graphic novel

Comic Review: Spacekid iLK

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Spacekid iLK by Andrew Hammond

Spacekid iLK: Invasion 101
by Andrew Hammond (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

iLK is a normal alien boy, flying around with his parents in a spaceship and invading planets. But when iLK’s father conquers Earth, he gets tired of being the supreme ruler of such a boring planet, and gives the job to iLK to teach him some responsibility. Earth is soon in danger, and it’s up to iLK to save the planet with the help of some friendly Earthlings!

Spacekid iLK by Andrew Hammond

Spacekid iLK: Stranded! (Spacekid iLK, #2)
by Andrew Hammond (Goodreads Author), Imogen Russell Williams (Editor)

4 out of 5 stars

Spacekid iLK is stranded on Earth, where Emilio is now in charge and has started a contest to be declared king of the world. iLK is forced to attend a boarding school. He tries to “make friends” by “recruiting” his fellow students to fight back against the evil Emilio, who has taken over the planet. When a mysterious bubble-shaped alien race show up, they seem friendly so iLK asks them to help him win the election to become king of the world.

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Graphic Novel Review: Everyday Hero Machine Boy

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Everyday Hero Machine Boy by Irma Kniivila

Everyday Hero Machine Boy
by Irma Kniivila, Trí Vương

4 out of 5 stars

A mysterious robot boy crash lands in a city, and soon his programming detects a threat. The programming goes into combat mode, attacking bystanders and accidentally destroying a grocery store greenhouse. But when a little bird is hurt, his programming seems to awaken a consciousness and the boy becomes aware of his actions. He looks around and realizes that the devastation is his own fault. He tries to make amends and rebuilds the greenhouse. He is adopted by a sweet lady, who he begins to call his grandmother. Gradually he learns to be human and fit in with society. But there are those who would use his robot programming for their own selfish ends.

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Graphic Novel Review: Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy

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Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy by Jonathan Hill

Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy
by Jonathan Hill 

5 out of 5 stars

Tommy has a secret. His family are actually lizard people trying to blend in with the human world. Tommy has to wear a human skin over his green lizard face. It’s difficult trying to be “normal” in middle school when everything is so different from your own lizard culture.
Tommy meets other seventh-graders who also have trouble fitting in. One of his new friends, Dung, is a Vietnamese boy who is dealing with culture shock and trying to learn English. They bond over their differences, discovering that they have more in common than they realized.

I loved this graphic novel! The plot is hilarious and emotional. The characters are complex. Their stories are meaningful. The setting and background are interesting. And the storytelling style is superb!

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Graphic Novel Review: Two-Headed Chicken

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Two-Headed Chicken by Tom Angleberger

Two-Headed Chicken
by Tom Angleberger (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

A brother and sister two-headed chicken duo travel through parallel universes, and in each universe they are chased by a hungry moose villain who wants to eat fried chicken.

This is an extremely silly graphic novel. I’m not sure I enjoy quite this level of silliness. I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head in confusion for most of the book. But I think that children who enjoy wild and weird stories will like this one! It’s too chaotic for me, but it is definitely imaginative.

I didn’t particularly like the art style. It’s jumbled and haphazard, like the story. I prefer both art and story to have more structure and polish. But for people who like weird art, this is cute! It is certainly colorful.

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Graphic Novel Review: Shuna’s Journey

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Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Shuna’s Journey
by Hayao Miyazaki, Alex Dudok de Wit (Translator)

4 out of 5 stars

Shuna is the young prince of a poor valley land with few crops and starving citizens. An old man travels into the valley and tells Shuna about a land with bountiful wheat. Shuna leaves on a journey to bring back seeds from this land. He rides through many dangers and encounters a land full of slave traders. He rescues two sisters from the slavers, and they travel together to the edge of the land of the gods where Shuna is hoping he will find the wheat.

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Graphic Novel Review: Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge

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Star Wars by Ethan Sacks

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
by Ethan Sacks, Will Sliney (Illustrator)

2 out of 5 stars

I ended up DNFing this book after reading other reviews that say that Han Solo and Chewbacca are only in the first chapter. So I read the first chapter, tried the second chapter, got bored and gave up.

I don’t super love the art style. Han looks like his face is all distorted or something. The aliens look cool, but that’s because they are supposed to be distorted and weird-looking.

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Two Graphic Novels from Action Lab

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Big Alien Moon Crush by Art Baltazar

Big Alien Moon Crush
by Art Baltazar

5 out of 5 stars

Two aliens of different species fall in love while their two moons are at war. Against impossible odds, they try to convince their families that they can live together in peace.

This graphic novel has no words other than “Bam!”, “Smash!”, “Boom!”, “Blast!” , and “Explode!” as the two alien groups wage their war. The art work is so expressive and the panels make the action so clear that you don’t need words!

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Graphic Novel Review: Fearbook Club

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Fearbook Club by Richard Ashley Hamilton

Fearbook Club
by Richard Ashley Hamilton, Marco Matrone (Illustrator), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)

3 out of 5 stars

Whit joins the yearbook club and takes some pictures around school, but when he develops the photos he sees children in the background who were not actually there. Could there be ghosts haunting the old abandoned sections of the school? With the help of this fellow students in yearbook club, he begins to investigate the missing children who have disappeared from the school over the years, and finds that the ghosts are trapped in a shadow realm. Could there be a way to save them?

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Graphic Novel Review: Thunderous

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Thunderous by M.L. Smoker

Thunderous
by M.L. Smoker, Natalie Peeterse, Dale DeForest (Artist)

3 out of 5 stars

Aiyana is tired of hearing Lakota stories and legends about her ancestors. She wishes her family would just focus on the modern world. When her class goes on a field trip to the mountains, she worries more about hanging out with the popular girls rather than with her cousin. She suffers a fall and is somehow transported to the world of the Lakota legends, where the trickster Raven tries to trick her into staying forever. To make her way back to the human world, Aiyana will have to complete several quests and befriend some talking animals along the way.

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Graphic Novel Review: The Day of the Unicorn

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The World of Yaxin by Man Arenas

The World of Yaxin: Day of the Unicorn
by Man Arenas

3 out of 5 stars

This graphic novel doesn’t really have a story. It’s more like a collection of poetic lines with a loose story line of a lady unicorn, who gazes at the moon with her princess friend and little fauns. She meets a male unicorn and the artwork shows the male jumping over her while she rolls on her back on the ground. This is suggestive, but the text just says that “Love meets Life”. Then we understand that the lady unicorn is pregnant.

When the baby unicorn is born, the illustrations show the baby coming out of the mother in the process of birth. It’s quite graphic but beautiful. The text describes the pain and blood, and the artwork shows the placenta. But it doesn’t feel inappropriate or gross. It shows the miracle of birth in a special way.

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