Shockrockets

Written by Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by Stuart Immonen
IDW (originally Image, then Dark Horse)

Alejandro Cruz is one of the many humans dealing with life in a post-interstellar war world.  He scrounges for parts and hopes for something better, with the fate of his parents showing his life path--to work hard every day for a small ration.  When Cruz ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, fate thrusts him into a starring role in the protection of humanity.  But can Cruz stick in a world where he wasn't meant to be?  And can even the world's saviors stop the many threats that face them, from within and without?

Normally I wouldn't have reviewed this comic, but I think it's a hidden gem that ended before it got the chance to get off the ground.  (I wonder if, like one of its fellow comics, a digital life would help it?)  Busiek and Immonen created a world that is familiar to science fiction fans but filled it with a cool idea (the same aliens who invade end up losing the tech that defeats them) and then take it to places that other writers and artists might not.

Notable among the ideas are that the humans can't replicate what they've taken, that there would still be remnants of the alien forces, and that, unlike in so many apocalyptic stories, not everyone wanted the world to have peace when the fighting was over.  Best yet, Busiek and Immonen even look at the role corporations might play in such a scenario.  These are neat touches that stand Shockrockets above similar stories and make it something I'd like to read more of, if the creators ever found a way to make them.

Once we have the parameters of the world, Busiek sets to work scripting a story that shows some unusual darkness for him.  This world that picks up from a few years after where most stories on a similar topic might end has some very unpleasant realities, which touch most of the main characters directly.  Several times I was shocked by the un-Busiek like ways in which the characters react.  It was a nice change of pace.

What did not change, however, is the deep world-building and layering of the storyline.  As with any Busiek story, there are enough ideas to fill volumes of books, with ideas only getting hinted at instead of fully explored due to the aborted nature of the series.  There is a weight to every page, which might bother some readers who are used to a breezier style, but Busiek writes in a way that takes time to read.  I like that all of his characters feel different from one another, and that he took time in this more closely-knit world to create characters of all races and classes, particular in the case of Cruz.  It would have been very easy for Cruz to be a white boy, but Busiek does not, opting instead to create a hispanic character who shows his heritage naturally, without it feeling forced.

Immonen's art is strong here, and it looks similar to the work he was doing for other publishers around the same time.  There are the same soft faces and strong panel layouts that can be innovative without being obscuring.  You can easily follow the action, and every piece of machinery Immonen draws here looks realistic for the time period--near future--that this series is set in.  Busiek notes that Immonen created 3D models, and it shows.  My only complaint is that for a story like this, the clean look of Immonen's characters clashes a bit with the material.  It's so well-drawn, however, that it's not a major issue.  As with most things Immonen, he draws the heck out of the thing.

Shockrockets rises above its station by having solid writing and great art, making it more than just another short-lived sci-fi comic that didn't find the audience its creators hoped for.  With Immonen's status as a hot artist for Marvel, maybe there's a chance for this to get enough eyeballs for Busiek and Immonen to be able to return to the book, either in digital or print form.  I'd love to read more of this world, and you will, too, after you finish it.  Shockrockets is a must-read for any Busiek or Immonen fan.

Manga Movable Feast: A Small Appreciation of Osamu Tezuka

It's been a little while since I participated in one of the Manga Movable Feasts, but I couldn't let a chance go by to talk about one of the pillars of the manga world, Osamu Tezuka.

For those unfamiliar with the Manga Movable Feast, it's a roughly monthly series that brings together manga (and sometimes anime) bloggers of all kinds to talk about a particular creator, manga series, or theme.  Previous feasts have focused on everything from Emma to One Piece to horror manga.  Some series are popular, others obscure, but the discussion is excellent.

This month's feature on Tezuka is hosted by the Manga Critic, and you can find links to all the articles here.

I called this a small appreciation, and that's because while I know that Tezuka is a giant in the manga world, I've really read precious little of his body of work, completely avoiding the one book non-manga fans might recognize on sight, Astro Boy.  My experience with Tezuka is only two series, Black Jack and Dororo.

