Sky Island: A Trot & Cap'n Bill Adventure (Family Comic Friday)

Trot and Cap'n Bill and Grandpa are back! 

In their first adventure, the trio traveled the briny depths to end a war between sea sirens and sea serpents. This time around, they stick mostly to dry land by exploring a mysterious abandoned amusement park called Sky Island. One of Trot's Sea Siren friends has gone missing. The only clue is a boat patrolling the area bearing the logo of the old park. With help from old allies and a new friend, the search is on!

I really loved this book. I had forgotten that the sirens had presented Cap'n Bill with a special gem that gives him the ability to talk. Bill is such a hilarious character. And writer Amy Chu (Poison Ivy: Circle of Life and Death) does such a fantastic job writing him. I can very much see my household of cats doing some of the silly things he does, like get distracted by a small critter when they should be performing a major task.

I've got to make a confession. I skipped to the end of the book to make sure Bill survived. I just hate it when sweet little anthropomorphic animals get hurt or killed in a comic or graphic novel. It just rips my heart in two; probably because it reminds me of my guys. But I didn't spoil the ending!

Trot and Cap'n Bill is a modern remake of a pair of little known L. Frank Baum novels. Only in those books, Bill was an old sailor with a peg leg instead of a cat. Trot is still a brilliant little girl. But in the remake, both Trot and her grandfather are Vietnamese refugees living in coastal California. 

As much as I have loved both books, I fear that I might not be a third book. While Trot and Cap'n Bill appeared in about half a dozen books, most of them are part of the Oz series. I'm not sure if those Baum books are under public domain or the licensed property of MGM or some other company. But if they are, is this the end of Trot and Cap'n Bill adventures? I really, REALLY hope not.

Sky Island was an adventuresome read that made me laugh several times. The artwork is brilliant and lively. Those sea serpents are so cute. Janet K. Lee's (Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome) art almost makes me a fan of snakes. ALMOST...

Another aspect that is rather enjoyable is how real things are. I'm not talking about the mermaids or sea serpents. I'm talking about how frank and honest Amy Chu is about Grandpa's dementia or the hardships Trot's new friend encountered when she lost her father's property after he passed. Amy Chu is a realist but she's not a fatalist. I think kids need to know that while life is hard and not fair; it's also good and full of hope. And Amy Chu delivers this message perfectly!

A must for fans of cats, the ocean and L. Frank Baum! Here's to a 3rd book in the very near future!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sirens #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Today’s Family Comic Friday selection is one that kids of the 80s are going to want to share with their kids and grandkids! Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is back in comic book form in a new miniseries devoted to mermaids and other sirens of the sea!

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #1
Story by Bartosz Sztybor
Art by Jakub Rebelka
Published by the Boom Studios imprint Archaia
Retail Price: $3.99

If you were a kid growing up in the 80s and had HBO, then you have got to be familiar with Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Though the show only lasted one very short season, episodes were shown as reruns well through the mid-90s. The award winning series starred Doctor Who’s John Hurt as The Storyteller. Sitting in front of a roaring fire, the narrator regaled his faithful pooch with thrilling, yet obscure, European folk tales.

A 4-episode revival series based on Greek myths debuted in 1990 with Michael Gambon (the Harry Potter series’ Dumbledore) starring as the fabulist. Now some 30 years later, Jim Henson’s beloved creation has returned in an all-new 4-issue miniseries. This time the focus in on stories of mermaids and other sirens of the sea.

Issue #1 focuses on the lesser known tale of ‘The Mermaid and the Fisherman’. This Polish folktale is not to be confused with the story of the Warsaw Mermaid, of which the maiden of the sea is a national icon. However, I wouldn’t doubt that the tale was somewhat inspired by the Warsaw Mermaid as there are some similarities between the two legends.

In this debut issue, a fisherman has his heart set on raising enough money to buy a stunning fishing vessel. No matter how well the angler does on his daily catch, the money his receives is never enough to make him happy. That is until one day when the sailor hears the song of a Mermaid. Having imprisoned the creature, the fisherman soothes his savage spirit to her enchanting song. But at what cost?

Archaia makes the wise move of using native talent for this opening tale. Warsaw’s own Bartosz Szytbor pens this epically sad tale of the sea. But to me, what really blew me away was the amazing artwork of Jakub Rebelka.

Namesake’s Rebelka paints the entire story. His strokes and moody dark tones are quite reminiscent of a lot of Polish folk art that I have seen. I know quite a bit as my wife is a third generation Polish immigrant and I’ve spent a lot of time learning of her family’s Eastern European heritage. That aside, the passion and angst of every character in this issue is masterfully done by the Polish master artist.

This new miniseries based on Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is both entertaining and education. Children of all ages can experience a small slice of Polish life without the indigestion of consuming too much kielbasa and sauerkraut. I only wish that Archaia had gone just a tiny bit further and included a 1-2 page section on something factual  and educational about Poland. I would love to have seen a closing segment on other Polish artists or maybe a fact sheet about the importance of the mermaid in Polish culture. Maybe this is something that could be worked up for the trade collection???

A great opening chapter in a legendary series. It will delight both kids and the adults who grew up watching the show!

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #1 debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday April 3rd, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sailor Twain OR The Mermaid in the Hudson

 This graphic novel from 2012 is a Victorian Era mystery set on the Hudson River. Strange occurrences result in a steamboat owner's disappearance. When his body is flushed from the river, authorities declare it a suicide but the owner's brother has other thoughts. He becomes convinced he can bring his beloved brother back. Soon he too begins acting strangely. Eventually, the sibling begins to correspond with a mysterious writer who is an expert in paranormal and mythical creatures, particularly mermaids. 

    The captain of the ship has other thoughts. With his new owner striving to acquire seven lovers and staring off into the mighty river below for hours on in, the mariner believes that his new boss is going off the deep end like his brother did before he went missing. Nearly ready to send his crew off into a mutiny, Captain Twain finds that there just may be a method to the brothers' madness when discovers an injured mermaid the deck of his ship.

    Sailor Twain was engrossing. I was captured from just about the very beginning and I could not put this fantastic book down. The book is 400 pages, but I devoured it in one day. The story along with the mystery of the mermaid on the Hudson was that good.

   The art was also very good. The mermaid was gorgeous and the scenery of 1800s New York was breathtaking. I did think that Capt. Twain and a few of the guests on the steamboat looked a little cartoony. With his triangular nose, Twain looked like Guy Smiley's (from Sesame Street) ancestor and I swear that Dr. Brunson Honeydew from the Muppets Show was a dinner guest in another scene.

   But I thought this book was excellent. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but that's because it was ambiguous. I know that the reader is given the chance to decide Capt. Twain's fate at the end of the book with the numerous clues peppered throughout the story as to how those captivated by a mermaid's song met their fates. But I just happen to favor story with concrete endings and that's more of a matter of personal taste opposed to evaluating the quality of this story. 

    One last caveat. There is quite a bit of sex and nudity in this book. Some scenes are downright sensual. If this isn't your cup of tea that I recommend that you choose another beverage. 

  A fantastic work by Mark Siegel. I hope to encounter more of his works in the future. I also wouldn't be opposed to a sequel as I feel that the story for some of the characters in this book was far from over.

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.