Super Magic Boy: I Am a Dinosaur (Family Comic Friday)

From the creator of Red Panda and Moon Bear comes this fun new series about a young boy with magic powers and an amazing imagination!

Hugo is the Super Magic Boy. He can smash furniture. He can climb the highest mountains. And he can change into a dinosaur. 

In this opening volume, Hugo meets a dinosaur and decides to see what life is like as a thunder lizard by changing into one. 

As a dinosaur, Hugo finds buried treasure that is guarded by the Skeleton King. That's the moment where this series hits its sweet spot. The dinosaur, Hugo meets, aptly named Dino, is a fun character. But he's a bit too rambunctious, getting Hugo into trouble by destroying the boy's home. Skeleton King kinda balances Hugo out as in the second story, he and Hugo go on an adventure to find a new batch of cursed treasure to guard. Dinosaur is like the Cat in the Hat, lacking control of himself. Skeleton King is more like Oliver Hardy to Hugo's Stan Laurel. (If you younger folks don't know who those guys are, check out Youtube for some of their hilarious antics!)

That second story in my opinion was comedy gold as Hugo and the Skeleton King when on a search for some golden treasure. The opening story, 'I am a Dinosaur' had the same energy. Possibly too much, if you ask me. In the scene where Hugo and the Dinosaur are digging, they first come upon a water main, proclaiming the broken pipe to be a 'magic water stick.' Okay, I got a laugh at that. But as they kept digging, Dinosaur found some underground electrical lines that Hugo touches and was shocked by. I felt that the scene went a bit too far because damaged power lines are not something to play with. So hopefully, parents and guardians will be made aware of this scene and discuss electrical safety as kids like to dig in the dirt and potentially could strike an underground line.

This book also has some Magic Bonus Material which is something I love in all ages comics and graphic novels as these activities continue the fun once the story is finished but also further imagination and learning through play. Here, Jarod Rosello teaches young readers how to draw Hugo and Dino along with a creative page showing kids how to become a dinosaur like Hugo does in the book. Paper, pencil and crayons are needed for the art work. A sense of wonder is required for turning into a dinosaur.

If you have a 9-12 year old that likes the Red Panda and Moon Bear books and they have a younger sibling, then the first book in the Super Magic Boy series is sure to become a source of entertainment that they book can enjoy and bond to. Like the Red Panda and Moon Bear series, this book is available in both an English language edition and a volume en Espanol. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Chunky (Family Comic Friday)

Most kids have an imaginary friend. But if you are middle-schooler Hudi Mercado, you have Chunky, the imaginary mascot!

Sickly from a very young age due to having major lung surgery, Hudi is overweight. But he's imaginative and has an amazing sense of humor. Still, he needs to be more active. So his parents push him to try a variety of sports. Unfortunately, instead of scoring the game winning goal, Hudi ends up continuously getting injured.

What Hudi really wants to do is participate in theatre. But when he discovers that his size is a big advantage to him when playing football, Hudi will have to decide between his passion and a sport that he is good at. 

I loved this book. Despite being semi-autobiographical, Chunky was imaginative and clever. In between each chapter, Hudi and Chunky field questions like athletes do during a post-game interview. The narration is done as a sports announcer. And the concept of an imaginary mascot was just so funny.

I wish I was a big shot producer. Because I see such great potential in this graphic novel becoming an animated Pixar movie or Disney+ TV series. Or maybe both! 

I've automatically become a fan of Yehudi Mercado and I'm excited about his future prospects. Upon checking out his web page, I've learned that there's a Shazam graphic novel for young readers coming soon from DC and there's a Chunky sequel in the works! I can't wait for either. 

Chunky was a fun all-ages romp. Kids will love it; though there is a scene where Hudi is trying to use a hand saw to disastrous effect that made me a little queasy. But for the majority of this book, kids and their parents/guardians will absolutely love it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard (Family Comic Friday)

Family Comic Friday has a wonderful new series to introduce to young readers this week. Mixing fun and imagination, it’s Seamus (The Famous)!

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard
Written and Illustrated by Christopher Ring
Published by Action Lab/Discover
Pages: 64
Print Retail Price: $9.99

Seamus is a precocious young boy whose imagination goes 100 miles per minute! For Seamus and his talking tabby cat Fitcher, there’s no situation that isn’t a doorway to fun and adventure. In this introductory graphic novel from Action Lab/Discover, it’s a bag full of broken toys from Seamus’ closet that leads the way to a quest for pirate treasure!
Join Seamus (The Famous) as he leads his crew of swashbucklers on the high seas against dastardly raiders, booby traps and a roguish crab!

This book was absolutely delightful! Being a cat person, I can really relate to the creative fun you can have with a fellow feline. And Seamus, wanting to find treasure in order to help a house full of orphans gave this book a much needed (and appreciated) dose of heart!

Join Seamus (The Famous) as he leads his crew of swashbucklers on the high seas against dastardly raiders, booby traps and a roguish crab!

This book was absolutely delightful! Being a cat person, I can really relate to the creative fun you can have with a fellow feline. And Seamus, wanting to find treasure in order to help a house full of orphans gave this book a much needed (and appreciated) dose of heart!
Seamus and Fitcher and their expressive brains reminds me of another boy and cat duo- Calvin and Hobbes. Only, whereas Calvin is a bit of a bad boy. Seamus is very heroic. Fitcher is more sarcastic than Hobbes but he’s just as wise. One thing that really works between Seamus and his gato is their comedic timing.

I really laughed out loud several times reading this book. The jokes are so clever. But this isn’t an overly silly book. It just helps balance the flow between action adventure without being dull or too intense.

Seamus (The Famous) is aimed at readers 4-8 years old. I think the whole family can gather together and enjoy this fantastic new series from commercial artist, Christopher Ring. Though I was rather surprised by the low blow our hero gives a pirate during a rescue sequence. It’s a little bawdy, but otherwise this was a book that parents and guardians should find inoffensive.

A joyful tale. It was filled with beautifully clean artwork, sly humor and adventure, adventure, adventure! Seamus (The Famous) is one book not to be missed!

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard is currently available on Kindle and Comixology. It will debut in print on May 26th, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.