Melusine--Volume 4--Love Potions

May 1, 2010
Gr 4-8-In this addition to the series of reprints of original French-language material, Melusine, a young witch, is trying to help members of her local community. This collection focuses primarily on love spells and potions, but the general comic thrust is the ways in which magic can go awry, either through misplaced good intentions or the simple misapplication of power. Organized as one- to three-page vignettes, the book moves rapidly from punch line to punch line, accumulating a quick series of gently amusing impressions. The line work is clean, with a fine, cartoony look that's not atypical of European comics, and the color adds richness to the magic, skies, and backgrounds. The figures are expressive in the broad cartoon manner, with shorthand squiggles providing accented depictions of surprise, confusion, fatigue, distress, and the like. While the gags are well timed and the art is lovely, the book is little more than a momentaryif utterly charmingdistraction."Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH"

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