Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost - Ian Edginton, Patrick Reilly, Stjepan Sejic
This review was originally written for GeekDad.
The third and final issue of Radical Comics. It's a retelling of the familiar tale of Aladdin in comic-book form, and it's definitely not the Disney version. Aladdin, while still the protagonist of the tale, is not necessarily as likable as the one your kids may be familiar with. From the time you meet him, he's gambling (and cheating), fighting, and hanging out in the brothel where he was raised. Qassim, the sorcerer who's after the lamp, is still just as evil as ever, though, taking what he wants and killing off anyone in his way.
The first issue mostly sets the stage, and other than some visual embellishments is largely the same story: Qassim needs Aladdin to fetch the lamp, tries to betray him, and Aladdin gets away with the lamp and discovers the djinn imprisoned within. His first act is to make himself a prince, creating an enormous palace just outside the city of Shamballah and trying to win the princess over with his fabulous riches. And here the story makes its own path to the end: Captain Sinbad enters the story and becomes a significant character in the tale, as does a Mantis Queen and the djinn of the ring. The conclusion (with the expected showdown with Qassim) throws in some backstory about what Qassim wanted with the lamp and an ancient race of sorcerers, something a bit different from most versions of Aladdin that I've read before, but the point is still the same. Aladdin needs to fight Qassim and rescue the princess (who, as you can tell from the third cover, is no damsel in distress either).
I did enjoy this version of the tale, scripted by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Patrick Reilly and Stjepan Sejic. As with the other titles by Radical Comics, the illustrations are not your typical comic-book style and the covers give you a pretty good idea of what the rest of the book looks like. However, I did feel that the consistency of the artwork left a little to be desired. Sometimes a lot of the female characters looked very similar; at other times, a character's face might change too much from one panel to another. I did like the djinns and the various beasts and mystical creatures throughout—that's where the artists really shine. The dialogue is serviceable but not fantastic; I can appreciate the difficulty of writing conversations in English that are supposed to sound like they take place in ancient Arabia but there are some passages that just come out clunky.
If you're a fan of the tale of Aladdin and you'd like to see a PG-13 version of it, you might want to check out this three-issue arc. It's a bit reminiscent of the current incarnations of the Prince of Persia.
Wired: Two words: land sharks. Arresting imagery and some variations on the story make this a fresh take on Aladdin.
Tired: While the artwork in each individual panel is terrific, sometimes the character's faces are a little inconsistent from panel to panel.
Fed to jonathan's brain | August 18, 2010
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This is just a note to say, that since I've been writing for GeekDad, I tend to write up reviews of books there, unless it's something that (a) I found out from GeekDad and then read, or (b) it was something that I just didn't feel fit the audience. However, (b) happens less and less now, partly because so many of the books I'm reading are ones that I got from publishers to review for GeekDad (either by my request or because I'm on a marketing list somewhere), and partly because GeekDad is for things that interest geeky parents—so if I'm interested in it, then by definition it's something at least one geeky parent likes!
But anyway, I'm going to try to remember posting my GeekDad reviews here as well, just so I have an archive.
Fed to jonathan's brain | August 18, 2010
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Note: This review was originally written for GeekDad.
If you're a picture book connoisseur, chances are you're already familiar with Lane Smith, who has often illustrated books by Jon Scieszka (like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) as well as many other authors including himself. He has a special talent for creating artwork that looks as if it belongs in an earlier era.
Smith's latest picture book, on sale today, is called It's a Book
It's a very cute book, short and sweet. The illustrations are charming—particularly the monkey's expressions—and your kids will love the silly questions the donkey asks about the monkey's book. The one thing I didn't like? Well, I really don't need my six-year-old repeating the phrase "It's a book, jackass." Yeah, it's kind of funny, but I'm guessing not all parents are okay with having their picture-book-age kids incorporating that into their vocabulary. (Note: "jackass" appears twice in the book, once at the beginning, and once at the end.) My daughter decided to just substitute the word "donkey" herself, which was fine with me. Aside from that, however, I really like It's a Book. I should note, however, that I lean toward the paper book side of the debate.
You can watch a little trailer for the book to get a feel for the illustrations and humor:
Fed to jonathan's brain | August 10, 2010
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