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wbfreema's review against another edition
4.0
I've been in love with Pope's work since 100% many sleeps ago. While not as complex a plot here, it's still goofy and wonderfully paced. Ending is abrupt so I guess I need to see what's next in the series. Great coloring work.
rbreade's review against another edition
Pope puts the reader directly in his fictional world and, with only the occasional bit of explanatory dialogue, allows us to figure things out. And it is an odd world: a city, Arcopolis, bearing some resemblance to cities on Earth, with the notable exception of the monsters that have besieged it, appearing at night from subterranean lairs.
But wait, the city has a protector: Haggard West, with his jet pack and ray gun and aviator's helmet and secret lab within his mansion. Pope gives us just enough of West in action against the Ghoul Gang, a leading and highly organized faction within the general anarchy of the monsters (who, we eventually learn, have their own bars and underground analogs to everyday life, albeit no less devoted to the overthrow and destruction of the people topside for all these quotidian necessities), just enough so that we like West and are pulling for him, only to watch him obliterated by the ghouls. Boom, no more protector.
Switch to a strange realm floating in the deeps of space, where the young son of a legendary monster-slayer is on the precipice of his Turning Day, the day when he goes "a-rambling" in order to find out who he is and who he will become. With his marvelous cloak and kit (read, suitcase) of nifty, ultra-powerful, totemic T-shirts, our unnamed protagonist--his parents refer to him as "the boy"--arrives in Arcopolis, where a particularly large and nasty monster is snacking on cars and trucks in one of the main plazas.
A chaotic battle ensues, which Battling Boy wins, with long-range help from his dad--something he won't immediately admit to the grateful mayor and mayor's entourage but which eventually he'll have to. The tone shifts as the mayor and military try to figure out who BB is and where he came from and how best to present him to the populace--after "focused market research" they rename him Arco-Lad, to his chagrin, and hold a parade as his debut.
The ghouls attack the parade, wanting to end this new threat before he has a chance to grow. The orphaned daughter of Haggard West shows up, accoutered in his gear and armed with his weapons, and together they put the ghouls to flight. The book ends ominously, though, as Sadisto, the ghoul's leader, walks ever deeper underground for a debrief with what seems to be the leader of the monsters, an enthroned, shadowy demon who, scanning Sadisto's thoughts, see the image of BB and recognizes him, with surprise, as a "god boy."
To be continued!
But wait, the city has a protector: Haggard West, with his jet pack and ray gun and aviator's helmet and secret lab within his mansion. Pope gives us just enough of West in action against the Ghoul Gang, a leading and highly organized faction within the general anarchy of the monsters (who, we eventually learn, have their own bars and underground analogs to everyday life, albeit no less devoted to the overthrow and destruction of the people topside for all these quotidian necessities), just enough so that we like West and are pulling for him, only to watch him obliterated by the ghouls. Boom, no more protector.
Switch to a strange realm floating in the deeps of space, where the young son of a legendary monster-slayer is on the precipice of his Turning Day, the day when he goes "a-rambling" in order to find out who he is and who he will become. With his marvelous cloak and kit (read, suitcase) of nifty, ultra-powerful, totemic T-shirts, our unnamed protagonist--his parents refer to him as "the boy"--arrives in Arcopolis, where a particularly large and nasty monster is snacking on cars and trucks in one of the main plazas.
A chaotic battle ensues, which Battling Boy wins, with long-range help from his dad--something he won't immediately admit to the grateful mayor and mayor's entourage but which eventually he'll have to. The tone shifts as the mayor and military try to figure out who BB is and where he came from and how best to present him to the populace--after "focused market research" they rename him Arco-Lad, to his chagrin, and hold a parade as his debut.
The ghouls attack the parade, wanting to end this new threat before he has a chance to grow. The orphaned daughter of Haggard West shows up, accoutered in his gear and armed with his weapons, and together they put the ghouls to flight. The book ends ominously, though, as Sadisto, the ghoul's leader, walks ever deeper underground for a debrief with what seems to be the leader of the monsters, an enthroned, shadowy demon who, scanning Sadisto's thoughts, see the image of BB and recognizes him, with surprise, as a "god boy."
To be continued!
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
3.0
From the jacket:
"Monsters roam through Arcopolis, swallowing children into the horrors of their shadowy underworld. Only one man is a match for them - the genius vigilante Haggard West.
Unfortunately, Haggard West is dead.
