Cardboard by Doug TenNapel YP FIC TENNAPEL

Mike’s out of work, out of money, and fast becoming out of hope.  With his wife gone and life seeming to slip out of control he’s forced to give the World’s Worst Birthday Present to his son Cam: a cardboard box.  When they realize that the cardboard is magic and anything they make with it comes to life, they break the cardboard magic rules and make a magic cardboard maker out of cardboard to make endless cardboard creations.  Mike learns the folly of disobeying Cardboard Rules when the snooty rich kid Marcus steals the cardboard maker and begins making an evil cardboard army.  

This is a very close to great (and often great) graphic novel form TenNapel.  I quite enjoyed his previous book Bad Island but complained that it was too short (right here).  Cardboard feels much bigger both in its page count, but also in scope.  It has amazing designs, loads of twists, suspense, action, laughs, and pitch perfect cartoony style art.  Then why would I say it isn’t a capital ‘G’ Great Graphic Novel?  Unfortunately in several important scenes TenNapel commits the sin of telling us exactly what the characters think through a speech.  Mike does it. Cam does it. Marcus does it.  Even the evil cardboard monster does it.  I often look to Jeff Smith’s magnum opus Bone when I read TenNapel’s work.  Both are fantasy/humor hybrids with a cartoony style, but Smith allows much more subtlety in the dialogue and lets his excellent facial work tell a lot of the story.  What is a bit galling is that TenNapel’s drawing skills exceeds Smith’s in many ways.  He really doesn’t need clunky speeches for us to get emotion or spell out the book’s themes.  However, with all the wit in ingenuity in this title readers will truly enjoy the book anyways.  It’s just that this book is so close to being a perfect graphic novel gem, the (very) minor flaws do standout. 

Fortunately, the strengths standout too.  The book keeps new ideas and developments coming fast and is endlessly visually inventive.  The huge array of cardboard creatures keeps getting better and better, and the final action packed chapters have loads of grisly cardboard carnage.  The humor is really strong throughout as well.  It’s really the best book of its kind since the Bone series and is a must read for any graphic novel fan.

You can check our catalog for Cardboard here.

Planesrunner by Ian McDonald YP FIC MCDONALD

Everett Singh’s father has been kidnapped right before his eyes.  Everett knew his father was working on something important, but had no idea it was a worlds-shattering invention: the infundibulum.  A map of all the multiple universes and where they intersect and can be traveled to and from. The infundibulum shows up on Everett’s computer and now he’s the most wanted teen in the multiverse.  He lands in a London populated by airships, pirates, and pursued by the villainess Charlotte Villiers. 

This is a fast-paced, fun, and exciting start to a series.  The plot moves whip fast from point to point. However, McDonald pays great attention to little details in description to help ground the reader, so they feel like they are along for the journey.  McDonald does a great job of making the alternate Earth seem strange and exciting, but also building a plausible history.  I loved the air pirates and their slang language, palari.  McDonald very wisely includes a glossary at the back and also a brief history of the origin.  My only gripes are that the characters are fun and likeable enough, but hardly complex.  Are hero is a bit too hyper competent to be believable as a 14 year old in mortal danger.  Also our villainess is just too plainly evil to be a truly interesting.  It helped that she sort of looks like Lady Gaga with an afro on the cover, so that I could imagine the book as a story of what will happen when Gaga mobilizes her monsters and starts a multiverse spanning evil empire. I really enjoyed the book even with my character complaints and hope to see more character development in future volumes of the series.  It’s got a fun concept that can be easily spun into loads of interesting worlds and sci-fi or adventure fans should definitely get on board.

You can check our catalog for Planesrunner here.

Lewis & Clark by Nick Bertrozzi YP FIC BETROZZI

Lewis and Clark’s epic journey west changed the fate of our nation forever.  This comic retelling of their great adventure takes a comic look at the adventures and misadventures that befell the famous duo.

Lewis and Clark were hardcore!  They were fighting, shooting, hallucinating (Lewis at least), fearless explorers.  The amount of ridiculous stubbornness they show in crossing the country is hilarious, inspiring, and hard to believe.  What is left out of many accounts of the famous expedition is how Lewis suffered from bizarre mood swings and eventually took his own life.  This is a funny but dark look at a wonderful true adventure.  The expedition is filled with unusual characters and surprising dangers.  The art is lively and inventive.  Bertrozzi keeps things fresh by playing with panel placement and size and excellent linework.  He makes America seem new again!  If you like comics or historical fiction, check out this  two-fisted, hair raising, bear shooting good time!

The Wild: The Secret Journeys of Jack London by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon YP FIC GOLDEN

Everyone knows that Jack London knows adventure. His stories of survival and danger in the harshest of climates were all based on his own travels as a young man. What people don’t know is of his secret adventures, adventures too unbelievable to write of…until now! 17 year old Jack London sets off for the Yukon during the Gold Rush. There he finds desperate criminals, harsh freezing weather, and a mysterious beast in the woods. Jack finds that the beast is actually the mythical Wendigo, a cursed once human creature that must feast on human flesh. Jack is saved by the Wendigo by a beautiful woman, but she holds secrets darker and more dangerous than even then Wendigo.

This is a cracking good start to a new series. Fans of adventure books should love seeing a young Jack London battle the elements and mystical creatures. The gritty realism of the first half of the book grounds the more fantastic elements very well. It makes the danger seem more present and severe. Jack is tough, smart, and resourceful but he’s not superhuman, so when he faces such grueling conditions and dangers it is made more exciting and believable because of his limitations. Pushing the limits of human limitations is ultimately what a lot of great Jack London books are about and the essence of great adventure. If you want a well written, action packed read then The Wild is your next can’t-put-it-down book. And if you enjoy this book definitely check out the main character’s actual books in FIC LONDON.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld YP FIC WESTERFE

The war between the technology obsessed Clankers and the bio-engineering enthusiasts the Darwinists continue in this action packed sequel to Leviathan Our heroes Prince Alex and Deryn are trapped between enemy lines in Clanker run Germany and have to use all their abilities to survive.

The Leviathan trilogy is a Steampunk look at the beginnings of WW I. Steampunk takes historical settings but adds cutting edge technologies that are powerd by the fuels and sciences of the time. So they have a giant whale warship for the bio-engineering Darwinists and the clankers used steam powered robots. It makes for very fun reading and lots of great action, but Westerfled goes above and beyond the call of duty by filling his books with interesting and well developed characters that readers can get behind. Definitely read Leviathan before picking this one up, but if you like sci fi or you like historical fiction but are looking for something kind of different then this series is for you.