The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks, Kurt Busiek (Introduction)

Fairy tale twists are gobs of fun. Like the fractured fairy tale, this is the fractured superhero tale. You've seen them before in "A Heroes Guide to Saving Your Kingdom" or "Captain Underpants," or the movie, "Guardians of the Galaxy." Parodies are one way of dismantling the superhero archetype and Superhero girl does this as well, except she is anything but superhero-y. She's a bonafide klutz with self-deprecating humor and a mask that she forgets to take off all the time. We meet girl hero sitting in an overstuffed chair going through her official superhero checklist: superpowers, cape, arch-nemesis, and saving the world. Her nemesis is Shaun, a boy that questions and belittles her. He insists that she needs a tragedy to be a superhero. He insists it is more cool to fly than leap over buildings which is what she does. He insists she is bad at fighting monsters. When she meets him at the end of the story in her civilian attire, she becomes a real hero as a friend in an unexpected way. Not that Shaun knows that. But then superheroes need to cover their identity from the world.

Superhero girl lives with a roommate that knows of her powers. She is watching the television when a special broadcast interrupts the news to show a monster landing in the ocean. The comic strip-like illustrations show Superhero girl whipping into her street clothes, slamming the door, only to scream, "Aw CRAP. I forgot my cape!" The next frame shows only her foot in the upper left side of the page as she leaps impossibly high off the ground and says, "Whatever." The dry humor continues with the story as she meets Shaun, deals with her brother, and fights the dorky ninjas that show up like popcorn trying to foil her plans.

The story pokes fun at superheroes while taking on universal themes. Superhero girl with all her superpowers feels inadequate and unsure of herself. Her brother, Kevin, is the polished, professional superhero with his own line of special edition dolls. Superhero girl has a weakness for kittens and is a bit of a softy for all of her bravado. She wants to be polished, but feels under-appreciated. She's doing her best, but sometimes it doesn't seem like it is enough for the other people in her life. Sound familiar? So while she is the common person's superhero, the story is about everyday life. She needs a job, wants to meet boys, and drools in her sleep. All with ninja's trying to make her late to the interview and showing up with her mask on. Pretty funny.

I'm not a graphic novel connoisseur. More of a newbie. But I do notice, and like, the use of block-letter sound effects along with images and dialogue. This amalgamation makes for a unique reading experience. Emotions are not limited to text, but are conveyed with color, line, and contrasts. The color patterned backgrounds contrast with the dialogue displayed in the only white-colored speech bubbles and Superhero girl's white eyes; an accent that makes them pop out accenting her expressions and feelings. I've read some really good graphic novels lately. Piqued by the process, I ran upstairs to the middle school library and checked out the book, "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art," by Scott McCloud. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two. Let me know if there is a superhero writer out there. I need some tips. It takes me longer to write a graphic novel review than read it.

4 Smileys

The Shadow Hero (The Shadow Hero) by Gene Luen Yang, Sonny Liew (Illustrations), Chu Hing

The Avengers can add an Asian superhero to their team, Hank Chu, a.k.a. Green Turtle. Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew pay homage to the first ever Asian comic superhero that came out in the 1940s, the golden age of comics that produced Batman, Captain America, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and so on. Chu Hing created a character in 1944 called, The Green Turtle, that was a superhero from WWII. Hing only had 5 issues published and was told his character could not be Asian. An appendix explains in more detail how Hing worked around this issue and the history of the first Green Turtle superhero. While Yang and Liew remake elements of the original, their story is their own concoction of action, humor, and Eastern culture. Gobble up this graphic novel with a boazi and enjoy.

Hank Chu, is a carbon-copy of his father who runs a grocery store during the 1930s in San Francisco, CA. His mother, Hua Chu, wants more in life. One day while tooling around town on errands in a big sedan chauffeuring her employer, Mrs. Olson, a carjacker steals the car at gunpoint making her drive him to an unknown destination. Hua is saved by the Anchor of Justice, a superhero that flies the car up over a body of water and shakes the occupants out catching Hua mid-air and letting the villain crash in the water below. With goo-goo eyes, Hua is inspired and admires her rescuer. She becomes obsessed with Hank becoming a superhero by making him a costume, setting him up for fighting lessons with uncle, and putting him through experiments so he'll gain superpowers. She is a hilarious caricature of a Tiger Mom and her illustrations are some of my favorite ones in the whole novel.

Gangs run the streets and when Hank's father doesn't pay the street Lord, things start to fall apart. When a relative is killed, Hank seeks revenge. He discovers another gang and falls for the Ten Grand's daughter. She's a strong female that rescues Hank on his first disastrous outing as a superhero. Ironically, Hank was trying to save the daughter from thugs but she is perfectly capable of protecting herself. Later, she deliberately doesn't kill Hank when her father asks her to.

