February 15, 2024
Grades 4-6 A rocky but fruitful collaboration between young creatives plays out on a mix of block-printed notebook pages, hand-drawn comics, post-its, fan mail, greasy napkins, and notes passed in class on scrap paper. Already a legend in his own mind, Eliot Quigley fills his notebook with ideas for new superheroes, the best being an ordinary lad who acquires powers by eating radioactive onion rings. Realizing that his drawing skills don't match his gift for words, Eliot badgers talented but reluctant classmate Pam into producing a short comic--and then throws a tantrum when she makes changes to his script without asking. Readers will find the comics, in which Mighty Onion is joined by cute costumed partner Guinea Pig Girl, as amusing as the ensuing sturm und drang between author and artist, as bruised egos and harsh critiques give way to a hard-won understanding of the techniques and rewards of hashing out creative differences and playing to each others strengths. Along with insights into the collaborative process, Crilley displays clever versatility with different art styles in this tongue-in-cheek outing.
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February 15, 2024
The road to superhero success is paved with collaboration challenges for a pair of middle schoolers in this series opener. Aspiring comic book writer Eliot Quigly is not an artist--or at least not one who can draw the kind of art he needs. His eye fixed firmly on fame and fortune, he's thrilled when he comes up with a hero whose super-strength comes from eating radioactive onion rings. So convinced is Eliot of the great potential of this idea that he persuades talented classmate Pamela Jones to draw the first episode. Though Eliot's unselfconscious enthusiasm and unchecked confidence in his own genius are annoying and get him in trouble, the first installment of The Mighty Onion is championed by Pam and Eliot's teacher and wins them followers and fan mail. Eliot soon runs afoul of his illustrator, however, since he fails to yield any artistic ground to Pam in storylines, dialogue, or anything else. His bumpy journeys to understanding his calling as a writer as well as grasping the elements of a sincere apology are convincing and very funny. Collage elements--crumpled drawings, torn pieces of paper, inspirational stickers, and a couple of fortune cookies--add energetic visual interest to this hybrid graphic novel/notebook narrative. Main characters read white; Dr. Hubris, the green-skinned, goblinlike supervillain of Eliot and Pam's comics, inexplicably sports a Nehru jacket and topi. Highly entertaining. (Graphic fiction. 9-13)
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May 24, 2024
Gr 5-7-From acclaimed graphic novelist Crilley comes a tale of an aspiring comic book writer with a desperate need to publish his creative works with the perfect artist partner. Middle schooler Eliot Quigly begins a journal to record his many ideas for the next great superhero comic, but finds his lack of artistic talent a real problem in his quest to be a mega-rich comic book writer. That is, until he notices classmate Pam's notebook with the perfect drawing style for his latest idea. With persistence, determination, and a helpful push from an invested teacher, Eliot and Pam partner to create The Mighty Onion for all of their classmates, and potentially the world, to read. With struggles on cooperation, creative liberties, compromise, and humility, Eliot learns that there are a lot of ways his words can both hurt and heal. Written in a diary-style format, Crilley mixes several forms of artistic styles to create the feeling that readers are actually holding Eliot's journal, stuffed with greasy napkins and fortune cookie wrappers. VERDICT A perfect match for any fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid hoping to write their own story someday, this is a promising and noteworthy addition to any middle grade collection.-Lindsey Morrison
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