Arcopolis is desperate, but when its salvation comes in the form of a twelve-year-old demigod, nobody is more surprised than Battling Boy himself."
As I was reading this, the thought came to me, "I could grow to love graphic novels." Next is the second Zita the Spacegirl.
Middle/JHS
"Monsters roam through Arcopolis, swallowing children into the horrors of their shadowy underworld. Only one man is a match for them - the genius vigilante Haggard West.
Unfortunately, Haggard West is dead.
Arcopolis is desperate, but when its salvation comes in the form of a twelve-year-old demigod, nobody is more surprised than Battling Boy himself."
As I was reading this, the thought came to me, "I could grow to love graphic novels." Next is the second Zita the Spacegirl.
Middle/JHS
lunchlander's review against another edition
4.0
A great read, reminiscent of Grant Morrison or Alan Moore's ABC work, with Pope doing amazing art as usual and some fun world building to boot.
So why not five stars? Because it's unfinished. It's only the first chapter in a longer work, which may turn out fine but given how long this took, I'm not sure when we'll see volume two or if we'll ever see an ending. If this is chapter one of a superhero masterpiece, that'll be great. If it's the teaser for an unfinished tale with more questions and potential than answers and resolution, it'll have to settle for merely "really damn good."
So why not five stars? Because it's unfinished. It's only the first chapter in a longer work, which may turn out fine but given how long this took, I'm not sure when we'll see volume two or if we'll ever see an ending. If this is chapter one of a superhero masterpiece, that'll be great. If it's the teaser for an unfinished tale with more questions and potential than answers and resolution, it'll have to settle for merely "really damn good."
jestintzi's review against another edition
4.0
Paul Pope is an amazing artist, one of my favorites in comics, and I really like this book, but I wish it kept going with Pope as the artist. I enjoy the story and the world as well. I'll read some of the others but I feel like there's a lot that'll be missing without Pope's art.
Edit- I've learned that Pope IS doing another volume of BB to follow this (just like...a decade later). I'm really looking forward to that, as the others in the "series" are not for me.
Edit- I've learned that Pope IS doing another volume of BB to follow this (just like...a decade later). I'm really looking forward to that, as the others in the "series" are not for me.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome monsters, epic settings, and a magical suitcase of tshirts. Srsly. This is so much fun. Pope should do more comics that work for the middle school set, bc I can totally see him riding the wave of [a:Doug TenNapel|45687|Doug TenNapel|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1239071739p2/45687.jpg] and [b:Pinocchio Vampire Slayer|6601048|Pinocchio Vampire Slayer|Van Jensen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347613551s/6601048.jpg|6794908] into the hearts of middle schoolers everywhere.
This thing is beautifully colored and though the illustrations are a touch cramped at first glance, when you actually focus on each panel in turn (as you're supposed to), everything makes sense and sucks you along the story. I LOVE the bar where the monsters gather, and I'm eager to see where Battling Boy's story goes next. It's pulpy and fun and will be read to death when presented to the right people.
This thing is beautifully colored and though the illustrations are a touch cramped at first glance, when you actually focus on each panel in turn (as you're supposed to), everything makes sense and sucks you along the story. I LOVE the bar where the monsters gather, and I'm eager to see where Battling Boy's story goes next. It's pulpy and fun and will be read to death when presented to the right people.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
3.0
I've been talking a lot about syndromes that I've invented. Or not so much invented as noticed and name. I guess if I was inventing syndromes, I'd probably be too busy to write reviews of comics.
Is there such a thing as a good syndrome? One you'd want to have?
Anyway, Battling Boy, for me, suffers from what I like to call How I Met Your Mother Syndrome.
It goes like this.
The show How I Met Your Mother has some good laughs, and its success is almost certainly due to the cast. However, most noticeably, anyone who has watched the show will tell you that Ted, the main character, is the most boring guy on the show.
Sometimes it can work. I'm thinking of Far Bright Star, the Robert Olmstead book, where the most interesting character is probably the brother who is killing his way across the desert in search of our main character, a man who was captured and stranded, left to die in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the book, the stranded man is trying to survive, but he's also haunted, knowing that somewhere out of frame his brother is making this ruthless search. He's sort of cringing as he imagines what his brother might be doing.
But in HIMYM, it doesn't work for me. The difference, as I see it, is that I can spend a couple hundred pages with the less action-oriented character. But 8 seasons of TV? That's too much.
