X-Venture Xplorers, The Kingdom of Animals: Lion vs Tiger

August 1, 2020
In a rip-roaring series opener, Lion and Tiger square off in a battle to see who is "ultimate king of the animals." Disingenuously billed as an "educational comic," this Chinese import divides a group of spiky-haired, manga-eyed young explorers into two teams, then sends them off to gather facts about their respective creatures. Along the way both teams meet--and are sometimes stalked by--various members of the cat family, which occasions breaks for pages of basic facts and behavioral notes. The tiger team has the better run, as it adds Tazen, a "little native" who can talk to animals, in Sumatra and foils a pair of big-cat poachers in Siberia. After rejoining their rivals to exchange taunts ("What kind of king has his women fight for him!"), it turns out that they are backing the winner in a climactic battle for supremacy that, for all that it's actually holographic, features much extreme violence. Except for Tazen and Kwame, a young member of the "Bushmen tribe" whose chief contribution is a silly mystic lion-summoning ritual, the young cast presents White and, aside from pink-haired peacemaker Sherry, is all male. The many melodramatic views of snarling predators flashing razor-sharp claws and teeth are rousing enough, but the martial premise, typecast players, and weak banter aren't. Subsequent episodes are set to pit other "beasts of similar strength" in battle for similarly "educational" purposes. Raw meat for adrenaline junkies--but not particularly nutritious. (multiple-choice quiz) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-12)

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