New Brighton Archeological Society 1: The Castle of Galomar - Mark Andrew Smith & Matthew Weldon
When I first read about New Brighton Archeological Society on GeekDad, I thought it sounded great and put it on my list, but hadn't ever gotten around to reading it. But then when I saw fellow GeekDad Dave Banks at Maker Faire, he had an extra copy for me.
The NBAS consists of four kids, two pairs of siblings, whose parents went missing on an archeological expedition. They don't know a whole lot about the mission other than a little bit that was overheard by one of the kids. Sent to live at Brighton Manor with an elderly couple, they discover their parents' old hideaway and decide to form a new society.
They quickly find themselves in the middle of a centuries-old war between the goblins and the elves over the fate of an ancient library.
It's a pretty hefty graphic novel, and it's pretty action-packed. The illustrations are manga-inspired but with their own style. (Though it threw me off at first when I saw the parents, bundled up in coats and scarves, and assumed it was the four kids I saw on the cover.) There are some monsters and a lot of fighting, but for the most part it's not too gory or scary for younger readers.
One interesting bit was the Chinese vampires, who speak in Chinese. I haven't yet gone back to translate what they're saying, and I could only read bits and pieces of it. The translation isn't provided at all, and there's actually several lines of dialogue in Chinese.
Overall, I enjoyed it, though I felt that sometimes there were overly dramatic poses for not-very-dramatic moments. But the story is captivating, and I'd love to see where it goes next.
Fed to jonathan's brain | June 13, 2010
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