Retro Review

…or what to give a really young comic reader for the Holidays.

 Andy Runton’s Owly is the only truly all-ages comic book I have ever found. Wonderfully simple and charming, Owly is a series of tales about a lonely young owl who has a lot of love and kindness to give, and how his interactions with other animals teach him and them life lessons. The stories are heart-warming, the art is appealing, and the comic is unique.

 Owly has no dialog. The stories are entirely told in images, and when the characters speak, it is in further images, making this a universal comic: anyone can get something out of the stories regardless of their age or native language. However, this is not to say the stories are straightforward or dumbed down: the emotion and detail that Mr. Runton manages to convery in each story may surprise you.

 If there’s a young child in your life and you’d like to introduce them to comics, this would be a great place to start. I can imagine reading this with my nephew, and having him supply the words, interpret the art, and give the details. And if you’re young at heart yourself, and enjoy a well-told children’s tale of friendship, pick up the first volume (The Way Home) and enjoy.

Owly by Andy Runton, published by Top Shelf.  A great book for younger kids and the young at heart. A

What would you do if you lived in a world full of super-humans, and your child was one of them? How would you cope with a super-strong toddler? Or a five-year old who could control minds? How could you keep your kid from flying into air traffic? Is there any solution when your child can dismantle the TV to make a time machine? Well, if you lived in the world Aaron Williams created for PS238, you could send your metaprodigy to a top secret elementary school, where the trained staff are themselves super-humans dedicated to teaching and training the next generation.

Aaron Williams’ brilliant PS238 has been around for 6 years, but it may be one of comics’ best kept secrets. It obviously has enough of a following to keep it in publication, but I’ve never seen it on a comic book store shelf, I rarely find it in back-issue bins, and I only know two other people who’d read it before me. Continue Reading »