I live in Asia. I recognize the goofy kung fu fighting uncle, the dedicated son that obeys his parents, and the ambitious pushy mother. And while these stock characters are going to be familiar to Asians, I'm not sure Americans will recognize them which makes this novel a good way to introduce others to an unfamiliar culture.

The snappy dialogue is fun. The mother's character, Hua, is one of the main forces that drives the plot and she embodies so much of Eastern culture making her an important person to the story as a whole, but her verbal criticism of how Western women dressed and looked from being drab to fat made me wonder if she was going to be a stereotyped unhappy, gossipy, older woman who has lost her looks and criticizes those around her. Fortunately, she doesn't take that one-dimensional route and shows that she really wants what is best for her son even if she is misguided.

The authors capture Eastern culture and humor loaded in action-packed illustrations and text. Hua is sitting in the car eating a pork bun or boazi. In Taiwan, they sell these buns everywhere. The students want them as a snack after playing sports or for meals. The old men are playing Mahjong, a fun board game that people play in the multiple parks around the city of Taipei. When Hua makes Hank his first costume it is with the Chinese character for gold. The money god or god of prosperity is worshiped or invoked during Chinese New Year. Common Chinese traditions and beliefs are what make this novel special for the reader is absorbed in the culture; it isn't explained. Eastern culture has roots in Confuscius teachings who championed strong family loyalty, respect for elders by children and husbands by their wives. This book gives the reader a bite of a different culture and it is delicious.

Derogatory words are used in the story. When I first came across them it was jarring, but then it became apparent that they were intentional and are an effort to make the characters authentic. By drawing attention to racial slurs, the authors are showing how they were used at that time in history. Slurs are still used today and people are victims of prejudice all over the world.

The character arcs show Hua changing from wanting her son to be a superhero at all costs, to worrying that she went too far and he will kill himself. At the end, he shows he's capable and no longer a child in need of a parent's protection. She's proud of him. Hank embraces his new powers, suffers many setbacks, but learns to believe in himself. He gains respect from the community while championing the common Asian person. Ultimately, the superhero is successful at avenging his relative's death and bringing peace to the neighborhood.

I plan on using this for book club and get my students opinions. Most grew up in Taiwan and their take on the story would be enlightening and rich. This graphic novel is corny, fun, and introduces a culture I have fallen in love with. Check it out. Better yet, check out Taiwan.

5 Smileys

Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson

I love movies such as Superman, Ironman, Thor, Transformers and their predictable formula of action and humor with a hero saving the world. Toss in the popcorn of special effects, explosions, car chases, futuristic cars, gadgets, and light romance and I am a happy muncher in the audience. Movies like this are my shot in the arm after a long work week.  I know what I am getting and am highly entertained. This book does that and more. Brandon Sanderson works with existing conventions but twists them into something fresh and original. He adds depth with unexpected themes and pokes fun at writing conventions revealing a writer who has worked hard at mastering his craft while showing the world his Epic skills. He had me quite fooled with the plot making for a great ending. And this is the first book in a series. I so like an author who writes a distinct beginning, middle, and end without chopping off the action at the end with no story wrap-up. You can dangle one or two plot elements, but I dislike being left dripping with questions. My recent rash of reading books with hatchet endings made me purr with satisfaction when I got to the end of this book. Ho-ho-ho, it's wrapped-up well.

When the red satellite, Calamity, appeared in the sky it triggered superpowers in a few humans labeled, Epics, by the rest of the unchanged population. The Epics used their powers as tyrants oppressing people and taking whatever they wanted to ensure total control of cities. None of these Epics had redeeming qualities, but David Charleston's dad believed that there had to be a good Epic somewhere in the world. When the Epic, Steelheart, appeared at the bank where David and his dad were trying to survive the killing spree of the evil Epic, Deathpoint, David's dad thought the time had come when a good Epic would rise. When it looked like Deathpoint was going to kill Steelheart, David's dad thought he saved Steelheart's life. But his dad exposed a weakness in Steelheart who in anger turned and killed him setting off David's ten year vengeance and plotting to take down Steelheart. (This is all in the Prologue so don't worry, I'm not spoiling the plot.) No one fights Steelheart except the Reckoners who go from city-to-city fighting lesser Epics. David devises a way to become a member and convince them to go after the powerful Epic, Steelheart.

Sanderson flips the superhero on its head so that they are the villains oppressing people who rise up in order to have a better life that entails freedom of choice. The Epics care only about power and do not value human life. None are good. Steelheart is unusual in that he has more power and infrastructure in his city than other ruling Epics creating a somewhat peaceable authoritarian government. Er... that's an oxymoron, tyrants aren't peaceable but if you could choose your poison then you'd probably live in David's city than another. David struggles with bringing Steelheart down because he knows that life will be bad for people in the aftermath and he doesn't know if another tyrant will take Steelheart's place. Some would choose no conflict or change over oppression and he wonders if he should he push his desires on them.

