Book Review--Sumo

Sumo
Thien Pham
FirstSecond
December 2012

Scott had dreams of being a pro football player and when those dreams comes crashing down so does the rest of his world.  He doesn’t have a good job, his girlfriend dumped him, and about the only thing left to him is to move to Japan and become a sumo wrestler.  So...Scott leaves his old world behind him, even his name and hair color, to pursue this new dream.  And through the struggles and turmoils he endures, he begins to find a new focus in his world.

The approach to the story is very different that what someone would normally expect.  The story follows Scott through three key turning points in his life and only those three points.  We see Scott as he makes his decision to leave all that he knows behind, the first few weeks of his new life, and the point where he must make the next step in his journey.  Even though many readers are not likely to have experience with sumo wrestling we can relate to the struggles that Scott goes through to find his place in life, to find the balance that he seeks. And at the end of the story the three sections weave together to create a greater story and the hint of something greater.

The great thing that Thien does is the colors used on the pages help the reader know which time period the story is currently in.  The orange/brown shows the present, Scott's training in Japan; the blue pages show Scott’s past back in the states; and the green pages depict Scott upon first arriving in Japan those first few weeks of trying to figure out where he is.   Even better is that the page icons change based upon where you are in the story, with a plate being associated with the present, a water tower for the states, and a fish for those early days.  It’s an interesting way to tell a story and one that I’ve seen Jason Shiga (the color changes at least) use before, but Thien's method seems to be more effective to me.

Thien’s art style in this book reminds me a lot of old woodcuts, both German and Asian.  German with the seemingly heavy figures and the mostly monochromatic pages, and Asian because of the line use that forms the characters and the backgrounds...seemingly wandering around the pages and giving emotion to the people that we meet.  I really enjoy the heavy, yet fluid grace of the artwork.  I also really dig the big wide margins on the page, because it helps draw focus to the story and it helps make the page icons stand out a bit more and help them feel like a part of the story.  Although I initially thought the book should be printed on something with a nice texture to mimic woodcuts, but I like the semigloss paper that they chose, it really makes the colors stand out well.

This is one of those books that when I first read it I felt like I was missing something.  Perhaps it was the fact that stories weaved back and forth and I missed the color changes, or perhaps it’s the fact that I wasn’t quite sure to make of the ending of the story.  So I reread it and upon doing so found the things that I was missing and discovered the depth to this short, yet powerful story.  This is going to be one of those books that isn’t for everyone, because some folks won’t like the setup of weaving back and forth through three points in time.  And yet it is a book that everyone should read at least once and ponder on.  And for those that enjoy it they’ll really treasure it.  4 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review--Sailor Twain

Sailor Twain or The Mermaid in the Hudson
FirstSecond
Mark Siegel
October 2012


One hundred years ago a steamboat traveled along the Hudson River, captained by a man named Twain.  One dark rainy evening Captain Twain rescues an injured mermaid, carried her back to his cabin and began nursing her back to health.  And from that one act of kindness a terrible event is set in motion, that will shape the lives and destiny of all involved--the captain, a French nobleman named Lafayette, and a reclusive author named C.G. Beaverton with a secret.  For the mermaid has a secret and a curse...and she seeks to ensnare anyone that she can to help her.  There’s only one proven method for breaking the mermaid’s curse.  How many will fall prey to her powers?  And how many will come out whole in the end?

Sailor Twain.  That name just conjures up so many different memories if you’re familiar with literature and Mark Twain.  And while this story doesn’t have Mark Twain in it (it doesn’t reference him though) it does capture that essence of the river and its denizens.  The characters are captivating and from that very first page you want to know what happens to them, what made them be the way they are, especially Lafayette, the French nobleman.  And the situations the characters are placed in feel real, they make you wonder what you would do in a similar situation.  Would you be able to avoid the temptation of the mermaid’s call?  

The thing I love most about this book is the sheer amount of research and historical content that Mark adds to the story.  Dropping in names, characters, and places from the real world to create a fantastic and jaw dropping tale.  FirstSecond is one of my favorite publishers, in part because they’ve been taking chances on the stories they tell and how they deliver these stories to the world.  Lately they’ve taken to serialize some of the comics online--such as Tune, Friends With Boys, and this one--which gives readers a chance to build a community around the work, which ties into my favorite part of the historical context of the story given just how much is shared by Mark and the community at large.  I love the fact that he shares in the blog what influenced him while creating this work, as well as sharing images and articles that fans dug up.  I could see this being a great a book to use in a history class to help reluctant students see history come to life.  Ok yes the teacher would have to explain the mermaid but still...even that was a part of lore during the time period.  I wish that the printed book could capture all of the blog posts and the community built around this story.  Hopefully once the book is printed the posts and comments will remain because they offer such great additional material. 
 

I absolutely love Mark’s illustrations.  The smoky charcoal quality adds an air of mystery and suspense to the story.  It makes it feel like we’re really reading about something that happened on the banks of the Hudson a 100 years ago and I feel like I can hear the river lapping against the shore and the sound of the boats upon the river.  And that’s a feeling that I love.  Mark’s style reminds me of one of my other favorite FirstSecond works, Three Shadows.  Although Three Shadows, charcoal lines are much more fluid and dynamic on the page, Mark captures some of that same intensity within the way his characters move and float on the page.  The one thing that caught me a bit off guard with the print book vs the webbased comic is the paper choice.  In the webbased version you can see that Mark choose a stark white paper to sketch upon, which adds an interesting dynamic to the story with the stark white vs. the stark black.  The printed version is more of a cream color, which helps age the story and adds a different dimension to it, almost as if we’re reading the diary of Captain Twain from a 100 years ago.  I’m a little bit more partial to the webbased version paper, but for those that are just encountering the story for the first time the print version makes it feel like we’re really diving into history.  ***It should be noted that Mark draws the mermaid in her natural state, ie topless (I mean seriously what self respecting mermaid would war clothes?) Just in case you don't like that sort of thing.***

While the story stands alone, I recommend that readers also go and take a look at the blog and the community built there for some great extra material.  This is great addition to any collection and I highly recommend it.  I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.  

