March 15, 2023
Grades 4-7 In a happy accident, Jimmil and his space-cadet friends have just stumbled across an undiscovered alien race that communicates through feelings. But Jimmil's mother, the captain of the ESS Khonsu and their expedition, worries that the aliens are dangerous, which creates a big misunderstanding between the adults and these empathic creatures. Can Jimmil and his friends solve the situation calmly and show the officers a new perspective? The kids-versus-adults conflict that plays out through most this graphic novel feels very reminiscent of '80s movies, complete with long monologues and tests of bravery, but the formula definitely works well given the material. Alves' bold artwork does a great job with character design and the alien environments, and it truly shines during moments that characters experience intense fear. Blurred colorization and elongated comic gutters expertly capture the intensity of the situation and the anxiety of the characters. A stellar choice for middle-grade comics fans, especially those who love sf set in space.
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April 10, 2023
In their debut graphic novel, Crane and Alves craft a rambunctious space adventure about a group of tweens intent on stopping a galactic war. Jimmil and his mother live on the ESS Khonsu, an interstellar exploration craft. But with his mother as the captain, Jimmil experiences pressure to follow in her footsteps and often feels isolated from the crew. When a mysterious entity attacks a scout team exploring the surface of a purportedly uninhabited planet, Jimmil and his classmates hijack a space shuttle to save them. Upon crash-landing, rather than encountering the missing scouts, the group instead stumbles onto intelligent life that seems mostly friendly. But the kids have no way to communicate with the adults aboard the Khonsu, prompting the space-bound crew to engage in drastic measures to retrieve Jimmil and his pals, inciting a conflict of otherworldly proportions in the process. Alves’s jaunty illustrations render interplanetary flora and fauna via kaleidoscopic hues and free-flowing line art, and populate the narrative with a racially diverse cast. Crane’s use of familiar sci-fi tropes to explore mature themes of hostility, reconciliation, and peace skillfully complement Jimmil’s desire to prove himself and be seen as his own person. Ages 9–12.