Plenty for kids to enjoy, even if the storyline falls flat.
The Dinomighty crew works together to protect the Dino Lisa portrait from their nemeses.
Dinomighties Teri-Dactyl, Dave, T-Lex, and the chicken, Bach, leverage their strengths to outwit the bad guys led by Bully Mammoth. The Mayor of Dinotown charges the Dinomighties with protecting the priceless painting the Dino Lisa, but former baddies the Diplos are hot on their trail. They team up with Bully Mammoth, who is at the top of the nemesis list to try to steal the Dino Lisa and stop the Dinomighties. There’s plenty of content in this graphic novel with high appeal for kids: dinozombies, scatological humor, and fight scenes. The all-star, most fun character is the brainiac Bach, who only ever says, Bok! and who often swoops in to save the day with a hack or some chemistry. While the characters are all very likable and fun on the page, the plot is a little thin. There’s no clear motivation for the bad guys (why steal the Dino Lisa?) other than that they are bad guys who therefore do bad things. Blecha’s illustrations, however, add plenty. From little details, like the Diplos eavesdropping on the mayor, to the creative perspective in a scene where the dinozombies close in on the Dinomighties, the art helps buoy the story. The end sets up the next book in the series.
Plenty for kids to enjoy, even if the storyline falls flat. (Graphic fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-33157-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Etch/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
A winner.
When a young girl’s imagination and creativity are co-opted by a mysterious new friend, she must find a way to regain what is rightfully hers.
Sandy is a brown-skinned, dark-haired girl with big black eyes and a vivid imagination. At night, as she goes to sleep, she catches the lights bobbing about in her room and turns them into anything she imagines. The next day is spent drawing the fantastical creatures from her dreams, much to the detriment of her schoolwork. When a tall, pale-skinned girl with purple hair befriends her, Sandy is excited, though there is something eerie and unsettling about her new companion. Her excitement soon turns to anger as Morfie enters her imaginative nighttime world and tries to take it over. Readers will cheer at the clever way in which Sandy regains control. Using a lovely palette that includes a liberal amount of rich, dark purple, Colombian-born Alvarez has drawn a world that harks back to her native Bogotá and days in Catholic school, evoking it in wonderful detail and atmosphere. Her pages are not crowded yet are filled with details that will engage readers. The beings that inhabit Sandy’s nighttime world are simply delightful. The album size, cloth spine binding, and spot gloss on the cover are the icing on the cake of this beautiful graphic novel.
A winner. (Graphic fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-910620-13-7
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Nobrow Ltd.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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