Why have I read so little?  I don't know, honestly.  It's not like I didn't enjoy Black Jack--in fact, I liked it quite a bit, as it reminded me of one of my favorite television shows, House.  I've been slowly collecting all of the volumes, and as I'm keeping my permanent collection of manga quite small, that says a lot about my feelings towards the series.  Dororo was fun, if incomplete, and it's a great historical record of the early days of shonen manga.  There's no Bleach, no Naturo, and no One Piece without Tezuka.

But for some reason, reading Tezuka isn't a priority for me.  I do it now and again, and periodically, I think about getting out some of his other series from the library, such as Buddha, Ode to Kirihito, and of course, Astro Boy.  (Phoenix, out of print, is probably not going to happen anytime soon, if ever.)  There are some things I have no interest in, such as the Kickstarter-funded Barbara, which features content that is not of any interest to me, no matter who writes or draws it.  Overall, though, I know that Tezuka is a creator I like and there's plenty of material out there to read.  So why am I not reading it?

I think that part of the reason is related to my general lack of need to read more Will Eisner.  Eisner, like Tezuka, is a pioneer of comics, though his are of the Western kind.  I have a strong appreciation for Eisner and what he means to comics, but I don't think I need to read another Eisner book again.  His work is innovative for his time, but the content of the comics themselves is just a bit too dated for me.  I can only read about Ebony White's oh-so-not-funny antics so many times before wincing.  Similarly, a little of Tezuka's okay-in-context portrayals of racial stereotypes goes a long way for me.  I really like Black Jack, but some of the illustrations in the series are horrendously offensive, and it's hard to keep reading at times, no matter how good the stories are.

I enjoy reading older comics from time to time but I am not a comics historian.  Tezuka's work is great for its time, but I don't think a steady diet of it is something I want to do.  I am so thankful to comics companies such as Vertical for making sure this material is available in English for readers like me so that we can better appreciate what we have now, but in general, I'd prefer to read what we have now.  What was once amazing is still a classic, but there's a reason why we pull out an Atari classic now and again but play our PS3/X-Box/Wii on a regular basis.  Things have progressed and improved, and so have comics.

So yes, Osamu Tezuka is an amazing man, and we should celebrate him this week.  Anyone who hasn't read any of his comics should do so, because to fully love manga today you need to know where it came from.  Use this Feast to find comics that interest you, and see how just about everyone else is borrowing from his playbook, especially on the shonen side of things.  But be aware that his comics can be primitive at times, feature a cartoony style that will remind you of old 1940s American animated shorts, and have a tendency for a tin ear about sensitivity.  We must appreciate Tezuka, but in context, one that could limit his appeal depending on the reader.

As for me, I'll happily keep reading Tezuka now and again, not unlike reading a pulp collection or a volume of 1960s Marvel comics.  My fondness for him as a creator is not lessened for this desire to read him here and there.  It's a recognition of the limitations of the material.  I'll leave the major celebrations to his bigger fans, but I'll still raise a glass in tribute to him, all the same.

Single Minded: Mudman #1 and #2

Mondays can be a rough day to get through.  Why not see what short-form comic you can read to brighten up your day with another adventure in being Single Minded?

Mudman #1 and #2
Written by Paul Grist
Illustrated by Paul Grist
Image Comics


Owen Craig probably could choose his nocturnal activities a bit better.  You'd think the son of a police officer would know better, but Owen is sneaking around with a friend (and graffiti tagger) at an old mansion that's long been abandoned--or has it?  Before he knows it, Owen's life is about to change forever as his life is endangered by a set of thieves with a gun--and one very special tract of land.  Whether he likes it or not, Own is now--the Mudman!

Paul Grist opens the book by talking about the fact that he is an unabashed classic superheroes fan and this book is a classic, old-school superhero comic book.  He's writing it to be read in single issues, with twists and turns designed to read best when read singly, the way Stan and Steve and Jack and Carmine and all the others of the 1960s did it.  Mudman is a book that revels in its medium, and that shows from the cover right on through the first two issues of the comic, which cover the origin of Mudman while leaving plenty of secrets to be revealed as time goes on.

