The story is beautifully illustrated, and some of it has the feel of an old folk tale, with the wishes and curses and magical monsters.
The Books of Clash Volume 3 written by Gene Luen Yang, pencils by Kendall Goode, inks by Alison Acton
You’ll have to wait until May to read this one for yourself, but in the meantime you can catch up on the first two volumes, which came out last year. (I mentioned them in this Stack Overflow column.) They’re inspired by the mobile games, but Gene Yang has given the worlds a life of their own, with each volume focusing on a particular character and, as he said during a book reading, inspired by a particular childhood neurosis or trauma of his own.
This one features a duo: Sonny the golem and Zeke the wizard, who have a winning combo move in the matches that have earned Sonny the nickname “Launchpad.” The only problem is, Sonny hates it—both the move and the nickname. However, he’s determined not to fit the golem stereotype of being a raging, savage monster, so he just goes along with whatever his teammates want, even while he’s stewing inside. Eventually, though, it all comes to a head, and something happens that the team is forced to deal with.
I never thought I’d be invested in the stories of characters from a mobile app, but that’s the magic of comics for you! Even though Sonny is a magical rock creature, I could relate to his “go along to get along” mentality, and the difficulty of advocating for yourself when you feel like it may inconvenience those around you. It’s about being authentic and honest, and trusting that your friends will accept you as you really are rather than as whatever it is you pretend to be. And, of course, it’s about electro-wizards and magical spells in Pig Latin.
My Current Stack
I’ve got a few more upcoming comics that I’ve read recently that I’ll share soon, plus I’ve just started (finally) reading Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, a middle grade book by Xiran Jay Zhao (who wrote The Iron Widow). I’ve also got a stack of books I’ve been working through about democracy, tyranny, misinformation—fun stuff, right? That one will take a bit of digesting but I’ve been thinking about the best way to share those as well.
Disclosure: I received review copies of these titles. Affiliate links to Bookshop.org help support independent booksellers and my writing!
