Review – The Stardust Kid
Cody has a new best friend. His friend is fun, dangerous and magic! Then, one day his friend disappears and evil threatens Cody’s real life. Together with his younger sister and former best friend, he journeys into the heart of a tree to help the mysterious Startdust Kid save the world!
Uh, at least I thinkthat’s what happens. While the artwork in Stardust Kid is gorgeous, the storyline is confusing and often overdone. J.M. Demattias breaks the cardinal comics rule of “show don’t tell”. The artwork is cluttered with boxes of prose, some even stating “Cody said”. That’s what the word bubble is for! The result is a long rambling story that doesn’t lead anywhere or give you any sense of who the characters are.
However, most kids may not mind, skipping over the actual text to pour over the pictures. The full color, bright and even *sparkly* illustrations are enchanting. Most of the story takes place in an underground world where plant life comes to life and the creatures who inhabit this land are lush. If you have a child who’s into fantasy, this may be a good pick.
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Comments
I love the art work on this book! Do graphic novels have specific illustrators for certain types of novels? Does one illustrator contract for a whole series at a time or can a publisher change the look of a series by changing the illustrator? I have seen the author/illustrator as the same, but is that the norm? Again, adding to my body of knowledge, kiddo.
J- I’ll email you a list and some stuff. Silly teachers!
Mama – It just depends. A lot of times the writer and illustrater are different, then you can have letters, colorists, inkers, etc. It takes a lot of people to make a book! Some do write and illustrate their own works, mainly independants, very few series writers do it.
You will see a lot of manga-ka’s credited as sole creator on a manga series but they have a ton of help in the way of assistants and editors.
A publisher won’t usually change the entire “look” of a series but different writers and artists are frequently used on one series or someone will sort of ‘guest star’ on a story arc. Does that help?
Mama and Sadie–
This response has more to do with single issue comics rather than works born as graphic novels. There are some illustrators who are notoriously slow. And sometimes life and all it brings can throw off deadlines, and other illustrators have to be recruited to help keep the comic book schedule on track. I remember reading an issue of Garth Ennis’ The Boys, and after four pages, a whole new illustrator took over! I was, like, what the hey? If you were to discover this story arch in the trade paperback that collects those issues, it would be especially jarring to see the art change in the middle of the story, and then revert back to the original artist.
[...] Mattox, at Extremely Graphic, a manga and graphic novel focused blog here at NewsOK, takes a look at “Stardust Kid,” [...]
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Howdy cousin!
Congratulations on this blogging gig! Well, I’m really trying to bulk up our graphic novel selection in my library. Most librarians roll their eyes when I mention graphic novels (at least the older ones that look like cats with buns in their hair), but the kids love them. I only have about 30 different titles, so any suggestions for a middle school library? Thanks!