Coming next month, just in time for Halloween, is BIG
FOOT BOY VOLUME 1: INTO THE WOODS. This
latest all-ages graphic novel from J. Torres, author of POWER LUNCH and JINX,
features the art of Faith Erin Hicks, most recently of FRIENDS WITH BOYS.
BIG FOOT BOY follows young Rufus as he is dropped off at
his grandmother's for a week's vacation.
Bored and wanting to do something as his grandmother falls asleep while
watching her stories, Rufus follows a young girl into the woods behind his
grandmother's home. When he gets lost,
the young girl turns out to be a neighbor and helps him find his way home. The next day, he follows her again, and
instead of getting lost, Rufus finds a mysterious totem.
What happens next transforms Rufus' boring visit with his
grandmother into a wild adventure that he will not only never forget, but take
with him for the rest of his life.
Torres' pedigree when it comes to creating all-ages
material is well documented, having created stories for boys and girls of all
ages. He seems to have no trouble
writing stories both for and about kids, and each character has a unique voice
- something that many writers of all-ages material struggle with. Having written comics for Avatar and Batman,
Torres is also no stranger to writing adventure that is thrilling enough for a
young reader, without being overwhelming for the younger readers, yet not
underwhelming for older ones.
Hicks' art style is reminiscent of the Scott Pilgrim
books, and her layout style is clean.
The art perfectly compliments Torres' story, and the characters have a
brightness and humor that is natural and unforced, also something difficult to
convey for the intended audience. Hicks does
a nice job of presenting animal characters without falling into a common trap
of making them over-cute or over-anthropomorphised. This talent enhances the believability of the
book, whereas sometimes when you have talking animals in a story they break the
reading flow. This is not a problem for
BIG FOOT BOY, and helps reinforce the story and adventure.
My child is the target audience for BIG FOOT BOY, but it
is so well presented that parents will enjoy it as much, if not more. Like with POWER LUNCH, BIG FOOT BOY is
labeled as "Volume 1," which is good to hear, because even though the
story "ends," you really don't want it to end. That's a testament to Torres' storytelling
skill: he writes tight, concise stories that leave you feeling satisfied, but
absolutely wanting to read the next volume.
Here's hoping Torres and Hicks don't leave us waiting too
long.
BIG FOOT BOY VOLUME 1: INTO THE WOODS is due in September
from Kids Can Press by J. Torres (@jtorrescomics) and Faith Erin Hicks (@faitherinhicks). It is $9.95 for a
100-page book. Email or call us at GAME ON! to order
your copy today!
- J. R.
