A breathless and colorfully rendered saga of an ex-soldier’s flight from a cadre of bounty hunters—and from his own past.
A former soldier and his robot companion struggle for survival in Perillo’s comic SF graphic novel, featuring art by Cardoselli.
Disruption is the essence of classic dystopian fiction. However, the problems that face a New Yorker called Peace Dog—a former soldier scarred by brutal events in his past—feel more extreme than most. One is unbreathable air, which only Air Co.’s oxygen generators can remedy, and few people can afford them. Like his fellow city dwellers, Peace Dog is preoccupied with the grueling business of survival, and he’s ducking a crew of unbalanced hunters who hope to collect a bounty on him (“My gun is pointed at a head worth $100,000,” says one early on). The Big Apple depicted here is a rotten one, with its fabled features—such as Central Park, now only a barren desert—rendered largely unrecognizable by recent calamities. Along comes the Kid, a robotic youth who wants Peace Dog to help him escape from the dangerous city to the Northern Mountains and finally find some measure of peace. Understandably, Peace Dog is skeptical (“I don’t help anybody”), but he eventually signs on, presumably emboldened by his superior combat skills and adeptness with a samurai sword. What the pair encounter, as the story progresses, will push them to their physical and mental limits. Perillo and Cardoselli’s tale traverses the type of terrain that will instantly feel familiar to any fan of Mad Max (1979) or Escape From New York (1981). Any new creator in the post-apocalyptic genre faces an uphill battle, because the groundwork was cast in cement long ago, but the creators prove up to the challenge in these pages. The brisk and bare-knuckled hardboiled storytelling unfolds at a rapid clip, and an unlikely blend of SF and Western elements in a detailed style works heavily in its favor. For teenage fans who can’t get enough of dystopias, this offbeat, action-oriented cocktail should prove to be irresistible.
A breathless and colorfully rendered saga of an ex-soldier’s flight from a cadre of bounty hunters—and from his own past.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781545812563
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.
Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life.
Wondrous visitors encounter a desperate pocket of humanity.
Lori, a white orphaned teen who’s finally been adopted after bouncing around various foster homes, awakens to discover that nearly everyone has disappeared. The rapture? Maybe. She runs into her classmate Annette, who has brown skin and curly black hair, and they partner up to scavenge for food. The pair tries to evade several threats, such as the large Wolves and a gang called The Dogs. Supernatural Giants arrive, seemingly from space, speaking an impenetrable language of “musical chiming and weird bass-rhythms.” Lori and Annette then meet Beatrice, an older white woman who shares important observations about the Giants and Wolves. The tone of the story then subtly shifts from post-apocalyptic desperation to one that’s somewhat playful. After a certain point, a visual element that appears early on takes on clear significance and meaning in the context of the story at large, offering a subversively humorous twist for readers to consider and a creative element that deviates from other alien invasion narratives. Hans’ artwork and paneling fill each scene with wonders. An interaction with a giant sees the red, violet, and pink figure standing against a bright, otherworldly white-and-blue backdrop with dark contours. Elsewhere, Lori and Annette pause at night as they behold ominous shadows, their foggy breath forming clouds, and they hear a “KRRNCH” sound. The quick-moving plot wraps everything up neatly.
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life. (character designs) (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781534387072
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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