An online friend asked me for some information recently, and it spurred this post. She was seeking recommendations on comics for kids, but she wanted monthly periodicals, which pretty much limited her to superheroes or Archie comics. (Actually, I recommended several of Boom!’s licensed titles, especially The Muppet Show and Toy Story, but her audience had a preference, it seems, for superheroes.) We were bemoaning the lack of information available on DC and Marvel kids’ titles for the library market, when I realized I’d never taken into account the attention span of the younger set when previously talking about how many great kids’ comics are out there.

Some of my all-time favorite comics are graphic novel series for kids, such as Owly or Amelia Rules!, but I’m an adult, and waiting anywhere from six months to two years for a new installment is nothing for me. I’m not sure kids have that much patience. When an original series like Amulet puts out a book every year, are kids still interested? Or does it depend on how old they are?

It would be nice if the publisher could fund the creator long enough for them to get some material under their belt and release every season (three months) or so, but I certainly understand that there’s a lot of potential for bad consequences under that method. Publishers don’t have that kind of money to float in many cases these days, and they want to know that the author’s work has an audience before laying out too much in advance.

Some great series have adopted different strategies to put out more than one book a year. Frankie Pickle, for example, is illustrated text with just a few comic sequences. Lunch Lady has sketchier art (although I shouldn’t assume that a minimal style means less work involved), as do Babymouse and Johnny Boo. Toon Books has gone the opposite direction, with substantial hardcovers that hold up to rereading while waiting for another title in the series. Also, all of their stories stand alone.

Not having any kids around to ask, I turn to my readers. I know many of you share comics with young ones, either professionally (such as in libraries) or personally (children, nieces, nephews). Do they prefer monthly comics to annual? Or do they pick comics based on their content alone?

Toon Books has grown into an impressive line of young reader graphic novels (or as they prefer it, sturdy comics for kids). If you haven’t yet sampled the books, they’ve posted some starter package deals at great savings. There’s a set recommended for beginners, one aimed at reluctant readers (called, obviously, “I Don’t Like to Read”), or one with all 11 of their current books at a savings of almost 50% off their $12.95 cover price. (If you’re looking for individual savings, Amazon has them all at 15-28% off.) For guidance, I’ve covered all the books in the following reviews:

• Benny and Penny in the Toy Breaker
• Luke on the Loose, Benny and Penny in The Big No-No!
• Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, Otto’s Orange Day, Silly Lilly
• Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever, Jack and the Box, Stinky
• Little Mouse Gets Ready
• Zig and Wikki: Something Ate My Homework

This may be the first time I’ve found an entire company line worth talking about!

Review by Roger Ash

TV animation of the 1980s seems to split most animation fans into two camps. On the one side are the fans who love it. These are often people who were kids in the 1980s, and they grew up watching the adventures of He-Man, The Thundercats, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and others. There’s even a magazine, Cereal Geek, devoted to animation of the 80s. These fans are passionate about their favorite shows.

On the other side are those who feel that watchdog groups like Action For Children’s Television and the American Family Association took the fun out of television cartoons in this decade. Anything that could be repeated by a child with bad results was forbidden, which saw the end of Road Runner-style slapstick comedy. The shows had to teach the viewers a lesson, so from the stories to the animation, they became bland under the restrictions. It was this state of affairs that Ralph Bakshi and crew were rebelling against when they unleashed Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures on an unsuspecting public in 1987.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s
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You can decide for yourself how you feel about the debate with the Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s DVD. This two-disc set collects eleven animated series. A quick aside –- I fall firmly into the second group described above. I was in ninth grade in 1980 and was not the target audience for most of these cartoons. But I was, and am, an animation fan. I wanted to like them, but that wasn’t the case. So, knowing that, let’s proceed.

All the cartoons in this set were produced either by TV animation giant Hanna-Barbera (Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, Jonny Quest, etc.) or Ruby-Spears. Ruby-Spears was founded by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who were former employees at H-B. It is no surprise that their cartoons have some similar qualities to those of H-B. And why not? H-B were television animation pioneers, and Ruby and Spears learned from the best.

The set opens with a little known Ruby-Spears cartoon, Goldie Gold and Action Jack. Goldie Gold is the world’s richest girl, and Action Jack is a daredevil reporter. Together, they get into all kinds of scrapes. In this episode, it involves Incas and the villainous Crystal Skull. Watching this episode reminded me of later Roger Moore-era James Bond films in that no matter what spot they found themselves in, Goldie had some gadget that was just the perfect thing to get them out of it. This ruined any suspense for me, as I knew they would easily escape any predicament they encountered, and neither of them has the charisma of Bond. Johanna recently reviewed this show and has a higher opinion of it than I do. Read on for Roger’s coverage of the rest of the episodes.

Fraggle Rock #1

The Fraggles return in a new licensed three-issue miniseries from Archaia, the first publication stemming from their deal with the Jim Henson Company announced last year. The comic is in the square format also used by Mouse Guard, and this first issue contains three color stories for $3.95 US.

The main story, by Heather White and Jeff Stokely, features faithful likenesses, but there’s a stiffness to them, a sense that we’re watching still photos of puppets instead of moving creatures. Kids likely won’t notice, since the Fraggles look so much like the TV show, if kids are even familiar with that. If they’re not, then they’re cute little weirdos.

The story features Red daring Gobo to spend the night in the Gorg garden, in order to prove he’s really a brave explorer. The structure allows lots of basics of the Fraggle world to be (re)introduced: the dog in the kitchen with the hole that opens to the Fraggle world, the Gorgs, the five main Fraggle characters, Uncle Travelling Matt, and so on. We even see the trash heap that serves as the voice of responsibility, reminding the characters of the virtues of teamwork and friendship.

There are two backup stories, one each written and drawn by Katie Cook and Jeffrey Brown. Katie’s is more cartoony, which I preferred, since it looked more like a comic than a storyboard for the show, while Jeffrey’s is distinguished by amazing, near-psychadelic colors by Michael DiMotta. Katie’s has a lovely lesson about not being bound by time or pushed into racing competition. There’s also a “how to draw Doozers” page.

Overall, these stories are typical of works for kids: the lessons sometimes take precedence over the entertainment value. That’s to please the parents, who control the pocketbook. I never found the Fraggles as entertaining as the Muppets, anyway; the Fraggles seemed created to tell these kinds of lessons instead of just having chaotic fun. So perhaps this comic is even more faithful than I thought! Either way, this is more of a kids’ comic than a truly all-ages one, with less to interest adults who aren’t Fraggle completists.

For collectors, there are three alternate covers, a 1-in-4 art alternative by Jeffrey Brown, a retailer summit cover, and a photo cover. I don’t understand why companies feel the need to put these chase covers on kids’ books, but so long as the sales keep the titles going and they reprint all of the art in the eventual collection, I can’t gripe too much about it.

The Muppet Show #4

Writer: Roger Langridge
Artist: Amy Mebberson
Boom! Kids, $2.99 US

Roger Langridge turns over art duties temporarily to Amy Mebberson with this issue, but if I hadn’t known to be looking for it, I’m not sure I would have noticed, since the characters have the same wonderful likenesses and movement. Although shorter than Fraggle Rock (24 pages at a lower price to Fraggle’s 32), The Muppet Show is so jam-packed that the reading value is similar, at least for me.

The concepts are still as bizarrely entertaining, with the book beginning with Statler and Waldorf cast as gods, playing chess with the other characters. Don’t worry, there are still plenty of gags, puns, and other random comedy, from Sam the Eagle doing Shakespeare to Muppet Labs doing “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Whether or not you get the references, there’s plenty of funny of all kinds, keeping all ages entertained and amused. Some of the jokes require close attention, playing out in the background over several pages, providing good re-read value.

The structure of a variety show allows for plenty of scene changes and inclusion of favorite bits, like “Pigs in Space” and Gonzo’s ridiculous stunts. Most excitingly to me, this issue features the introduction of Skeeter, Scooter’s twin sister. She’s a welcome balance to the male-heavy standard cast, and she provides some deeper emotion as Scooter deals with jealousy due to her abilities.

This is the best licensed comic out there for taking the original and making new stories that are completely faithful and yet totally new, with something for everyone.

Lunch Lady returns in her fourth adventure — I’ve covered the first two and third already — and the food-inspired inventions are as quirky as ever. After a quick demonstration of her fish stick nunchucks, the main story sends the kids off to sleepaway camp for the first time. Lunch Lady and Betty, her inventor assistant, are there to set up the mess hall, while bully Milmoe is spinning scary tales of a swamp monster.

Lunch Lady and the
Summer Camp Shakedown
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The black-and-white art is approachable and cartoony, with bright yellow highlight color pulling the eye to key items while soft yellow fills in the backgrounds for depth. The story stops dead early on, while Lunch Lady introduces the counselors and sets up two struggles: one power, one romantic. There are so many characters and so much going on that we don’t see much of our title character until almost halfway through the book.

The story winds up with the retro feel of a Scooby Doo episode, but the same could be said of any plot that involves someone thinking putting on a monster costume is a good way to scare others into getting what you want. In a post-X-Files world, any scary legend is going to get investigated, not run away from. And the gadgets get more ridiculous as we go — including a camera shaped like a cookie and night goggles that, for no reason, look like a stuffed taco — but kids will find them amusing in their goofiness, and they demonstrate a twisted creativity. There’s much discussion of a Camp Wars showdown that doesn’t happen in this volume; perhaps material for a later book in the series?

Due to the lack of Lunch Lady focus and too much else going on, my favorite book in the series is still the previous, The Author Visit Vendetta, but kids who enjoy the series likely won’t have my qualms. This volume is due out May 11, with an unfortunate price raise of a dollar.

Review by Ed Sizemore

No-ah is a novice magician living with his three pets: Guru (a male cat), Nanai (a male dog), and Pritz Rang (a female mouse). At times it’s hard to decide who’s adopted whom in the series. Certainly, the animals see themselves as equals with their owner. one fine day (the series title is done in all lowercase letters) is a gentle, slice-of-life, humor series with a little magical realism thrown in. The series is composed of everyday stories focusing on the relationship between the four main characters. one fine day is currently being serialized in Yen Press’ monthly anthology magazine, Yen Plus.

one fine day
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There is a lot of ambiguity in one fine day. It begins with the nature of the animals themselves. They can appear as either a literal cat, dog, and mouse or as human children with the ears of the respective animal. Sirial never explains if their human manifestations are real or simply a story device. You can argue that they appear in human form when Sirial is giving us insight into how they feel and think about a certain circumstance. However, they have the abilities to write, draw, and use household utensils as if they have real hands. It reminds me of the unexplained nature of the tiger, Hobbes, in Calvin and Hobbes. I’m glad that Sirial, like Watterson, doesn’t try to explain this feature of the series, since it would take away from its charm.

Next is the question of No-ah’s apprenticeship. They talk about him studying to be a magician, but they never discuss the kind of magic he is studying. He tries using magic recipes but unfortunately fails. So is No-ah trying to master potions and other magic foods? We know that he works at a bakery; is that part of his training? We are also told that No-ah is struggling with his apprenticeship, but we are never told why or what the problem is. It’s frustrating because it’s mentioned with enough frequency that we want to know more than we’re ever told.

Even the character designs are a bit ambiguous. I honestly thought the cat and the dog were female until the character introduction page made it clear they were males. I also would have thought No-ah was a woman if it wasn’t for the masculine name. I don’t mind the androgynous designs. The large eyes and soft features are perfect for expressing emotions.

Sirial has crafted some wonderful characters. I like that the animals are slightly unpredictable and at times mischievous; it makes them seem more realistic. They come across as good-natured children whose sense of play gets the better of them at times. I like that the cat is always one of the instigators, but the dog and the mouse seem to take turns getting in trouble. It’s also funny to watch them gang up on No-ah when they think he is being mean. The group dynamics are pure joy.

The artwork is sparse, and Sirial uses lots of negative space. This helps to emphasize that the focus is on the characters; where they are and what’s around them is incidental. Although Sirial is Korean, you can tell the art is heavily influenced by Japanese shojo character designs. Sirial makes wonderful use of the large eyes to evoke emotions. Sadness and joy radiate from the page more powerfully when the feeling comes from the character’s eyes. There is one area of confusion created by Sirial’s art: No-ah’s hair. I don’t have a clue as to what hairstyle Sirial is attempting to depict. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it leaves me utterly stumped each time I think about it.

one fine day in some respects reminds me of Ziggy. There is the same gentle, uplifting humor. Also, both artists use lots of negative space, although one fine day is more sophisticated in its presentation and storytelling. Sirial has created a series that is comfort food for the mind. It’s light, airy, and makes you feel good after reading it. Like Ziggy, this kind of unbridled positiveness isn’t for everyone. A read through the first 20 pages will let you know if one fine day works for you or not. If it does, it’s like the smile of a close friend. It instantly brightens your mood and makes the day better.

This isn’t a graphic novel so much as a scrapbook, a reprinting of comic strips first published as an online journal. (Third in a series, too; book one is The Curse of the Umbrella, book two The Prisoner Syndrome. All of the strip links below are from the NBM Blog, and the publisher provided a review copy.)

Little Nothings: Uneasy Happiness
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There are plenty of “day in the life” webcomics, but this one stands apart for a multitude of reasons: Trondheim’s outstanding ability, for the most obvious, but also because he has something to say and beautiful things to draw. He does things and goes places, to Venice and Portugal and tropical Reunion Island and Fiji, but he’s still himself, having ideas that don’t work out as planned or frustrating shopkeepers by knowing exactly which slippers he wants or worrying about whether the wheels on his new suitcase make too much noise.

His observations are fresh and interesting, drawn in detail with style and talent, and absolutely lovely watercolor coloring. His animal-headed people may take a moment to get used to, but they work well, especially the way Trondheim draws himself as a bird. At times, I could hear him squawking, feathers ruffled. One lengthy sequence has him trying to get his pet cat to catch a mouse; another has him frightened by a shark when snorkeling. In between, he works in his studio or shows what he sees while traveling or explores his love of tech-y gadgets.

His attitudes can be crotchety, or they can puncture pretension, as when an attractive, manicured formal garden is shown, ending with the thought “Boxwood shrubs must be the world’s most tortured plant.” He travels the world, but he’s still himself, sometimes fearful, sometimes catty, worrying about growing older. He seems like he’d be an interesting person to talk to, and that personality comes through the work.

Even when he’s simply at home, sorting through old papers, his perspective is unique yet recognizable. On the first page, he ponders how his diary notes when he ran a prestigious comic festival might be worth money someday, then realizes it’s more important to clean things away now, ending with a panel of a dustbin. That’s a motivation I can relate to: wondering how history will see creative work, than getting back to the demands of the present. I also liked a silly little strip about feeling like a superhero just for getting errands done effectively.

Reading each new volume of this series is like a vacation, traveling the world from the comfort of your home, and expanding your mind through vibrant observation and humor. The cartooning is impressive in its achievement, a wonderful journey through both subject matter and skill. (See this simple observation of his cat with a bubble for one of my favorite examples.)

I was surprised when the first issue (#0) of this new series ended on a cliffhanger — now I’m even more surprised that, after two more issues, the story still isn’t over. I hadn’t realized that the creators were aiming for something a bit more meaningful than your usual kids’ comic.

It doesn’t feel padded, because it’s a powerful, emotional story, as another Buzz Lightyear figure tries to replace the original one. As the first issue opens, true Buzz has been returned to the toy store, so the gang has to kidnap fake Buzz and all get back to the store.

New character Booster, an alien Space Ranger sidekick for Buzz, is the typical large, scary-looking fraidy cat type, which makes for approachable humor. Older readers will have seen the comedy routine before, but there was enough fresh paint (using mindworms to match the space theme) to keep it entertaining.

There were some jokes that I didn’t care for, though, because they were based on stereotypes I don’t want to teach kids. For instance, strongman Rocky’s putdown of those not as macho as him, “girly toy!”, reinforces the idea that only boys can be adventurous. On the other hand, Hamm’s gag about overly cautious toy makers made me laugh.

This will all make a great read in the eventual collection, when the story’s all in one place. It’s full of colorful action. The characters look like they should; Nathan Watson does a great job keeping them on model while still having them move and react. And Jesse Blaze Snider puts plenty of inspiring imagination on display, as when the gang of toys figures out how to steal a car. The cliffhangers are well-chosen, with just the right “oh, no, what happens next?!?” moment.

Issue #2 starts with the gang facing, as the story so far has it, “an entire aisle of angry Buzz Lightyear variants”. It’s amusing satire of the toy industry; more impressively, the writer later circles back around to the concept to add an emotional punch to another character’s motivation. The different Buzzes also allow for appropriate fighting partners: Woody faces off with space cowboy Buzz, while Rex has to cope with caveman Buzz (while questioning, as the reader might, the whole concept). Funny and exciting both.

My favorite bit, though … with the last Toy Story comic collection, I asked for more green army men, and here I got my wish in a surprise I won’t spoil. Last issue promises to conclude the storyline, after one more action-packed sequence for the Buzzes to complete. This series is one of today’s best kids’ comics out there.