Ahead of Their Time: Comics for Kids in Need of a Reprint

Publishers! Have I got a money making idea for you!

So, graphic novels for kids are selling better than ever, right? But it’s not like they only just now started coming out in the American marketplace. When I was a new children’s librarian a little more than 20 years ago, there were comics for kids out there, absolutely. Trouble is, they sort of came out too early. Many were released before the large hoards of comic loving kids we have now. SO! You know what that means? It means that many publishers are sitting on a great big, beautiful backlog of comics just ripe for re-publication.

With that in mind, here are the books that I loved back in the day and that I think deserve another chance to gain an all new readership:

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis (Bloomsbury) (2009)

When Julian Calendar starts school in a new town he is determined to fit in. No longer shall he be unceremoniously dumped into garbage cans for the crime of being a nerd. No! Julian is determined to hide his intelligence and smarts for as long as it takes to fit in. His plans, as it happens, are thwarted when two of his classmates (a girl and a jock) discover his secret and let him in on one of their own. Unbeknownst to the population at large, these kids are science geniuses. With Julian as their third they begin “The Secret Science Alliance”. But dark machinations are afoot. When their Invention Notebook is purloined and a local scientist of questionable morality takes credit for their inventions, they are determined to get their property back. In doing so, however, they find that the villain plans to rob the local museum for an item of inestimable cost. Will they be able to stop him in time? Stay tuned, faithful readers.

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Howtoons: The Possibilities are Endless by Saul Griffith and Bonsen, Joost. (ill. Nick Dragotta) (Image Comics)(2007)

Siblings Tuck and Celine may not always agree, but there’s certainly one thing they have in common; the desire to invent miraculous creations out of simple objects. So, through their eyes, fifteen different chapters show child readers how to prepare a workshop for their creations, use a variety of different tools, and make all kinds of cool things. One minute Tuck and Celine are making ice cream without an ice cream maker, and the next they’re whipping up handmade underwater scopes. As the book progresses, these inventions grow increasingly complex, though perhaps not impossible. Using a graphic format, authors Saul Griffith and Joost Bonsen and illustrator Nick Dragotta know how to lure in interested child readers, while also encouraging a love of science, invention, and sheer mental agility. If you every wanted to convince your kids of the importance of counting in binary or learning knot tying, no book has made such skills quite as compelling in recent memory.

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Wonderland by Tommy Kovac, ill. Sonny Liew (Disney Press)(2009)

Cast your mind back to the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This is the tale of the White Rabbit’s maid, Mary Ann. Returning to the White Rabbit’s home, Mary Ann hears conflicting reports of an “Alice monster” that wreaked havoc throughout the kingdom in her absence. When a misunderstanding leads to the Queen of Hearts mistaking the White Rabbit as a traitor, it’s up to Mary Ann and the rabbit to escape not just the queen, but a Jabberwocky, a Cheshire Cat, and the sudden shocking appearance of the Queen of Spades. Worst of all, some of the local animalia are under the distinct impression that Mary Ann will fill Alice’s shoes (so to speak) and go against the monarchy. Quite a lot to deal with for a girl who feels more comfortable cleaning palaces than living in them.

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Kampung Boy by Lat (First Second)(2006)

Mat was born in Malaysia to a stern but pleasant mother and a deeply warm and caring father. Raised in a kampung (or village), the reader watches as he goes through the basic day-to-day events of growing up. The kampang is situated beside a rubber plantation and a tin mine and young Mat spends his days growing and learning. He attends school so as to learn Tajwid (reading Arabic with the proper enunciation). He makes friends with some of the local boys, swimming and checking his fish traps. At ten he’s ritually circumcised (and it turns out to be far more boring than painful). Of course, Mat would love to spend his days just fishing and hanging out with his friends. His father, on the other hand, would like him to do especially well in his studies so that he can be admitted to a boarding school in another city. Mat isn’t too thrilled at first, but then his father reveals to him that his inheritance is a great deal of land. Land that will be his if he passes his examination. Altogether, this is the story of one boy trying to figure out what he wants out of life. Does he stay with what he’s familiar and comfortable with? Or does he leave the kampang he loves in search of different and new things?

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Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu, ill. Andres Vera Martinez (Graphic Universe) (2012)

Told in eight short stories, the book follows Da Qin, the middle class daughter of two parents, living in the late 1970s/early 80s. Through her eyes we see a number of small stories about growing up in a post-Mao China. There’s the tale of how she and her younger sister attempted to emulate their nation’s heroes by helping some thirsty chicks (to an unfortunate end, I’m afraid), or the one about having to bring in rat tails to prove she was great at pest control. There’s the story of how Mao’s death affected the nation, and useful facts about China during this era. Most impressive is the titular story about Da Qin and what happened to the white velvet duck on her jacket when she and her father visited the village where he was born. Honest, sometimes funny, and unusually touching, this glimpse into another life in another world rings distinctly true.

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Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by Greg Neri, ill. Randy DuBurke (Lee & Low Books) (2010)

The real world facts are available. Here’s what we know: That Robert “Yummy” Sandifer was eleven years old in 1994 when he went on the run after accidentally killing a neighbor girl. Gang violence was at its peak in the Roseland area of Chicago, and in this book a fictional neighborhood boy watches what happens to Yummy and to his own brother, both members of the same gang. The book asks hard questions as we watch Yummy’s life and strange toughness, even as his story turns tragic. An author’s note and bibliography appear at the end.

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Jellaby (Vol. 1) by Kean Soo (Hyperion Books)(2008)

It wasn’t long ago that Portia and her mother moved to a new town to start their lives over. Portia hasn’t made many friends since then, and she’s just going through the motions in her classes as well. What better time to discover a huge purple monster in the back yard then? Naming the strange mute creature Jellaby, Portia unwittingly enlists the help of fellow student Jason, as the two search for a way to find the their new friend’s true home. Their search may connect to Portia’s missing father, a series of odd dreams she’s been having, and a door that’s miles and miles away. The stakes, it seems, can be high even when you don’t know the rules.

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