Comics Squad: Recess! edited by Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm and Jarret J. Krosoczka, 136 pp, RL 3
Comics Squad: Recess! is a very promising sign of the times. Graphic novels for kids are finally a strong enough presence, their creators and characters on the verge of being household names if they aren't already, that a book like Comics Squad: Recess! can be conceived and created. And it's sure to be a huge seller, especially at the very reasonable price of $7.99! As you may have guessed, the theme of each mini-comic is recess. Contributors try some new things, but also give fans more of what they love, which is great, and it's interesting and amazing to see the various artistic styles side by side. Comics Squad: Recess! is colored in shades of bright orange (poorly represented below) and grey, as seen in a spread from Gene Luen Yang's very funny The Super-Secret Ninja Club, which kicks off the book.
Eric Wight's Jiminy Sprinkles in "Freeze Tag" featuring a class full of food characters, including the star cupcake, Jiminy, stands out both for Wight's retro illustration style and the fact that a cupcake with arms and legs is just plain funny. Best of all, the editors teamed up to create interstitial pages in the form of a fake advertisement for "Babymouse Binoculars!" and a couple of "how to draw" pages including a really fun mash-up page that shows you how to draw Babymouse and the Lunch Lady all-in-one. There is also a page of Lunch Lady DIY home spy kit instructions. Get this book for your kids, they will love it! I can't wait to see what the next Comics Squad has has in store and who will be contributing.
Works by contributing artists and links to my reviews:
The Astronaut Academy Series by Dave Roman
The Adventures of Captain Underpants Series, by Dav Pilkey, and The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby and The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, written by George B. and Harold H., the stars of the Captain Underpants books.
And, newly illustrated in amazing FULL COLOR by the fantastic Dan Santat, Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Series, featuring invaders for each planet in every book in the series! Review to come...
The Frankie Pickle Series by Eric Wight
Abrams is already two steps ahead of the game with their EXPLORER series, edited by the brilliant Kazu Kibuishi. Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier also contribute to this series.
