Yu-Gi-Oh Official Handbook

From a Little Free Library in Windsor CT USA.

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh Official Handbook
Publisher: Scholastic 
Date: 1996
Writer: Tracey West

Not a comic. This is a visual guide to the characters and lore of Yu-Gi-Oh, based primarily on the manga storyline. A fair amount of lore from the card game is included, but this book doesn't go into specifics of game mechanics and strategy. This book is about the story and characters, with a general summary of the overall plot, and features on a range of major and minor characters.The writeup of each character, usually including their key storyline moments, is followed by brief descriptions of that character's preferred duel monsters. The monsters, represented as the cards in the TCG come with the familiar clunky name translations into English, and usually only a line or two about how they go about attacking and defending. The art and colorful and straightforward.

As someone who doesn't play the game, but who is generally familiar with it from spending time in game stores where it is played, I was surprised at the complexity of the character development and the interrelationships between the characters. Although this book only summarizes, it does a good job of making the story sound interesting and appealing. I'll be keeping an eye out for the manga after reading this.

Rating: 7/10

Heartstopper Volume 3

From my school library.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 3
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2021
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

I really liked the idea that formed one of the major themes in this volume: Coming out isn't something that just happens once. Charlie and Nick are now dating, but they need to figure out who to tell and how to do it. As exams bring an end to the school year, they find themselves off to Paris on a school trip with classmates, some of whom are in on their semi-secret and some who are not.

Lots of school-trip things happen, including the beginning/deepening of some new romances among their friends group, and we get some good character development in the supporting cast, along with some more revelations about Nick's family.

There are also some revelations about Charlie's mental health struggles. as well as the continuing progress of he and Nick's relationship.

As has been the case through the series, the author does a great job of giving the scenes the time and space they need, and the positive support that the main characters receive from friends is a welcome element of the story.

Rating: 8/10

The Witch Boy: Halloween ComicFest

I got this at Most Excellent Comics and Games in Enfield CT USA last Free Comic Book Day. It's a Halloween freebie from several years back, that the store had on their table of free books.

Title: The Witch Boy: Halloween ComicFest
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2017
Writer: Molly Knox Ostertag
Artist: Molly Knox Ostertag

Full color preview mini containing an excerpt from Molly Knox Ostertag's graphic novel, The Witch Boy. The scene here is a fairly standard bit with the main character getting bullied and finally getting pushed to the point where he responds with his magical powers. It does a nice job of introducing the basic rules of the world: On the "magical side of town", boys are shapeshifters and girls are witches. Aster is a boy who hasn't been able to figure out the shapeshifting bit, but has some skill at witchery.

The artwork is lovely, and the overall trans theme of the story is appreciated. This preview doesn't reveal much, but there are enough hints at the overall storyline to hook the reader, which makes it a reasonably effective marketing piece.

Rating: 6/10

Heartstopper Volume 2

From my school library.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2020
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

The second volume of Alice Oseman's high school romance focuses first on the fallout of the end of the first issue, and then to Nick's growing understanding of his identity and the beginning of his coming out. As with the first volume, the dialogue is great, and the whole story just has a warm and comfortable vibe to it. There is some conflict involving Nick's friends, but the romance continues to be front and center.

The second volume continues the great use of art and layout, and the excellent pacing of the first volume.

Rating: 8.5/10

Heartstopper Volume 1

Bought at my school's book fair in Winter of 2024.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2020
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

Romance, or rather, the beginnings of romance, between two boys at a British high school. This is one of the most wholesome love stories I've read, not that there aren't complications and things that go wrong, but just that the author does such a great job of getting the reader cheering for the couple to come together.

And while the supporting cast is small, the author manages to give us an amazing character in rugby coach Mrs. Singh, who shines in spite of only getting a couple of quick scenes.

The pacing is great, allowing for small moments and dialogue while still moving things along. The cliffhanger ending does feel like a bit of an arbitrary place to cut things, but it did it's job of leaving me wanting to read more.

