Battling Boy Series, Book 1

Starred review from September 9, 2013
The future of Arcopolis, a city under siege by daily monster attacks, is in jeopardy after its champion, Haggard West, falls in battle. Hope arrives in the form of Battling Boy, a pampered 13-year-old warrior god whose initiation into adulthood is to become Arcopolis's new protector. Even with magical powers imbued by a set of totemic T-shirts, Battling Boy grapples with both the onslaught of monsters and his newfound publicity. Meanwhile, Arcopolis' resident villains plot to keep their city hero-free, and West's daughter, Aurora, looks to take up her late father's mantle. Alt comics mainstay Pope, in his first work for young readers, trades his signature dark and heady aesthetic for a pulpy Technicolor fantasy with a flair that is expected of one of the industry's most acclaimed creators. But the book is more than just eye candy, matching its style with substance and tackling all-too-human problems (despite a cast of mostly otherworldly characters) like the fear of failure and the pressures of legacy. It's another notch in Pope's belt, and a worthy addition to any comics fan's library. Ages 10âup.

A young boy with a divine pedigree may be Earth's last chance to rid Arcopolis of its scourge of monsters. In Arcopolis, the streets aren't safe to roam past curfew. Luckily for its denizens, the hero Haggard West helps battle the evil forces of Sadisto and his hooded ghouls. However, in a shocking turn of events, evil triumphs over good, and the metropolis is left without protection. In a world far, far away, a 13-year-old son of a god has been chosen to help Earth fight the onslaught of monsters as a rite of passage. Sent with only a few possessions, including an array of magical T-shirts, Battling Boy helps the city--but he finds he cannot do it alone. Pope's creation is a fast-paced, taut, capes-and-tights tale successfully incorporating all of the elements needed to construct a winning superhero yarn. It's got a twist that is sure to appeal to every young reader; who doesn't want to see a superhero who's their own age, free of all the pain and heartache most adult superheroes have these days? Pope's art isn't for everyone; it's frenetic and distorted--not the usual slick, superhero stuff. However, those who pick this up will not regret it: Battling Boy is an accessible superhero anyone can enjoy. An abrupt ending will have readers on tenterhooks for the next installment. A masterful nod to the genre. (Graphic adventure. 12 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-With the death of hero Haggard West, Acropolis has become defenseless against vicious gangs of monsters and demons. Fortunately Battling Boy, sent here from another world to complete a rite of passage and become a hero, reluctantly offers to save the city and is immediately thrown into battle. But unlike other superheroes, Battling Boy struggles with a plethora of other, more subtle problems, such as an overbearing superhero father unwilling to help him; a city council that creates an embellished image of him; and uncontrollable superpowers from his magical T-shirts (yep, magical T-shirts). Action scenes are intense and well plotted, as when Battling Boy must jump from rooftop to rooftop in an effort to avoid a giant car-crushing monster. Although short on exposition, the story is well balanced with tongue-in-cheek humor and epic battles, but heartfelt sincerity and humility when the dust settles. Pope perfectly matches the over-the-top and fantastical tone of the piece with gritty 1980s-style artwork, toxic coloring, and jagged inking. The side story featuring Haggard's vengeful daughter, Aurora, trying to take her father's place is far less compelling than the main story, but will hopefully be fleshed out more in the upcoming sequel to this amazing epic.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2013
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Comics' sci-fi rock-god Pope synthesizes the mythologies of Superman, Batman, and Hercules and sends them crashing into a monster-infested dystopia in this rollicking blast of adventure, the first part of a larger tale. When Acropolis' protector, Haggard West, dies in a battle with child-snatching ghouls, Battling Boy is sent down from the Olympian lightning cloud for his trial of manhood. His apparent defeat of a rampaging monstrosity gets him caught up in local politics, puts him in the sights of the hideous ghouls, and gains him the ire of Haggard West's daughter, who is looking to establish her own heroic credentials. Pope offers a latter-day superhero mythology that is also a glorious homage to shojo and, in fact, to heroism throughout history. This is a sophisticated tale for younger readers, but Pope manages to both grant full-scale wish fulfillment and acknowledge the limitations of young boys with equal aplomb. His art, meanwhile, looks like nothing else in comics, with ropy, sinewy figures, dynamic action, and gritty urban design all captured in panels that have the rough, subversive tone of classic punk album covers. Indeed, Pope's visuals might demand a larger canvas than the elegantly compact format First Second has afforded it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)