The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook

I try to read as much as possible, but there are books that have sat on my shelf for years. I am sad to say that this one, The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, is one of those books. I say sad because this book is utterly wonderful and enjoyable, and I was depriving myself of a great pleasure by not reading it all those years. The art is exceptionally fun and detailed, the story brisk yet substantive, and the whole enterprise crackles with energy, humor, and inventiveness.

The plot begins with a nerdy young science enthusiast Julian gets transferred to a new school.

Shunned in the past for being too smart and into science, he tries to hide who he is, only to become friends with two disparate kindred spirits and form the titular Secret Science Alliance. Teamed with school jock Ben Garza and notorious troublemaker Greta Hughes, the trio come up with all kinds of wonderful gadgets, including bouncy shoes, retrieval drones, and a flying machine.

Hidden away in their secret headquarters, life is pretty great for these friends until an unlikely rival catches wind of their work and steals their notebook of inventions.There is so much to love about this book. It features brilliantly designed, interesting characters. The inventions are fun, fascinating, and wonderful to behold. The artwork is full of eye-popping detail, vibrant colors, excellent storytelling, and so much expression. I cannot recommend this book enough. Go and get it now!

This book is the creation of Eleanor Davis, who worked on it with her husband Drew Weing and friend Joey Weiser. Davis has won a few accolades, including the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, and has a number of books for adult (How to Be Happy and You & A Bike & A Road) and younger readers (Stinky) to her credit. She speaks about much of her work and career in this interview.

All of the reviews I read have heaped great praise on this book. Elizabeth Bird wrote, "This is the kind of title that rewards the reader over and over again." Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review that concluded, "With its bounty of factlets slipped in for learning on the sly, it’s a sure kid and teacher pleaser—a perfect package for tweens." Jason Azzopardi admired that it was full of "exuberance, stimulation and the love of possibility."

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook was published by Bloomsbury, and they have more info about it here.

Mermin Book One: Out of Water

Out of Water is a whole lot of things at once. It's a monster story about a young critter than looks a lot like the Creature from the Black Lagoon encountering some children. It's a tale of fitting in at school, with a look at classroom and classmate dynamics. It's an action story about a lost prince and the elite squad sent to retrieve him. And it's also sort of a superhero slugfest. Also, there are a whole bunch of humorous bits, mostly verbal and situational ones like this one here:

Mermin is an amusing and enigmatic character. He is running from something and shares almost nothing about his background. Also, he is hiding the fact that he has an amazing array of abilities, including super strength and the ability to communicate telepathically with sea life. After saving them from a shark, he ingratiates himself into a trio of children, one of whom actually gets his family to shelter the little green guy. Mermin settles in and even goes to school with his new friend Pete, pretending to be his cousin. There, they all find themselves in the interesting and insightful world of elementary students like so:

I don't want to spoil too much, but there is a whole lot of backstory that Mermin does not tell but the reader finds out little by little. He is a merman from the land of Mer, and he seems to be a figure of some importance, but something happened that made him want to abandon his underwater life. I felt that the story was compelling enough, and even though there is much left unresolved at the end of this book (it literally ends with questions) there are two more volumes (with a fourth soon to be published) for those who want to follow his adventures. I know I felt a little disappointed that there was not more resolution in this book, but knowing there are more books that follow is good news for Mermin fans.

This book is the creation of Joey Weiser, a cartoonist who has published a few other books and mini-comics, including Tales of Unusual Circumstance, Cavemen in Space, and The Ride Home. He speaks more about his work on this book in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book range from positive to lukewarm. Diamond Bookshelf wrote,"The art is appropriately bold and cartoony, but also vibrant and easy to follow, and the coloring is very bright and eye catching." Publishers Weekly summed up, "The slapstick comedy, climactic battle scenes, and in-your-face cartooning add up to a story with the feel of an animated cartoon series, if not an especially ground-breaking one." Kirkus Reviews was not too enthusiastic about the book and suggested that "readers looking for a funny, bubble-gum comic with art vibrant as a Saturday-morning cartoon and action to match will find that this suffices."

Mermin Book One was published by Oni Press. You can purchase it online here. Weiser provides a preview of it here.

The Ride Home

Nodo is a van gnome. That means that he lives in a van, hiding for the most part and tidying up when the humans aren't around. One day, on the way to a visit to the vet, the family cat gets at him and he is forced to abandon ship. Out in the world, Nodo, who has an absolutely horrible memory,  attempts to find his way back home. On his quest he runs into a great many interesting characters, including another van gnome named Flora, a sewer dragon, a tribe of forest gnomes, a couple of trolls, and some cows. Some of these creatures are more helpful than others, and a few are downright dangerous.

I found this book charming and wonderful. Its internal logic and magical creatures make up a fun and exciting yarn. It was created by Joey Weiser, a cartoonist who has published a few other books and mini-comics, including Tales of Unusual Circumstance, Cavemen in Space, and the forthcoming Mermin. He speaks more about The Ride Home and his early career in this interview.

This book was Weiser's debut effort, and I enjoyed it, but some reviews I have seen online have been rather harsh. Publishers Weekly found it stiff and concluded that "the story never takes off." Brian Gardes found it derivative and wrote that it contained "way too many coincidences for me to look beyond this pale imitation of Bone." Johanna Draper Carlson offered a counter view, calling it "a wonderful, engrossing all-ages story for anyone adapting to a new environment," and adding, "It’s a lovely reminder of the importance of friendship, too."

This book was published by Adhouse Books, who provide a preview here.

For the more frugal or those who want more of a preview, the author has posted the entire book here on his official site.