9/10

Owly: The Way Home

Bought at a book fair at my school in Shanghai, China, in March of 2022.

Title: Owly: The Way Home
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2020
Writer: Andy Runton
Artist: Andy Runton

Two stories about Owly, a lonely owl who wants to make some friends. The first story describes how Owly meets Wormy and how they travel together to try to find Wormy's home and family, having some adventures along the way.

The second story details Owly and Wormy's friendship with Tiny and Angel, a pair of hummingbirds. Once again, there are a few adventures, but this time it's the hummingbirds who must embark on a journey as winter approaches.

This has more words than previous Owly stories I've read (I review one here), but keeps most of Owly's dialogue to symbols and pictures like in previous books.

This was a cute exploration of friendship and loyalty framed around a fun series of adventures.

Rating: 7/10

Sunny Rolls the Dice

 From my school's Fall book fair.

Title: Sunny Rolls the Dice
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2019
Writer: Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm
Artist: Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm
Colorist: Lark Pien
Letterer: Fawn Lau
Editor: David Levithan

This is the third book in Jennifer and Matthew Holm's Sunny series about a girl growing up in the Pennsylvania suburbs in the late 1970s. Of course, the thing that attracted me to this book was the main character's introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, right out of the classic blue boxed set.

The nostalgia runs thick here, in all of the best ways. The D&D scenes are loads of fun, and really capture the feeling I remember as a sixth-grader trying to figure out this new kind of game.

The rest of the plot is pretty standard middle school slice-of-life fare, as Sunny tries to figure her way through peer pressure and the standards of "groovy" (complete with a handy "groovy-meter", which Sunny is distressed to find is usually in the red). As Sunny's friends begin to pursue teenage interests, Sunny has to make some choices about what path she wants to follow.

She is hoping that path won't end with her walking into a gelatinous cube.

Rating: 7/10

Roller Girl

From my school library. I think I've probably read almost all of their (very small) graphic novel selection at this point.

Title: Roller Girl
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2015
Writer: Victoria Jamieson
Artist: Victoria Jamieson

When her mom takes her on a surprise excursion to broaden her cultural horizons (in the best possible way!), twelve-year-old Astrid is introduced to roller derby. And it is the coolest thing ever. I mean, it is, but that is also what Astrid comes to realize. And we're off and rolling.

This is a middle school friendship story, and a sports story, and it follows most of the tropes, including the sticking-with-a-lie-for-way-too-long that pervades these stories. And none of that matters. Because roller derby. And some really great character interactions in a story that just has so much heart.

This was lovely and quirky and fun all the way through.

8.5/10

American Tall Tales

From the staff book exchange shelf at my school.

Title: American Tall Tales
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 1991
Writer: Mary Pope Osborne
Artist: Michael McCurdy

Not a comic, but another interesting example of mixing story and illustration.

Collection of retellings of American folktales by Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne.

These are very definitely the author's own take on the legends of 19th Century America, but she includes extensive notes on the origins of each of the iconic characters, many of which were actually the inventions of specific 19th Century authors, that only later made their way into the realm of folklore.

The stories are presented in a flamboyant style that captures the flavor of tales told around a campfire, and the personalities of the heroes and heroines shine bright as their larger-than-life deeds are recounted.

There is plenty of humor, but the Author's best work is bringing out the more serious side of the stories, particularly in the tales of steel-driver John Henry and New York City firefighter Mose.

The incorporation of song lyrics (as performed by Pete Seeger, and later Bruce Springsteen) into the John Henry story felt a bit like the author was trying too hard, but I do have to admit that I was singing the song in my head as I read the story.

Michael McCurdy's wood-engraving illustrations are simply spectacular and a huge part of the charm of this book.

