Battling Boy

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.

This is the first book in the Battling Boy series...although it appears no more books were ever released in this graphic novel series. This was okay. It's just the start of an adventure that was never continued. I like the premise but the artwork was just so-so. It was also a bit hard to follow; the story jumps around without letting the reader know where you are.With Haggard West dead the Arcopolis needs a new hero. Battling Boy is sent to Arcopolis to complete a coming of age ceremony and finds himself in over his head battling monsters he just cannot handle. Then West’s daughter steps in and it looks like maybe together they might be able to protect Arcopolis.As mentioned above, the artwork in here is so-so. It’s very traditional comic style but I thought facial expressions were really lacking. It’s also a bit hard to follow from panel to panel. I never engaged with the story or characters all that well I also thought it was hard to follow, there is no background on this world or the characters.Overall, I didn’t really enjoy this and it felt like a waste of time to read. The artwork, characters, and story are pretty thin. In addition to that this is just the beginning and intro to a world and story that was never continued. Not recommended.

This was a decent book overall, but my issue with it was that I was not aware going into it that it was not a complete graphic novel in and of itself. I assumed this was a one and done book, but turns out that it is part of a graphic novel series that Paul Pope is writing. I just wish I had known this going into it. That being said this is definitely a different type of book from the typical superhero fare of say DC or Marvel. This is about a young boy that is out of his element. He is forced into saving the world when he doesn't necessarily have the skills or the desire to really do so. The story really feels incomplete and almost makes it necessary to read further volumes in order to fully appreciate the story. This is simply a book that sets up what is going to be the rest of the stories. If you are looking for a longer term commitment for a graphic novel read then this is the book for you, but if you are wanting a complete story this is not the book to read because you will feel like you lost half the book somewhere along the way. When it comes to graphic novels or comic book type of books I always mention the art, so here goes: this artwork I found to be a bit jarring at times in certain places, but overall it was okay. Pope has a very specific style that has been recognize as artistic and critically successful. This being said that not every art style is for everyone and I discovered that Pope's art style was not necessarily up my alley, but it did not detract from the plot/story for me. I was still able to finish this first volume and after discovering the name of the second volume I am interested in reading it. It may be awhile before I pick it up though because it is definitely not something that I am going to jump into based on this first book. I just always try to maintain a positive attitude when reading these books and figure that reading the second one will probably redeem this one in my eyes.

A town which looks like the 1930s is under siege from an army of monsters, who congregate in a bar beneath the town's art gallery. Battling boy is the twelve year old son of a god. He is dumped in Arcopolis as a coming of age thing, but he doesn't really know what he's doing. This is a funny cross-genre superhero thing, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Wormy, with Paul Pope's crazed style and splurting sound efffects.

Energetic and loaded with action. Should be quite popular.

I don't have much to say about this one. Having noticed the other high star ratings this book has received I realize I am in the minority in my opinion but I just didn't like it. I really wanted to though!. It sounded so like my type of book but it just didn't do anything for me. Even though it was full of monster-battling action from beginning to end I found myself bored and wanting the book to hurry up and be over. The Hero's son being sent to battle monsters to prove his coming-of-age and hero-worthiness felt cliched and I found the font got awfully small at times. Sorry, but I got nothing from this one. The book ends abruptly too, obviously making this part one of a possibly long series which should have been labeled Vol. 1 to let us know.

