Scan barcode
A review by kittyg
Peter Panzerfaust, Vol. 1: The Great Escape by Tyler Jenkins, Kurtis J. Wiebe
4.0
So I picked this up on a recommendation from my lovely friend Chelsea who had already read and very much enjoyed this series. She told me that this was a sort of updated and modernised version of Peter Pan, set in a war-zone time period. I, naturally, thought it sounded hugely intriguing and didn't need to know anything more before I went ahead and bought Volume 1 to try it out. It also helps that we have pretty similar tastes in Graphic Novels and so I knew that the artwork would be pretty too.
So, this is exactly what I said above, a Peter Pan 'remake' essentially but set during the World War. We follow a group of Orphans who, when a bomb goes off at their orphanage, meet another young boy called Peter who leads them away from the scene and into yet more trouble and adventure (see the resemblance to the Lost Boys is already there).
Along the way we get to know the boys a bit more and we see the story from the pov of one of them who has grown old and is recounting the story to a younger man. I liked this style of recounting and felt that it worked well for the book.
The art style is indeed very nice with a lot of bold colours, although neutral tones, setting the scene for the action to happen. As it is a war-focused book there are a lot of big explosions and moments of destruction which leads to some wonderful panoramic 2-pg spreads (my favourite in Vol. 1 being the page of the docks at sunset with the ships aflame).
The only slight quibble I had with the artwork was the faces, particularly the eyes, because occasionally I felt they didn't look quite as thought-out as some other parts and sometimes one pupil was strangely bigger than the other, but this is a very minor complaint and probably something that is only likely to bother me. Other than that the art work was solid and pretty, action-packed and clear and you could tell who was who fairly easily.
I loved the fact that there was a lot of french language snippets included in the storyline because it was set within France and I found that my very basic school lessons in French were enough to help me translate and understand it all. I also imagined all the characters a lot easier due to the language change because it meant that I imagined them all with a French accent and could believe in it all a bit more.
Overall a very solid beginning to what no doubt becomes a better story. I am very much looking forward to picking up the next volume, and I can't wait to see where the boys and the story will go next! :) 4*s
So, this is exactly what I said above, a Peter Pan 'remake' essentially but set during the World War. We follow a group of Orphans who, when a bomb goes off at their orphanage, meet another young boy called Peter who leads them away from the scene and into yet more trouble and adventure (see the resemblance to the Lost Boys is already there).
Along the way we get to know the boys a bit more and we see the story from the pov of one of them who has grown old and is recounting the story to a younger man. I liked this style of recounting and felt that it worked well for the book.
The art style is indeed very nice with a lot of bold colours, although neutral tones, setting the scene for the action to happen. As it is a war-focused book there are a lot of big explosions and moments of destruction which leads to some wonderful panoramic 2-pg spreads (my favourite in Vol. 1 being the page of the docks at sunset with the ships aflame).
The only slight quibble I had with the artwork was the faces, particularly the eyes, because occasionally I felt they didn't look quite as thought-out as some other parts and sometimes one pupil was strangely bigger than the other, but this is a very minor complaint and probably something that is only likely to bother me. Other than that the art work was solid and pretty, action-packed and clear and you could tell who was who fairly easily.
I loved the fact that there was a lot of french language snippets included in the storyline because it was set within France and I found that my very basic school lessons in French were enough to help me translate and understand it all. I also imagined all the characters a lot easier due to the language change because it meant that I imagined them all with a French accent and could believe in it all a bit more.
Overall a very solid beginning to what no doubt becomes a better story. I am very much looking forward to picking up the next volume, and I can't wait to see where the boys and the story will go next! :) 4*s