The Dominion Key

October 22, 2012
In this lively romp from newcomer Bacon, sixth-grader Joshua Dread is contending with the knowledge that his parents are secretly supervillains who periodically try to take over and/or destroy the world, only to inevitably be beaten down by heroes like the telegenic, endorsement-happy Captain Justice. Just as Joshua's own power of spontaneous combustion emerges, he faced with a worse problem: weird smoke creatures are kidnapping supervillains, and his parents are the latest to vanish. Now Joshua must save the worst villains on the planet, and his only allies are his best friend, Milton, and Sophie, a new girl with secrets of her own. Despite predictable moments, Bacon's deadpan narrative hums along with outrageous details, humor, and action and is complemented by Dorman's suitably heroic b&w portraits of the characters. A hero with a double life and a colossal set of parental issues, Joshua handles zombies, killer robots, and teenage girls without losing his cool. Bacon's affectionately playful take on the superhero genre introduces bombastic personalities without reducing the characters to caricatures. Ages 9â12. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Company.

May 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-After his dangerous and very public summer with the Alliance of the Impossible in The Nameless Hero (Delacorte, 2013), Joshua is hoping for a normal year in seventh grade-or at least as normal as things can get for the son of the world's greatest supervillains. Unfortunately, the renegade nFinity is back, and he hasn't forgotten his humiliating defeat by the Alliance. The ex-hero is out for revenge-and he's still working for the evil mastermind Vex. Meanwhile, Joshua's parents, the Dread Duo, get together with Captain Justice, their arch-nemesis (and the father of Joshua's good friend Sophie), to consider a safe school environment for the kids-their old alma mater, Alabaster Academy. Between the super-charged curriculum, super-bullies, and secret identities, the friends have difficulty adjusting to their new school-and then they discover nFinity and his goons have followed them. With the traitors' help, Vex has infiltrated the Academy-and is seeking control of The Device-a potent weapon that will enable him to enslave the world. Somewhere at Alabaster is the Dominion Key, which will activate The Device. Alabaster Academy is a kind of Hogwarts for Superheroes, filled with secret passages, ghostly legends, slightly dotty professors, and the occasional death trap. Readers may wish there was more here about life in a super-school, but they will enjoy the series' hallmark bizarre contraptions, including a flying fortress shaped like a massive duck and wildly creepy monsters like the human/motorcycle Cyclaurs. There is also a sweet, gentle side note featuring Sophie's godfathers-two elderly superheroes, Mr. Marvelous and the Whiz Kid, now living together in quiet retirement, but ready to spring back into action for one last exploit. A worthy addition to an original and creative series.-Elaine E. Knight, formerly at Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

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