Same thing happens on the show New Girl. The one guy, I can't remember his name, but he's the guy who I would call the "main" guy as he's the only real romantic interest for Zooey Howeverthefuckyouspellhername. And that guy? Most boring of the guys.
Battling Boy, to me, was the least interesting character of the others presented. I was more interested in hearing about his father. Or about the city's old hero.
Okay, he's not the LEAST interesting character. I'm sure there was a janitor or something in the background. A guy who worked at a factory or something.
This CAN change over the course of a story. Going back to sitcoms, the Simpsons is a great example. Early episodes, Bart Simpson was clearly the star of that show. And then, at some point Homer Simpson became the character with all the good lines, the funniest actions, and when it was a Homer-centric episode, nobody was pissed off.
For me, Battling Boy didn't quite get there. The story of a superhero who is sort of just starting out and learning about his powers and the larger world? It can work. It has worked. But because it's worked so many times before, I just need more in order to fall in love with the story and stick with it long enough for Battling Boy to take up the role of a character I care for.
Is there such a thing as a good syndrome? One you'd want to have?
Anyway, Battling Boy, for me, suffers from what I like to call How I Met Your Mother Syndrome.
It goes like this.
The show How I Met Your Mother has some good laughs, and its success is almost certainly due to the cast. However, most noticeably, anyone who has watched the show will tell you that Ted, the main character, is the most boring guy on the show.
Sometimes it can work. I'm thinking of Far Bright Star, the Robert Olmstead book, where the most interesting character is probably the brother who is killing his way across the desert in search of our main character, a man who was captured and stranded, left to die in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the book, the stranded man is trying to survive, but he's also haunted, knowing that somewhere out of frame his brother is making this ruthless search. He's sort of cringing as he imagines what his brother might be doing.
But in HIMYM, it doesn't work for me. The difference, as I see it, is that I can spend a couple hundred pages with the less action-oriented character. But 8 seasons of TV? That's too much.
Same thing happens on the show New Girl. The one guy, I can't remember his name, but he's the guy who I would call the "main" guy as he's the only real romantic interest for Zooey Howeverthefuckyouspellhername. And that guy? Most boring of the guys.
Battling Boy, to me, was the least interesting character of the others presented. I was more interested in hearing about his father. Or about the city's old hero.
Okay, he's not the LEAST interesting character. I'm sure there was a janitor or something in the background. A guy who worked at a factory or something.
This CAN change over the course of a story. Going back to sitcoms, the Simpsons is a great example. Early episodes, Bart Simpson was clearly the star of that show. And then, at some point Homer Simpson became the character with all the good lines, the funniest actions, and when it was a Homer-centric episode, nobody was pissed off.
For me, Battling Boy didn't quite get there. The story of a superhero who is sort of just starting out and learning about his powers and the larger world? It can work. It has worked. But because it's worked so many times before, I just need more in order to fall in love with the story and stick with it long enough for Battling Boy to take up the role of a character I care for.
magratajostiernos's review against another edition
4.0
4,5/5
Brutal. Estoy ya ansiosa de que salga ya la segunda parte (menos mal que tenemos Aurora West ahí mientras).
Una obra genial, con un tono pulp y de los viejos cómics que me ha encantado. La atmósfera de la ciudad, los monstruos y héroes, los colores y el impresionante dibujo de Pope…
Vamos, que me lo he pasado en grande, me he vuelto a sentir con 13 años... delante de un cómic por primera vez.
Brutal. Estoy ya ansiosa de que salga ya la segunda parte (menos mal que tenemos Aurora West ahí mientras).
Una obra genial, con un tono pulp y de los viejos cómics que me ha encantado. La atmósfera de la ciudad, los monstruos y héroes, los colores y el impresionante dibujo de Pope…
Vamos, que me lo he pasado en grande, me he vuelto a sentir con 13 años... delante de un cómic por primera vez.
thegreatgatsbee's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
grid's review against another edition
4.0
This would have gotten 5 stars from me if it were a complete story. Instead, as with so many promising comics, it's some totally fascinating characters in an interesting and beautifully imagined world... And only a smidgen of the beginnings of a plot.
Good stuff, but ultimately unsatisfying, and reminds me that I should probably at least skim some goodreads comments (or something!) before impulsively buying a graphic novel just because the packaging makes it look like a stand alone.
Good stuff, but ultimately unsatisfying, and reminds me that I should probably at least skim some goodreads comments (or something!) before impulsively buying a graphic novel just because the packaging makes it look like a stand alone.