The story follows a familiar arc, but that's part of the point.  This is a comic written for fans of the genre and isn't trying to break new ground.  Owen isn't the perfect kid, being slightly rebellious and prone to getting into trouble.  His father is a noble cop who probably will meet a tragic end.  The villains of the piece are played for comic relief, though they can be dark when needed.  As we watch Owen discover his powers, we can think of the other origin stories we've read and look for little homages (the car scene definitely evokes a classic moment in young Peter Parker's life).  The difference here is that Owen, far more self-aware than his predecessors, is able to act more quickly.  His is the cocky arrogance of a modern teen, not the cowed figure of an earlier time.  One of the areas that Grist can explore to really move this book in a different direction from its antecedents is to show how this arrogance changes the dynamic of a young hero.

I fear that my description of this being a comic that echoes the older ways of creating superheroes might lead people to believe it's not worthy of reading.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  My point is that Grist gets what makes the comics of the 1960s so compelling, even today, is their ability to hook the reader quickly, give them interesting characters and plots, and keep the action moving from issue to issue, with no major worries about how it will look in the trade.  Grist knows that a good superhero comic should be *fun.*  While stories with angst and difficult shades of morality have their place, we see them far too often now.  Mudman may read like it is from a different era, but that makes it refreshing, especially to long-time comics fans, which I think is the target audience.

Though I did enjoy the storyline and the promise of a robot in the next issue(!), the best part of Mudman is definitely Grist's artwork.  The dynamic cover above is just a small hint of the great panel layouts that await you in the first two issues of Mudman.  Illustrating his own material, Grist spares no opportunity to be innovative with his layouts, playing with everything from panel structure to the placement of world balloons.  I loved going from page to page to see how Grist visualized this world and its dynamic new hero.  Grist's style is rough and somewhat angular, which again evokes a feeling of older comics.  There's so much energy going on, even in the simplest of panels.

Mudman isn't going to be the world's most popular comic, and that's okay.  It's a comic written almost as a love letter to comic fans of longstanding, and works brilliantly I'm so happy this comic exists, and I can't wait to read more of it soon.  If you like your heroics old-style, what are you waiting for?  Sink into Mudman now.  You'll be glad you did!

Princeless Volume 1 (Issues 1-4)

Written by Jeremy Whitley
Illustrated by M. Goodwin
Action Lab

It's not easy being a princess.  You have to wait for a prince to save you, and then marry the guy, whether you like him or not.  Adrienne knows her fate and isn't happy about it one bit.  When she, like her sisters before her, is locked in a tower with a dragon for a guard, enough is enough.  She's going to take on the role usually reserved for men and become the prince that saves her sister.  What happens when a girl tries to challenge the accepted roles of men and women, without really thinking about anything beyond living her own life?  Find out in these early adventures of Princeless!

From the opening scene, which details the stereotypical princes story and proceeds to tear it apart, piece by piece, you know you're in for something different.  Whitley has read the same stories we all did as we grew up and is looking to attack that line of thinking.  But rather than do it in a ham-fisted, domineering manner, this story is less about how we portray women in fiction and more about how Adrienne just wants to be her own person, with her own life, free to make her own decisions.  She wants this for her sisters, too, and that drives the action of the book. The fact that this desire just so happens to fly in the face of convention and the gender stereotypes we reinforce on an almost daily basis in children's and young adult fiction (then finish off in comics, books, television, and movies for adults) is a natural outgrowth of that desire.

As a result, instead of getting a screed with a story lurking around somewhere, the story in Princeless is the focus.  That's why this one works so well for me.  Adrienne's desires are real, her questions are real, and while most people in our society aren't trying to escape from castles on flying dragons, her struggle for individuality when parents and other authority figures want anything but is all too real and should register with any young adult that reads this comic, regardless of gender.  The adult reader can also appreciate this idea, especially since gender assumptions and expectations don't magically disappear at eighteen, no matter how we might wish that to be.