Rating: 7/10

Star Wars: Jedi Academy: The Force Oversleeps

Bought at Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Star Wars: Jedi Academy: The Force Oversleeps
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2017
Writer: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Artist: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

This is the second book in the second series of Jedi Academy (the first three books in the series are reviewed here, here, and here). This series features Jarrett J. Krosoczka taking over for Jeffrey Brown, and doing a good job of maintaining the style and feel of the first three books. I skipped the first book in this second trilogy, but it was easy to jump in here.

Victor Starspeeder is the transferred into Jedi Academy halfway through the previous year, and now he's a second-year student starting his first full year of studies. He's got a new rival, a new admirer, and a bunch of rumors that Sith forces have been lurking around the school.

But when those rumors begin to focus in on his sister during her graduation year, Victor begins to worry that she may be under the influence of the Dark Side.

The Force Oversleeps keeps up the clever humor and rapid-fire movie references (I particularly liked the student musical production of Little Sarlacc of Horror) and in-jokes that make this series fun.

Ms. Catara, the Gungan guidance counselor and school newspaper advice columnist was an amusing addition to the series, and she had some of the best humorous moments.

There is more high-stakes action here, although the major plot points feel crammed into the end. There are also some potentially emotional events that felt rushed or glossed over.

In general, this book did a better job with the small jokes than with the serious plot elements and character development. There are some good insights, especially about family, but they are thrown in so quickly that it is easy to miss them.

Rating: 5/10

Cat Kid Comic Club

The Kiddo bought this at the Spring book fair at our school in Shanghai, China.

Title: Cat Kid Comic Club
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2020
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Letterer: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi, Aaron Polk
Editor: Ken Geist

Lil' Petey (AKA Cat Kid) and Molly the telekinetic tadpole (see Dog Man: Fetch 22 for her origin story; my review is here) hold the first meeting of their new comic club. But the other tadpoles are not making things easy. There's the issue of bickering to deal with, but an even bigger problem is that no one has the confidence to get started on making a comic.

The plot here is simple, but the point of this book is more inspiration than story. The message is that there is no wrong way to make a comic, and the Comic Club drama is interspersed with samples and previews of comics in all kinds of styles: Stick figures, b/w, color, collages, photo comics, haiku comics (photo haiku comics, actually!), and comics made with clay, cardboard, and recycled toys.

The examples are lots of fun, and the message is a great one for young comic creators who might not be ready for something like Understanding Comics (my review of that one is here).

There are some funny moments, but it's the creator's obvious love for comic creation that really shines through in this book.

Rating: 7.5/10

Dog Man: Mothering Heights

Bought at Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Dog Man: Mothering Heights
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2021
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi

So, as it turned out, Dog Man: Grime and Punishment (reviewed here) was not the end of the series. This new installment includes a romantic subplot between Chief and Nurse Lady, a bit more about Petey's mother (hence the title), giant evil animated sippy cups, lots of malic acid, and some references to the first law of thermodynamics. Oh, and poop jokes. Lots of poop jokes, because apparently the series had not actually moved beyond poop humor so much as to take a brief scenic detour away from it.

As with most of the more recent Dog Man books, the serious stuff here was quite well done, and never felt like it slowed things down or weighed things down. The bathroom humor has never been a favorite of mine, but my son (13 now) still finds it hilarious. The main source of much of this was Molly the psychokinetic tadpole, who is Lil' Petey's best friend, which seemed a bit weird because this wasn't an aspect of her character in previous appearances.

I did feel like this relied a bit too much on tropes and gimmicks from previous installments, while not adding too much to the longer-term plotlines. That being said, it was still cute fun, with several really great jokes.

Rating: 7/10

The Baby-Sitters Club Volume 4: Claudia and Mean Janine

Bought at my school's spring book fair.