Review copy provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review--Broxo

Broxo
FirstSecond
Zack Giallongo
October 2012

Princess Zora is lost in a strange and desolate land. She's been looking for the Peryton clan so that she can lead them back to her father who hopes to unite all five clans together...and where she hopes to win the approval of her family.  But at the moment she’s lost, cold, and far from home on a desolate mountain where she's being chased by beasts and by zombies coming from all directions.  And the only person that she finds on that mountain is Broxo, a young warrior with no memory of his origins. Can Broxo and Zora solve the mystery of the missing clan? And can they stop the zombies before the zombies stop them?

The premise of the story is absolutely fantastic. I mean how can you go wrong with a missing clan and a princess warrior attempting to find them while avoiding zombies? And the story has so many familiar elements to it ranging from The Walking Dead to Bone to Avatar the Last Airbender. And that combination should create one of the most epic adventure stories ever.  And it does...for about half the book. The good half is where we see the characters of Zora and Broxo finding their place in the world, discovering that they can do more than they think they can and together they can accomplish great things. And of course there is Migo (a giant bear/horse/mountain goat type creature) who is ten kinds of awesome and should have his own book.  And...then in the other parts of the story it feels like we're missing pieces to the puzzle. For me it almost feels as if we're trying to combine too many different things together: Zora and Broxo finding their way; the mysterious villain, the missing clan, the zombies, and the death ritual of the clan.  And I’m thinking that part of the problem is that the story is really built like Bone, in that it needs the gradual buildup to the climax and then an epic conclusion for the last battle sequence...and that just can't happen in 230ish pages. I think the work would have been better suited to be divided up among multiple volumes, where more depth can be added to the story line or to have one 400ish page story. That being said some younger readers may enjoy this story line and feel that it's absolutely perfect to their tastes (which maybe where the author was going.)

I do like the art style in the book.  Much like the storyline it feels influenced by Jeff Smith’s work with Bone, with fluid line work creating interesting characters (especially Migo) and backgrounds to help draw the reader into the story.  While the colors are somewhat muted, they really capture the intensity of the world, especially in the mountains and the storms that are constantly brewing and swirling. There are also some nice contrasts of lights and shadows that really help set the mood. I also like the character design, especially the nonhuman character, such as Migo. They just have a lot of life and vitality to them that make them entertaining to follow.

Although I think we're missing part of the story, I’d still give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.  I think this book could appeal to young middle school readers, especially those coming across zombies for the first time.  I also hope that we get to see more of Broxo and Zora in another book to find out more about their universe.   

Review copy provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review---Legends of Zita the Spacegirl

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl
First Second
Ben Hatke
September 2012


I remember discovering Zita in webcomic format several years ago and being entranced, not only with the character of Zita and the adventures she took, but Ben’s incredible artwork as well. Sadly at some point I lost track of the site and Zita. And then...last year Zita the Spacegirl was released and Zita was able to tell us her full story of how she got into space. And why she was a hero.  I feel in love with Zita all over again and I couldn't wait to read more about her adventures.  Thankfully Ben is continuing the story and now we get the next chapter in Zita’s life as she attempts to make her way home.

In a junkyard on a planet far, far away a robot, a imprint-a-tron, crawls out of the wreckage around it and discovers a poster of Zita.  Meanwhile not too far away Zita's ship has just touched so that she can meet her fans and continue to look for a way home.  Of course her newest fan, the imprint-a-tron, will be there and it will be made up too look just like Zita!  Zita, looking for a few moments to herself, takes advantage of the doppelganger and  heads off for her own little adventure.  But troubles ensues as the robot decides it wants Zita’s life! And its off on a mission that it may not return from, as well as creating some trouble along the way.  Zita in pursuit of her friends quickly finds herself on wanted posters and the space police will stop at nothing to catch her. Can Zita make her way back to her life and those of her friends? Or will she end up wandering the far reaches of space for ever trying to get back home?



As much as I was looking forward to this second volume, I have to admit I was a bit worried when I started reading the story. The beginning seemed a bit slow and the story was almost predictable.  But I needn't have worried, because as soon as Ben entered the second chapter the story went down a path I could have never imagined.  It was like being on a good roller coaster ride, one that keeps you on the edge of your seat and cheering Zita on as she makes her way across the universe with good surprises waiting for you just around the bend.  Like the characters we get to meet!We get to meet a group of performers, one of whom has ties to Piper.  And we get to learn more about Zita's companion Mouse and that there is more to him than meets the eye.  Even better, we get to see Zita grow and mature in this volume as she continues her journey and learns some powerful lessons.



Ben’s artwork remains captivating, for the young and old alike. He wields colors deftly, creating masterful illusions of shadows and light, such as at the circus where colors spin madly in the air. The characters dance on the pages as they rush about the universe helping to save it. In many ways the design of the characters reminds me of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibbli’s work. The design of the spaceports is sure to keep readers enthralled as they look at the detail in the work. And the character design will keep readers captivated wondering what the next person we meet will look like.



I highly recommend this next volume in the Zita series and I can’t wait to see where Ben takes the story next. This is such a great series for young readers and I really like that Zita is such a strong female protagonist. 4 out of 5 stars.



Review copy provided by Gina at FirstSecond