This overarching theme of doing what he believes is the right thing when it involves killing others and pursuing an uncertain future is one he struggles with throughout the story. He debates the good and bad of what he is doing and how his actions can be like a terrorist if he's not careful. When he sets out to bomb a place he questions that he's the "good guy" and explores the notion of extremists becoming just as bad as terrorists when they no longer value human life. He struggles with the violence in a post-apocalyptic world and decides to work for the idea of a future peaceful and free state. Luckily the Reckoners feel the same way as David and take precautions with their plans to avoid killing innocent people. Either way the path they took is violent and will most likely end in their deaths. David has to decide if it is worth dying for this ideal.

Sanderson works familiar fantasy conventions and tropes and makes them his own. This story basically uses the idea of a superhero who is a villain and has a weakness like Superman being immobilized by kryptonite. The theme of hiding one's weakness out of fear is not unfamiliar but I don't recall a story where all superheroes are villains. The Reckoners spend most of their time trying to figure out Steelheart's weakness when the norm in this genre is to focus on superpowers and their abilities. The message regarding Epics being consumed by power and thus losing their humanity, spoke to me as an individual. If I let myself be afraid because of a weakness then I usually make bad choices and start putting myself above others. When I make something more important in life whether that is power, money, pride, it distorts my ability to make unselfish choices. I also lose my joy.

The author is also brilliant at connecting his world building elements with the magic system and explaining them thoroughly. Some might find the details boring but I think it gives the story a solid, plausible structure. I am not left with many questions when I read Sanderson's books. This is a clue that he knows his craft well. For instance, he explains how jewelry is no longer valuable economically in David's world because there are Epics who can create gems; however, gold still has trade value because no Epic can reproduce it and the Reckoners decide to take that to fund their operations when they stumble upon a treasure hoard. I appreciate how he creates his world incorporating politics, religion, economics, and social structures. He goes into great depth which makes the actions of characters more believable.

Ever read a book where there's a lightness and silliness to it that makes it obvious the author is having a hey-ho time? David uses cliches and metaphors and jokes about it all the time. You know darn well the author can write metaphors and he's just messing with the reader making it funny. He describes some motorcycles like ninja alligators which sounds like something one of my elementary students would come up with. Abraham, a French Canadian, pokes fun at the others who don't appreciate the beauty of the French language which even though its a bit stereotypical it is funny and I have met people like that. He's not obnoxious. Abraham is actually the spiritual character who spews wisdom to the others in occasional speeches that portrays the religious inclinations of some in David's futuristic world. Some might find him preachy but I thought him necessary to Sanderson's exhaustive world building. Cody is a Scottish chameleon and side-kick to David. Cody's voice and character are quite distinct and some of the adult humor had me snorting.

The euphemisms of "sparks" and "slontze" place it in the YA/middle grade genre and made me think of Gantos "cheese-us-crust" (I'm reading his Norvelt book.) We used to make up euphemisms all the time as kids or we'd get our mouths washed out with soap by an offended adult who heard us.  The metaphors add humor and show the author playing with words. One awful metaphor David comes up with is describing a hand-blasting machine like an "unbalanced washing machine filled with a hundred epileptic monkeys." A few paragraphs later David uses a great metaphor to describe it but doesn't draw attention to the fact with the usually waving a white handkerchief and stating, "Hey... here's a metaphor I'm proud of!" He says "imagine holding a swarm of bees in your mouth, then spitting them out and trying to keep them pointed in a single direction by the sheer force of your breath and will." The author knows his metaphors. He's messing with the reader. The author also uses metaphors as a character trait in David that add humor. I'm not sure if kids will like this technique as well as I did. I enjoyed the author toying with his craft and reader.

The voice of David is funny and self-deprecating. It's also the voice of a young man who is trying to tell a girl he's interested in her and making an idiot out of himself in an endearing way. He's smart and nerdy defying the oftentimes good-looking, athletic stereotype. David was more authentic to me because of that and the comments he makes were laugh out loud at times. Not everyone is going to like this type of character. In one scene where he and Megan are going back and forth about weapons I laughed pretty hard. Megan is your stock female character however. She's gorgeous, aloof, athletic, and smart. She's his foil and it adds to the humor. Again, I felt like the author was having a hoot playing with stereotypes and then manipulating them in a terrific plot twist. This was an extremely entertaining book that makes a bunch of crazy eights with the plot. Grab your popcorn and settle in for a fun read.

5 Smileys