Title: The Baby-Sitters Club
Issue: Volume 4: Claudia and Mean Janine
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2016
Writer: Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Colorist: Braden Lamb
Letterer: John Green
Editor: Cassandra Pelham Fulton, David Levithan, Sheila Keenan

This is Raina Telgemeier's adaptation of one of the original Baby-Sitters Club novels by Ann M. Martin. I haven't red any of the original prose series, but this was a good solid bit of family drama with humor and heart. It doesn't quite hit at the personal level that Telgemeier's autobiographical works do, but it was still quite engaging. Although this is the fourth volume in the series, it stands alone quite well and tells a complete story.

That story focuses on the sibling rivalry between younger sister Claudia, who is into art, fashion, and Nancy Drew novels, and older sister Janine, who excels at school and loves coding and web design. Their lives are thrown into disarray when their grandmother suffers a near-fatal stroke, and the events that follow bring them apart, and then eventually together. Meanwhile, the Baby-Sitters club launches into summer with a new playgroup project that gives the other club members a chance to shine, and provides some comic relief.

Telgemeier's artwork is always wonderfully expressive, and it really shines in a lovely scene with Dawn and Kristy playing in the barn on Kristy's family's property, as well as in some nice quiet moments between Claudia, Janine, and their grandmother, Mimi.

Rating: 7.5/10

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

The Kiddo borrowed this one from a friend at school.

Title: Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2020
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi

This is the most serious of the Dog Man books so far, with a surprisingly deep examination of loss and forgiveness as the story explores the relationship between Petey and his father.

Of course there's also a giant animated lunchbag destroying the city, a subplot about Dog Man being fired and returning to work in a cat disguise, and all of the usual silliness, but it's the quiet beauty of the ending pages that will stick with me.

The promotional pages at the end suggest that the author is moving on to a Cat Kid comic series. If so, then this was a lovely and satisfying conclusion to a series that really delivered far beyond its roots as a side joke in Captain Underpants.

Rating: 9/10

Guts

Bought at the Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Guts
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2019
Writer: Raina Telgemeier
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Colorist: Braden Lamb
Letterer: Jesse Post
Editor: Cassandra Pelham Fulton

This is the third of Raina Telgemeier autobiographical series. Raina starts a difficult year in the fifth grade with what at first seems like a bad stomach flu. But a series of recurring stomach problems and anxiety attacks make an already stressful school year terrifying. As the year goes on, Raina learns some ways to face her fears and discovers that she isn't as alone as she thought she was.

Raina Telgemeier's brilliance is her ability to surprise the reader without going to extremes. Her stories are grounded in real interactions but still loaded with plot twists and turns.

This story covers issues around mental health and chronic illness in ways that will resonate with readers, and it manages that with humor and heart.

Rating: 9/10

Dog Man: Fetch-22

The Kiddo bought this at Boocup, Kerry Parkside, Pudong, Shanghai, China.

Title: Dog Man: Fetch-22
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2019
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi

Li'l Petey makes a discovery about the Supa Brain Dots that had turned Flippy the bionic fish evil, and it leads to Flippy's release from Fish Jail, as well as a recall of Supa Brain Dots. Unfortunately, with Dog Man in charge of the recall, things get rapidly out of control, and the city is soon being menaced by 22 psychokinetic tadpoles, a giant tree monster (Barky McTreeface!) and a very angry TV gameshow fairy who is out to make sure that everything is fair. By destroying everything.

There were plenty of good literary and pop culture references, and some good one-liners here. The plot felt a bit like a retread of the previous stories, though. Not much new ground was covered here, although Petey and Li'l Petey had some really good moments together.

Entertaining, but leaned a bit too heavily on previous plot beats.

Rating: 6/10

Amulet Book Eight: Supernova

I bought this for the Kiddo at Boocup in the Kerry Place Mall in the Jingan Temple neighborhood of Shanghai, China.

Title: Amulet Book Eight: Supernova
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2018
Writer: Kazu Kibuishi
Artist: Kazu Kibuishi
Editor: Cassandra Pelham Fulton

Something of a transitional chapter in the story, this volume focuses on Emily's struggle to regain control over her powers and her identity. It also serves to wrap up several plot details, and expands on the worldbuilding, extending the story into outer space and to other planets.