In these first four issues, which see Adrienne work her away free of her prison, fight her father's guards, and pick up another young woman with similar restraints and desires (and a *really* big hammer) as they work together to start rescuing Adrienne's other sisters.  As we see in the final pages, however, this task is going to be far from easy, even taking away how her sisters might react to the non-traditional rescue.

Like any good first story arc, Whitley introduces us to the world, showing that it operates like a pretty standard fantasy world.  It's not terribly interesting in that regard, as we have kings, kingdoms, dragons, and the like, nothing we haven't seen before.  It's what Whitley does with the world that makes this story sing, creating characters that feel modern without seeming out of place, and using Adrienne and her companion Bedella to question why this world has to operate as it does.  Along the way, they have some high drama and neat comedic bits to offset the seriousness.  The fighting in issues three and four is particularly well done, I think, because it doesn't try to turn either character into a Buffy-like superheroine.  They can fight, but it's not something that comes naturally to either of them--at least not yet.

Perhaps the most interesting choice, however, is in the characterization of Adrienne's parents, the King and Queen.  Whitley could easily have made them one-dimensional, using them as the villains of the piece.  But as we progress through the first story arc, both are given some good scenes that add depth and make them think about their actions.  They're still clearly wrong, but neither are they paper-thin bad guys who must be vanquished.  It leaves room for redemption and understanding, should Whitley go that route.

M. Goodwin's artwork on Princess is excellent.  Using a style that has some echoes of manga but is not a direct lifting of the Japanese art style (such as an OEL manga like Nightschool), all of the characters in Princeless, from the main protagonist to her dragon to the guards get time spent on making them look different and expressive.  I love the looks on the faces of Adrienne and Bedella and the dragon in particular. Goodwin can say a lot with just a few lines and Whitley smartly gets out of the way to let the artist do so.  This comic shows a strong harmony between script and art, fully illustrating the world and using a style that evokes a cartoon without being cartoony.  I hope that Goodwin stays on the book for its entire run.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one last cool thing about Princess:  Our heroine is colored and drawn to look black.  How often do we see a strong female character of color in a leading role?  While race does not have any impact on the storyline (Adrienne could be colored white and not change anything, at least to me), I appreciate that there's been an attempt to show that all princesses aren't so pale they resemble the page they were printed on.  It would be nice to see Whitley explore this a bit in the future since he's already gone after many of the other princess tropes here in the early issues.

Princess is a great indie comic that deserves to have circulation on a level with any major publisher comic.  It would make a perfect library book, as the story is fast-paced, easy to read, and fit for an all-age audience.  The first trade paperback will be out soon--April if I heard correctly--but you can read this series now in single issue form at Graphicly if you are part of the digital comics reading crowd.  However you choose to do so, you really need to read Princeless.  It's one of the best comics I've encountered from a micro publisher in some time.

Big thanks to Action Lab for sending me a review copy of this comic.  If you are interested in having your comic reviewed by me, please contact me at trebro@gmail.com.

Single Minded: Boom! Studios Titles for February 8th, 2012

Single Minded goes for a second helping, as another Wednesday brings more titles from Boom! Studios.  This time, it's the debut of Adventure Time, more Peanuts, and the continuing adventures of Elric and company with the whole multiverse hanging by a thread.  What did I think?  Read on...

Adventure Time #1.  Written by Ryan North and Aaron Renier. Illustrated by Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and Aaron Renier.


Finn and Jake are two friends living in a world that looks like something out of James Kochalka's dreams.  They like to be cool and do awesome things, but there's an evil lich who wants to destroy everything.  That's not cool at all! Can the pair stop the plan to place all of creation in a really big bag?  Plus, a short story about being careful about where you get your apple cider from!  It's all here in the first issue of the eagerly awaited Adventure Time!

It may be shocking to learn that I have never seen a single episode of Adventure Time, but I just don't watch a lot of television, other than what I can get later via Netflix.  However, since this was being written by Ryan North, I figured I'd give it a try.

While I don't know that I'm the target audience for this, I can definitely see the appeal.  North's Dinosaur Comics patter definitely fits the tone here (and there's a cool nod to his webcomic within the illustrations as an Easter Egg) and there's a sense that this show/comic, like SpongeBob Squarepants, PowerPuff Girls and other similar shows, is aimed at both kids and parents alike.  The main story flows quickly, with the jokes coming fast, furious, and very hip.  Renier's story is a one and done that reads like a B-story of a cartoon, which works well here.  The joke is telegraphed a bit, but I like that it's not used as a major gross-out.

Adventure Time has a lot of potential, and I think it's going to be a huge hit for fans of the show and Ryan North's writing.  Definitely something to look for if you fit in either category--or both.

 Peanuts #2.  Written by Charles Schulz, Shane Houghton, Vicki Scott, and Justin Thompson.  Illustrated by Charles Schultz, Paige Braddock, Vicki Scott, Bob Scott, and Matt Whitlock


First things first:  This might be the best cover I've seen all year.  I love the framing of the characters, the way there is movement despite the tight spacing, and both the background color AND the characters' clothing pop right out at the reader.  Great job on the cover design for this one!

As with the first issue, this comic is a mix of new stories and classic Schultz strips, which usually tie in with the longer materials in some way.  We have a winter theme, as Lucy tries her throwing arm and Charlie Brown fails at yet another Valentine's Day.  The highlight might be a short-short involving Snoopy trying to save Woodstock--only to find that for once, he's not the most resourceful one (even if he has a snowplow in his doghouse, which is an upgrade over Charlie Brown's shovel).

Once again, the stories fit the characters well and do a very good job of capturing the feel of the Peanuts universe, even if the sharper edges are dulled a bit, with Schultz's unique world view not writing the dialog or plots anymore.  I notice that we're all-story this time, with no bonus material for the kids to work on themselves.  I wonder if that will return with issue three?  My only complain here is that Lucy is still being treated as a total villain, losing any redeeming features she had under Schultz.  Given she is the primary female character we see in the books, I'd like to have her get a better portrayal.  Otherwise, I really like this comic and I recommend it without hesitation.

Elric The Balance Lost #8.  Written by Chris Roberson.  Illustrated by Francesco Biagini.  


The battle at the gates continues as Elric and the others try to hold off the combined forces of Chaos and Law who fight both the heroes and each other.  A friend returns to the battle and a desperate plan is hatched to fix the broken balance before it's too late.  Can even these mighty warriors of the multiverse find a way to put everything back together?  Or is the balance forever lost?

The second third of this story finishes up here, as Roberson gathers the cast together for one final attempt to stop the complete breakdown of all that Elric has fought to preserve.  There is a lot of clever, deep plotting that brings us to this point, as the several possibilities suggested in earlier issues are either confirmed or rejected here and we move on to a path that involves a giant, living ship and some conclusions that might follow the lines I think they will or might not--and either way, I'll feel like it was a satisfying story.

Also:  Did I mention that this story has a giant, fish-like inter-dimensional travel device?

Honestly, if I can't sell you on a book that's about to put the characters into a ship that echoes both Jonah and Pinocchio while also battling hordes of crazy-looking creatures for the date of everything, I don't know why you read my review blog.

What's crazy is that this plot twist isn't even the best thing about the issue!  My favorite part of this book are the panel designs.  I don't know if Roberson told Biagini to create them that way or if he did it of his own imagining, but as the narrative progresses and we learn just why these four adventurers are needed, the panel shapes are based off of a key element of the plot.  It's so subtle, you don't notice it at first, but then you go OH WOW (and yes, you do think it in all caps) and see that care was taken to make this book as visually appealing as the narrative.

I really, really like this Elric story and I can't wait to see what comes next.  You should definitely be reading this one if you like sci-fi adventure stories.  That's not my usual cup of tea, but I'm a huge fan of this book.

Thanks as always to Boom! Studios for the review copies.  If you are interested in having your book reviewed by me, please contact me at trebro@gmail.com.

Single Minded: Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X #5

Look out, folks, it's time to get Single Minded again, this time with the climax to the latest story arc of one of the best comic books being made today, Atomic Robo!

Atomic Robo:  The Ghost of Station X #5.  Written by Brian Clevinger.  Illustrated by Scott Wegener.  Red Five Comics


What do you do when you're a robot on the run from just about every police body on earth and trying to stop a mysterious force that's out to kill you?  Mail yourself via freight, of course!  As Robo unpacks himself and gets ready for a fight that could mean life or death for Tesla's greatest creation, all the lose ends tie together on a small island with big implications.  Can Robo find a way to stop an artificial intelligence far greater than his own with designs on the stars?  Find out in the big finish to the Ghost of Station X!

I admit I really didn't know much about Atomic Robot until this past year's Free Comic Book Day.  I actually cannot believe I'd missed it, because I was falling out of my porch chair laughing at Robo's adventures almost from the very first page.  I'll have more to say about this in a series review post, but the short version is that this is one of the smartest, funniest, and clever comics out there right now.

For those not in the know, Robo is, as I mentioned above, the creation of Nikola Tesla, the inventor who was smarter than Edison but not as good at marketing.  (Hint:  The electricity you're using to read this on your computer is alternating current--a Tesla invention.)  He's keeping his father's legacy alive by running a corporation that deals with bleeding edge science--and the menaces that result from such theory.  Big, brawny, brainy, and brash, Robo echoes other cool creations that fight weirdness with attitude, like another favorite of mine, Hellboy.

In this story arc, Robo is hounded by forces unknown and labelled a terrorist in the bargain, and this issue is the big showdown between him and the villain of the piece, who remains a mystery until page four of the final issue of the mini-series.  That makes the impact huge, especially when we see that the antagonist could easily be Robo, had he traveled a different path in life.  It's a great culmination after plenty of guessing games, and I was extremely impressed that Clevinger makes this work without it feeling like it came out of left field.

I don't want to give too much away here, but what follows is a long theoretical battle of words between Robo and the villain, highlighting our atomic protagonist's humanity and strongly defining his character.  He may play at being sarcastic and flippant, but when push comes to shove, his commitment to making the world better never wavers, no matter what the odds or the temptations.

As you might expect from a series like this, the resolution involves science of a specious nature, but you're too busy marveling at how cool the whole thing is to care too much.  Wegener works like mad to keep the visuals interesting through the big explanations and his fighting scenes do a great job of showing the action and the practical futility of Robo's fight, right up to the very end.  I also love the way he can make Robo's face show emotion, mostly though the adjusting of his eyes and subtle body posturing.

It's a slightly darker Robo who ends this series, but I don't think that will last too long.  What I do know is that this continues to be an amazing series that you really should be reading if you aren't already.  If your comic shop doesn't carry Atomic Robo, you can get it on Comixology.  Don't make the same mistake I did of waiting--get started reading it right now!

Big thanks to Brian Clevinger and Red Five for giving me a preview copy of this issue!  If you are interested in having me review your comic, please get in touch at trebro@gmail.com.

Old-Timey Hockey Tales

Written by Rob Ullman and Jeffrey Brown
Illustrated by Rob Ullman and Jeffrey Brown
Wide Awake Press

While it may never be the most popular sport in America, hockey has a long-time history and stories that rival those of baseball for quirkiness, interest, and human interest.  Join Red Wings fan Jeffrey Brown and Penguins fan Rob Ullman as they share a few stories from the past of the greatest show on ice.

Roughly alternating between the two creators, Old-Timey Hockey Tales uses stories of players both familiar to anyone and those who might be harder to place in a lineup.  Regardless, each short story is sourced if anyone wants more information and shows that both Brown and Ullman are taking this work seriously.  Naturally, they are a bit biased towards their favorite teams, so the majority of the stories involve either the Red Wings or the Penguins.  In fact, all of Brown's contributions--and even one of Ullman's--center around the iconic team.

Ullman is a bit more varied in his choices, talking about everyone from the tragic loss of a star player for Pittsburgh to a man who played for the six original hockey teams to the short biography of a famous goalie.  His slick style still manages to capture the feel of rough and ready hockey players, though it's more in facial expressions than in grittiness.  On the other hand, Brown's artwork is perfect for players like Gordie Howe.  The imperfect, heavy lines give his stories a weight and touch of darkness that I think captures the feel of old-school hockey quite well.  Overall, the styles contrast nicely to each other, preventing the work from having a feel of sameness.

If you or someone you know is a hockey fan, this is a must-grab mini-comic.  Though the price is a bit higher than I'd usually recommend, it's well worth it.  There's a lot of storytelling packed into the 28 pages, and fans of either artist are bound to enjoy a work that is a departure for both of them but comes together as a complete package.

You can pick up Old-Timey Hockey Tales from Rob Ullman here.

Dust off the Panels: My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill

Written by Jean Regnaud
Illustrated by Emile Bravo
Fanfare Ponent Mon

Jean is a five year old boy living in France.  He can't remember much about his mother, but that's okay, because she sends him postcards.  He lives with his brother and father and a companion who fills the role of mother for him.  This is the story of a year in his life, filled with fun, misunderstanding, and tragic reality.  Watch as Jean tells his story to you in pictures and words, as we learn all about him and his world.

What was it like to be five years old?  Hard to remember, right?  Regnaud and Bravo combine to tell this story of the innocence of a child and what happens when adults try to be kind by withholding the truth.  It's a touching story, well crafted and well illustrated that perfectly tells an arc of the character Jean's life, as he grows up over the course of a year and learns all too quickly that parents can lie.

What makes this book work so well is the fact that at ever turn, Regnaud shows just how often a child is faced with things they cannot understand and instead of trying to help them, we as adults pass the buck with clever lies or inventions.  It's all in the name of protecting them, but when the deceit is discovered, that child's world is changed forever.

I remember when I first figured out my parents could and did lie to me.  It changed my life.  Secretly, I stopped trusting everything they told me, and started questioning the world around me.  It's clear that little Jean's life is changed, too, once he comes to that same conclusion.  There's a lot of power and emotion charged up as the book progresses and if I have one minor complaint, it's that there's not a lot of space given to seeing that energy released.  Once we get to the big reveal, we only have a few pages left to deal with it.

The story itself, though, is excellent.  We never for a moment go outside the viewpoint of Jean.  We may sometimes be able to understand things better than he does, but we aren't showing things he can't see.  The flow of the book is perfect, going from adventure to adventure, weaving the main plot of the story in and out of Jean's adventures as naturally as Jean himself would perceive them.  Clever interludes are added that embellish a bit on Jean's ideas, but never take away from them.

Regnaud does a great job of making this story work, because it could easily devolve into childishness, nostalgia, or melodrama, but it never does.  I'm always wary of books with protagonists so young for those reasons, but here it was not a problem.  This is just a well crafted story of growing up far too early and dealing with circumstances that are tragic for a person of any age, let alone a kid barely out of potty training.

Part of what makes this book work so well is Bravo's art style.  The book's illustrations remind me of a children's book, like H.A. Ray or maybe Babar is a more relevant comparison, since the book is French in origin.  It fits the tone of the work perfectly, and there are plenty of little visual touches that enhance the text. I was particularly fond of the non-verbal word bubbles, where images would be crossed out or used in place of an actual word.  I don't know if that came from Regnaud or Bravo, but it's a great idea.

My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill is a great book that was very popular among my friends when it came out, and I see why.  If you happen along this one in your travels and you like coming of age stories, definitely grab it.  It's well worth dusting off the panels for.