Battling BoyAuthor: Paul PopeRelease Date: October 8, 2013Publisher: First Second BooksSource: NetGalley ARCGenre(s): Graphic Novel, SuperheroesSo, Paul Pope is a pretty awesome guy. You should know that first and foremost. He’s got a really unique and very classic sort of art style that’s pretty arguably old school. The guy has talent and it shows. The funny thing is, I didn’t realize this until I read Battling Boy. I honestly hadn’t heard of the guy before except sort of in passing here and there. I’d seen some of his cover art work and some of the stuff he’d done for some of the more mainstream comic series. But I’d never read anything else he had written. I didn’t know that he’s an Eisner Award winner or that he’s self published a number of titles in addition to working with some pretty major publishers.After reading Battling Boy, though, you have got to believe I’m going to be looking up some of his other stuff. In particular, THB and Heavy Liquid because they look awesome. I think after reading through Battling Boy you’ll want to check them out, too.Anyway, let’s talk a bit about Battling Boy.For the most part, liked the art style. It’s old school. There’s not a whole lot of the sort of polish you see in a lot of mainstream comics these days. It’s a raw, real sort of pencil and pen look that doesn’t need all the brushing up and smoothed out edges. It’s rough and sometimes gritty. I like that. I will say, though, that some of the designs were a bit weird and certain characters just did not appeal to me at all. I was not a fan of the design for Battling Boy’s father. He just looked weird and half the time I felt like his character design had been ripped from that superhero guy with the blonde hair from some Ren and Stimpy episode I vaguely remember.But looking past those occasional issues with the character designs, I do admit that I really liked the story. I thought that leading with the final battle of Haggard West – a sort of Batman or Blue Beetle style character with a daughter looking to follow in his footsteps – was a great introduction to the book and the setting. I liked haggard west or what we saw of him and I think that his daughter, Aurora,will turn out to be a really be a good character in later volumes. Unfortunately she didn’t really feature as prominently as I would have liked in this one and what we saw of her just made me feel a bit sorry for her. Though, towards the end of this volume she really started to come into her own.Our Battling Boy is really going to need someone like her as he goes along. I actually really liked his origin story and the fact that he’s just sort of thrown into things. He’s just a demigod child thrown int our world as a sort of proving ground for his own worth and valor. Using Earth as it appears in comic books for that sort of purpose is actually a really good idea. We always seem to be plagued with monsters and villains we can’t deal with ourselves and what better place to send a growing twelve year old demigod to train? It’s a good idea and a good concept. It did, howver, take a long time to really get to that concept and after 208 pages we’re left with a lot of questions. We get a nice introduction to the story, I guess, in this volume but very little substance. Still, the character development and implications of the final battle in this volume do leave you wanting more and wondering what comes next.Which is probably Sadisto doing more crazy things at the beck and call of his sinister master. I liked Sadisto as a villain though his motives are a bit out there and he has a bit of a Candlejack vibe to him. It was kind of cool to see him starting to rally the other baddies against Battling Boy after Haggard West’s death. I do want to see a bit more development fr those cahracters, though. I mean, they never really explain why most of them are weird looking and why this one guy was literally a dog. Or where all the monsters and stuff come from. So, there’s a lot that remains to be explained.All in all, though, it was a pretty good read. I think that Battling Boy is a pretty cool character and, as I said before, I think Aurora and him are going to really turn out to be quite the team once they get past what are going to be some pretty obvious issues when they first start teaming up. I think that the story itself is compelling and that there’s a lot about this world that remains to be discovered and explained. I’m certainly up down for the ride.If you want to know more about Paul Pope and Battling Boy, I recommend this Entertainment Weekly article. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome and very extensive.Final Thoughts:Paul Pope introduces a new hero for the masses in Battling Boy. This isn’t your brooding Batman or your boyscout Superman. Battling Boy is just a fairly normal twelve year old demigod with little guidance desperately trying to prove his worth to his family and to his people by making a name for himself in our world. The concept behind the story is great and there’s a lot of potential for the series to grow and expand. This first volume promises a lot of great things to come.

On another world, in a universe far away heroes roam the world. They test their mettle and battle skills against monsters and villains across the universe. And when they reach a certain age, they go rambling, to test themselves and discover who they really are. And it Battling Boy's turn to be a hero...or fall. In the city of Arcopolis, monsters stalk children in the shadows, swallowing them whole. Only one man has ever been able to stand up to them, the great Haggard West. But the monsters have killed him. It is here that Battling Boy will make his stand, against the greatest monsters the world has ever known.Although I've heard his name off and on for the last few years, this is the first time that I've had a chance to read any of Paul Pope's work. And it's different than anything I've encountered before, in a good way. Pope mines the comics of yesteryear, from the Gold and Silver ages of comics to bring to life a more gritty and darker world. One in which children are tossed into battle and the villains play for keeps. Even though Pope draws from other sources, Battling Boy is a unique creation. Often times with young characters they feel, think, and act like grown ups, never actually letting us see them grow. But that's one of the great things about this book is that Battling Boy acts like a boy. He's confused, scared, wants to call on his father to help him, but at the same time he wants to stand on his own. Even better, is that he doesn't quite know how to act around adults that want to use him for their own purposes. He reacts as a young boy does, throwing things and glaring at them until they back down slightly, I mean he is a super hero after all. And Pope's writing, the action, the drama, it keeps you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what will happen next. And in this case we're left with a bit of cliff hanger, waiting to see if Battling Boy and the friend he makes in Arcopolis can make it another day.It seems as if most comic artists today prefer working with clean straight lines and crisp edges, but Pope's work deviates from this pattern and goes back to 30+ years ago, with a hint of sketchiness to them, to add a bit of energy and vitality to the work. It reminds me a lot of the early days of Scott McCloud's comic, Zot. The colors chosen for the characters are fantastic and more on a muted 80's scheme, which helps add to the feel. My favorite scenes of course are some of the action scenes towards the end of the book where Battling Boy is getting ensnared by the monsters, including one that looks like a cross between walking slime and bubble gum.This is the start to a great action series and perfect for teens and up and I can't wait to see what happens next. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond