This week it’s all for the classics. Classics Illustrated has been about for decades. My father would tell me he got through literature in High School because of this series should give you an idea how long the concept has been around. Don’t be afraid to introduce these to your kids. I had a digest version of Classics Illustrated of Sherlock Holmes in the 3rd grade and loved it! Papercutz has brought the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew into the 21st century. My mother and Aunt collected the blue cover editions of Nancy Drew, and I read my school’s library entire selection of them. It’s a great series to get your kids into.
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At Newsarama, Tracy, Shelby, and Sarah Edmunds interview Landry Walker about the new Supergirl comics in which Supergirl looks like a girl. They also review Andi Watson’s Princess at Midnight, and they tip us to Riverside Reads, a comics website run by Scott Tingley’s third-grade class. Take a look at their interview with Andy Runton, creator of Owly. Mr. Tingley is already famous on the internet as the guy behind the useful site Comics in the Classroom. (Image swiped from Newsarama.)

Tokyopop, best known for bringing manga to the masses, is moving in a new direction: Full color graphic novels from around the world David Welsh talks to Tokyopop’s Bryce Coleman about the new line at The Comics Reporter. Here’s Coleman’s description of the intended audience:

So, while the scope I think will be expansive in both genre and tone, we’re looking at attracting an audience demo of both girls and guys, in the teen to older teen range. We’re definitely not doing “kiddie books” with these graphic novels, but while some will be more real world and sophisticated, others will simply be awesome tales of fantasy and adventure.

Staying with that teen demographic for a minute, David Welsh reviews Life Sucks, the teen-vampire graphic novel by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece, and admits that he has a personal reaction to some of the plot twists.

The Kids Love Comics folks post their NYCC pix, and Karen Gownley has some delightful news: Three issues of Amelia Rules can be downloaded for free from Wowio.

The folks at Archie Comics are planning a Katy Keene graphic novel.

Marina Neira reviews yet another classic from Dark Horse, Little Lulu vol. 7: Lulu’s Umbrella Service.

And another blast from the past: Tangognat presents some scans from a childhood favorite, >Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.

Tom Spurgeon reviews >Flight Explorer at The Comics Reporter and is less enamored of it than most of the other reviewers I have read.

Greg McElhatton checks out Kaput & Zosky at Read About Comics.

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Power Pack, Day One, #1
Rated A
Marvel, $2.99

Tiny Titans: Penguins in the Batcave
DC, $2.25

Two comics for kids, two very different approaches.

DC’s Tiny Titans is funny in a way that kids will appreciate. The art style is more reminiscent of Nick magazine than classic superhero comics, and the four stories in this issue are short, simple, and good for one quick laugh each. There are lots of superhero references, but they are all explained; the intent here is clearly to introduce kid-friendly versions of the DC canon in a simple, easy to read style. I do have two complaints: There were lots of ads, which interfered with the flow of the stories as they were not well demarcated, and $2.25 for 32 pages (including ads) doesn’t seem like much of a bargain. But then, I’m conditioned by manga.

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Spy Goddess: The Chase for the Chalice, Vol. 1
Created by Michael Spradlin, Script by Rachel Manija Brown, Illustrated by Rainbow Buddy
Tokyopop/Harper Collins, $9.99
Ages 11+

If there’s a tween in your house, you may already be familiar with Michael Spradlin’s Spy Goddess novels (HarperTeen). Both Live and Let Shop and To Hawaii With Love follow the adventures of fifteen-year-old Rachel Buchanan, a shopaholic troublemaker cum spy. The novels have a breezy, knowing tone, and are studded with as many pop-culture references and catchy phrases as villains and car chases. Sensing an opportunity to expand their reach beyond manga’s core audience, Tokyopop teamed up with Spradlin, writer Rachel Manija Brown, and artist Lifan Yang (listed in the credits as “Rainbow Buddy”) to create an original Spy Goddess comic that fits within the continuity of the series.

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Kid Beowulf: and the Blood-Bound Oath
By Alexis E. Fajardo
Bowler Hat Comics
$15.95
Ages 10+

Originally self-published under the imprint Lexpress in 2005, Kid Beowulf was recently picked up by Bowler Hat Comics and then redone and re-imagined. While the original Kid Beowulf was good, the newer is really good. Alexis Fajardo, writes and draws a fun and whimsical “what if?” comic inspired by the epic poem Beowulf which is studied in most high school literature classes.

The comics starts off with a modern translation of the epic poem, but the rest of the tale focuses on who Grendel and Beowulf really are and much of the story seems to stem from this this one stanza: Then Grendel saw this “Beowulf,” he looked different from the others, something odd… something amiss… in a another life, they could be brothers.

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ICv2 talks to Mark Smylie about Tom Siddell’s Gunnerkrigg Court, the next graphic novel due out from Archaia Studios, publishers of Mouse Guard. If you can’t wait for the book, the webcomic is here. (Image (c) Tom Siddell.)

MySpace has a preview of Life Sucks, the new graphic novel about a teenage vampire working as a convenience store clerk, and Dave Ferraro reviews it at Comics-and-More.

Newsarama’s Zack Smith has a pun-filled interview with Scott Morse, creator of the Magic Pickle books, about the differences between prose and graphic novels and the joys of being an all-ages creator. (Via Journalista.)

I saw some previews of Ross Campbell’s Water Baby at the Minx panel at NYCC and I thought it looked kind of interesting, but Kevin Church not only doesn’t like it but finds it a bit creepy. And he does raise the interesting question of how interested teenage girls are in boobs and butts anyway. On the other hand, Kristy Valenti writes about two Minx titles she really liked, Burnout and The New York Four, in her latest column at comiXology.

At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson gives two thumbs up to Little Vampires.

At Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh really likes Matthew Loux’s Salt Water Taffy.

Marina Neira reviews a classic collection, Little Lulu vol. 6: Letters to Santa.

Hope Larson’s Chiggers gets thoughtful reviews from Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter and Greg McElhatton at Read About Comics.

Andrew Wheeler takes a look at the fiction/biography hybrid Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow at ComicMix.

Shuffleboil is an interesting blog on various things, including the creators’ own work and reviews of graphic novels; here are John’s takes on Amulet, Jessica Farm, and Kaput and Zosky.

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It’s another good variety of comics this week. I have to put in another word for Doctor Who. It really is a fantastic book. Oni Press has a good book too, Salt Water Taffy volume 1. Check out Katherine Dacey’s review of it here. One more book to point out before getting to the picks and list. This almost became a pick. Franklin Richards: Not So Secret Invasion. The Calvin and Hobbs look of the art combined with silly stories makes this a surprisingly good book for kids from Marvel. It’s worth a look.

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It’s a nice selection of books this week, from floppies to trades to even manga! Gon Volume 4 comes out this week, but it’s got a teen rating, and from my daughter’s reaction to it, I don’t think it fits on this list despite being wordless. There’s plenty of other books to fill the gap though, that cover every taste. Cat lovers should not only check out the final volume in Greystripe’s adventure with Warriors Volume 3, but also the Dayan Collection from Dark Horse.

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Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
By James Sturm & Rich Tommaso
Ages 12+
Jump at the Sun
$16.99 hc/$9.99 pbk

This story is told from the point of view of amateur baseball player, Emmett Wilson, who is struck out (and injured) by Satchel Paige and forced to go back home to work as a sharecropper. We learn more about what life was like in the South between the years 1929 and 1944 than we do about Satchel Paige himself. This story isn’t meant to be about when Satchel Paige was born, or what his childhood was like, but rather this story talks about the man behind the ball: His pompous attitude and smug self-assurance in contrast to the time and place he lived in: Jim Crow South. When the reader finishes reading this book and gets a sense of the world Satchel Paige lived in, they’ll be left wondering where he found the courage to be those things.

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Hey everyone! Like the new logo? We changed the name and URL of this site because of an unfortunate coincidence, but don’t worry—the old URL will still get you here, at least for a while.

There’s a preview of the YA (15+) vampire graphic novel Life Sucks up at MySpace right now, and here’s an old-ish review by Elizabeth Bird at the School Library Journal. I’m reading it right now myself, so watch for a review in a few weeks.

Xavier Guilbert interviews Linda Medley about Castle Waiting at the French zine du9. (Link is to the English version.)

ComicMix goes the extra mile and has an actual kid, Lillian Baker (daughter of Kyle) do the reporting on the Archie panel from NYCC’s Kids Day.

At Comics in the Classroom, Scott Tingley reviews Ray Friesen’s Another Dirt Sandwich, after a failed attempt to get his wife to do the heavy lifting.

Chris Wilson checks out the first three issues of White Picket Fences and recommends it with some reservations at The Graphic Classroom.

Greg McElhatton has a nice review of vol. 1 of Jellaby at Read About Comics.

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