Comic – Grab This Book

Knights Club: The Bands of Bravery – Shuky

This middle-grade graphic novel series makes YOU the valiant hero of a fantasy quest—pick your panel, find items, gain abilities, solve puzzles, and play through new storylines again and again!

The year is 1012 in the kingdom of the good king Louis the Little. Three brothers dream of joining the fearless Knights of the Royal Order—and one of these brothers is you! On your adventure you will journey through snowy mountains, mysterious lakes, and haunted forests in search of the coveted bracelets of bravery. You must solve riddles, discover hidden passages, and gather magical objects. Success depends on the choices you make, because the hero is none other than you!

My thanks to Quirk Books for a review copy which I received through Netgalley

A book where you control the story. Decisions have to be made by the reader and this will dictate how the tale unfolds. Multiple possibilities so numerous potential story paths and this means the reader can play their way through Knights Club many, many times.

Yes I did say “play their way” as this book is more about playing the adventure than seeing how the author wants the tale to unfold. Knights Club is aimed at Middle Grade readers so I would suggest readers from age 8 to 12 will probably get the most fun here.

The story features a challenge…you are one of three brothers who want to become a knight. Take your chosen hero through a series of challenges and puzzles to make his dream come true.

I had a digital copy so I sat my eldest bookworm (11 years old) down. Handed him my laptop at the first page of the book and let him work out the story for himself. A great way to ensure a few hours of peace and quiet folks!

I got updates as he played. There were lots of giggles and snickering laughs. A few perplexed sighs as he tried to predict the decision he thought he SHOULD take to get the right solution (rather than the obvious path he WANTED to take). That’s not how these books work though!

The first read took about 30 mins and then he seemed to have messed up as the story ended (unsuccessfully). Straight back in for another go and son lasted longer and seemed to have a very different tale the second time around. NB he did later confirm he deliberately took different choices as he had failed the first read…

Knights Club kept him entertained for several evenings before I prompted him for some feedback to help with this review. “Great pictures” was noted and I agreed, the artwork is perfect for the target age and have lots of visual humour to support the story. “Fun to flick back and forward to keep the story going” was another observation. Clearly the unusual approach to reading was a hit. To clarify: The story begins at part 1 but may then direct you to page 74, choose between 142 or 44 and then from there you go to page 91. Some of the choices the reader faces are drawn into the artwork so a crossroads sign may give two visual clues where the story leads next.

All good fun and it kept my son highly entertained.

Not due to be released until September but this places it nicely into the “out in time for Christmas” category. Knights Club would make an excellent and unexpected pick-up idea for a reader who may want a bit more input into their latest read.

Knights Club is published by Quirk Books and releases on 4 September 2018 in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knights-Club-Bands-Bravery-Quests/dp/1683690559/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1532813899&sr=1-1

Category: From The Bookshelf, Graphic Novels | Comments Off

August 19

Skylanders: The Kaos Trap – Bowden/Marz

The #1 kids videogame and hottest-selling toy, Skylanders, is coming to your bookshelf in all-new comic book adventures! Join fan-favorite characters Spyro, Stealth Elf, Trigger Happy, and more in these original, never-before-seen stories that tie directly into the videogames.

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy of this forthcoming comic book adventure. And for making my kids ‘squee’ with excitement.

If you have not encountered Skylanders before then you have managed to avoid a videogame phenomenon. First encountered in the 2011 game Skylanders: Spyros Adventures the player guides a playable character through a series of colourful and challenging adventures seeking to beat the evil Kaos and thwart his plans to turn the lands of Skylands to darkness.

The twist in the Skylanders games is that the player has an actual toy (a physical object) which can be placed onto a ‘Portal’ that is connected to the videogame console – said toy is then transported into the game and the player controls a digital version of their character within the game. Fancy changing the hero? No problem…there were 32 inter-changeable characters in the first game and with the third sequel due this October there will be over 100 different playable characters available by Christmas.

Skylanders are a big deal in our household and the thrill of reading new adventures was evident when mini bookworm 1 and 2 (my bambino’s) crowded round my laptop to enjoy their first digital comic book experience.

Needless to say they were not disappointed. Skylanders: The Kaos Trap ticks every box you would expect. Fun, colourful artwork, familiar characters, slapstick humour and lots of Skylanders kicking butt.

My copy contained what seemed to be the first part of an ongoing comic book adventure and had the added pull of featuring the new characters for 2014 – the Trap Masters. Lots of cameo appearances from established Skylanders including Spyro, Stealth Elf and Pop Fizz made this a great introduction to the comic.

Kaos has a new plan to conquer Skylands yet his latest plot appears to have been thwarted by the timely intervention of a Trap Master – or has it? Colourful and crisp artwork made this a very pleasing book for me to use to introduce my younger child (4) to comic book stories. The story is not too complicated for youngsters to follow, yet still pitches a good balance to cater for all ages: both my boys enjoyed it despite the 4 year age gap between them.

Once the teaser tale for the ongoing stories was complete there was a stand-alone story featuring fan favourite Flynn, new characters Chopper and Food Fight plus the Skylander Mini’s (such as Weeruptor, Gill Runt and Thumpling). Once again many cameo appearances to please the fans and a fun story for the target audience (and this older reader too). I believe that the Skylanders comic could, and should, become a regular addition to many children’s monthly reading pile. With a vast array of characters at their disposal and the weight of the Activision videogame propelling the toys into more and more shops the target audience is primed for this one.

Skylanders: The Kaos Trap is due out early October and the latest game Skylanders: Trap Team is due in stores 10 October 2014 on all major consoles (and now tablets too).

Warning – Skylanders is addictive and expensive fun!

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off