Emily's internal struggle is central to the ongoing plot, and there are a couple of surprising revelations. But what really stands out in this volume are the interactions between Aly and Navin, who are on a mission to a planet where they make some new friends, but end up having to make a harrowing escape down a narrow mountain path on bikes. Aly and Navin are great in this story, and it's good to see them get some of the spotlight even as Emily is coming into her own as a stonekeeper.

Rating: 8.5/10

Dog Man: For Whom The Ball Rolls

The Kiddo borrowed this from a friend at school.

Title: Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2019
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi, Aaron Polk

Petey is released from Cat Jail, but will he be able to be the father that Li'l Petey wants him to be? When Petey's own father suddenly comes back into the picture, Petey must face his own abandonment issues, even as he finds himself part of a very nontraditional extended family with his son, Dog Man, and 80-HD.

Meanwhile, Dog Man gets some well-intentioned Pavlovian behavior modification to cure him of his obsession with chasing balls, but when a (not) new villain unleashes a horde of ball-shaped robots, Dog Man's greatest weakness becomes, well, his greatest weakness. Just in an even worse way.

Dav Pilkey drops Ernest Hemingway and Eric Carle references, confronts the reality of toxic family relationships, and expands the character development of a bunch of returning cast members.

This was a fun step forward that brought some new ideas and kept the same impressive joke-density of the previous books in this series.

Rating: 8.5/10

Ghosts

The last graphic novel from the four-book boxed set we bought at the Eslite main store in Taipei, Taiwan.

Title: Ghosts
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2016
Writer: Raina Telgemeier
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Colorist: Braden Lamb
Letterer: Jenny Staley
Editor: Cassandra Pelham

Of the four Raina Telgemeier graphic novels in the boxed set we got, this was the only one that involved supernatural elements. Catrina's family has moved from southern California to the foggy northern coastal town of Bahia de la Luna, where they hope the air quality will be better for Catrina's sister Maya, who has cystic fibrosis.

They soon meet a boy who runs the local ghost tour, followed by an encounter with real ghosts. Fearing for her sister's safety, Catrina tries to shut the supernatural nature of the town out of her life any way she can, but as Dia de los Muertos approaches, Catrina must find understanding with both the visiting spirits and her sister.

There are some moments of atmospheric creepiness to this story, but the ghosts are portrayed primarily as joyful beings, and their joy permeates the story, bringing light to the worries that Catrina has about her sister's future and her own place in their new home.

This had the strongest  plot of the four Telgemeier books, and her interpretation of the ghosts themselves was clever and fun. There were great touches of humor, beautiful landscapes, and some powerful emotional scenes.

Rating: 9/10

Sisters

The third book in a four-book boxed set we bought at the Eslite main store in Taipei, Taiwan.

Title: Sisters
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2014
Writer: Raina Telgemeier
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Colorist: Braden Lamb
Letterer: John Green
Editor: Cassandra Pelham

Raina Telgemeier returns to autobiographical material with this story of her relationship with her younger sister. She embarks on a road trip with her mom and her younger brother and sister: a week of driving and camping from San Francisco to Colorado, then a week of family reunion with cousins, followed by another week of driving and camping on the way home.

All of this takes place during the timeframe around the end of the companion book, Smile (my review is here), but the two books stand alone nicely, and there is not much overlap aside from the characters themselves.

Interspersed with the road trip adventures and family drama are flashbacks that reveal the sometimes contentious relationship between the Raina and her sister Amara over the years. There is also a fair amount of other family drama, lots of terrible luck with pets, some 80s and 90s nostalgia, and plenty of humor.

The story encapsulates a lot of Raina's frustrations as a teenager, and does a nice job of showing how the road trip brings conflicts to a boil, but also brings a bit of understanding. I thought that Smile had a tighter narrative, but this book provided a lot of good backstory.

Rating: 7/10