Donald Lemke

Stone Arch has outdone it self in the art for this collection of tall tales in comics form. The layout for the front matter alone, with its wood-grain, Wild West typography, is breathtaking. A special thanks to the editors who decided to embrace the all-capitals lettering style, unlike earlier Capstone comics, which will help comics fans feel these titles are "real comics, not school comics." Each tale is followed by additional information about the American mythical characters.

"Paul Bunyan" show more is full of jokes ("Where have the years gone?" "He probably ate them"), and the illustrations have slapstick humor (wrestling Old Man Winter, men skating to grease Paul's skillet) throughout. This variant breathes new life into the tall tale, reminding us of how much fun it must have been for the original storytellers to dream up one more whopper with each new telling. As Paul and his faithful Babe travel the U.S. (creating, among other things, Minnesota's Ten Thousand Lakes and the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee), teachers can pair his tale with studies of the U.S. regions.

The illustration style is similar, but the southwestern color palette of "Pecos Bill" sets it apart from its predecessor. While more somber and straightforward in its storytelling, the cheeky drawing of a long-mustachioed baby Bill keeps the illustration style light and the tall tale elements blooming. Of use to teachers is that each story tells a different version of the creation of the Grand Canyon.

"John Henry" has more three-dimensional illustrations and shadings, including a sepia-toned color palette and feels, at times, more like a picture book than a comic in its style. And that's a terrific diversion from the earlier two tales, because it adds long-overdue nuance and depth to the storytelling. This John Henry seems guileless and surprised by his own strength, adding dimensionality and context for why he might race the machine. The closing illustrations in deep violets are spectacular.

Compared to the visual richness of "John Henry," the illustrations for "Johnny Appleseed" are a letdown. Simple computer-generated art feels flat and pulls down the dialogue, which feels stilted or rushed at times. Perhaps had the story been re-sequenced so that the tall tale elements were interspersed instead of clustered together, this might have been a more worthy companion to the others.

If your library has been searching for updated tall tales to meet curriculum standards, consider this volume as a worthy companion to the works of Audrey and Don Wood and Steven Kellogg. Highly recommended.

Now, Stone Arch, how about Tall, Volume II, featuring women? (210) show less

This tale is for all future authors or illustrators out there...or for those, who simply enjoy a humorous read.

Two friends/co-creators have a new idea for a story. The author has the plot all worked out, while the illustrator is ready to work his magic. While the author's monster comes to life on the page thanks to the illustrator, the superhero, who will defeat him, seems to have a few more kinks. The author knows what he wants, but the illustrator has some amazing ideas, too. As the story show more progresses, the two drift further and further apart and ridiculous scenarios form. Now, it's a question as to whether the story will come to an end or not.

This is a cross between a picture book and a graphic novel, and slides nicely into the upper chapter book/lower middle grade level. The two characters are great friends and, obviously, work well together. When the first problem arrives, the two work it out with finesse, but as the differences between their opinions increase little-by-little, the tension builds right along with it. Both are enthusiastic about what they do, which makes each one just a little bit extreme...and fun. As the argument builds, it's hard not to cringe, knowing the fight will only get worse, but on the same hand, there's enough mounting ridiculousness to draw smiles and giggles, too.

The text sticks to the speech bubbles as the tale is told through the two friends' back-and-forth. The illustrations pick up everything else and deliver the scenes as well as the emotions nicely.

It's a pretty quick-paced read and not only shows the different roles an author and an illustrator play, but also hits upon friendship, disagreements, and working things out. I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and had to smile and snort a few times during this tale. show less

This was another Good vs Evil graphic novel from Capstone Publishing (under the name Stone Arch Books). I didn't like this one as well. There were some captivating moments and some interesting mix of the blue and the red in this one but the story didn't work for me.
Yoshiro Tanaka find a cassette tape (it's 1984 after all) and in playing it wakes a troll-like beast called the Oni. The story is far too frightening for young readers even though the simple language leads one to believe it is show more written for young readers. It is graphic and violent compared to everything else I have read published by Capstone.
There were moments where the panels seemed out of order and confusing. I learned in the section at the end that discussed the graphic novel process that this was somewhat intentional. I think of myself as rather intelligent and as an avid reader, pretty versed in the world of graphic novels and I was left scratching my head. I can't imagine what this would be like to read as a younger reader.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the premise. The world was well drawn and, as I said, I enjoyed the mix of the two worlds. For example, the Oni was paneled in red but there would be moments where the doorways would be blue indicating where Yoshiro was. Yoshiro's blood was blue in the red panels as well. At one point Yoshiro is grabbed by the Oni, Yoshiro was blue and the hand red. I really liked the artist imagary in this work. show less

This book is a cross between Spider-Man and Iron Giant. You have Zack Allen, a boy who is very smart and makes his own robot to help save the world. The adventures are perfect for the elementary school set and lots of kids are going to find it fun and crazy. What I find lacking is diversity. There is no reason for all the characters in this book to be cisgendered and white. There are bullies, there are the smart kids, there are they not so smart kids, and there’s adventure, but in this day show more and age we need more than that. show less