Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Ambiguous Good Guys: BadIsland



Bad IslandIn the next Cybils YA Graphic Novel, Doug TenNapel's BadIsland, there is a definitely lack of good guys.  There's the inhabitants of the island, who are mostly bad guys, there's the people shipwrecked on the island, a family who doesn't like each other much (although they pull together in the end), and there's the island itself, a victim of hubris that cost his family dearly.

Cybils2011-Web-ButtonBGThere are also pages of fascinating images; TenNaple's graphics sometimes confuse me but never bore me. Even the annoying characters, such as the improbably idiotic little sister and her dead snake, have distinct features and unlikely yet effective perspectives. I find the pictures more satisfying than the story, which follows a family forced by murderous aliens to rely on each other (honestly, if that's what it takes, I'm not sure the family really needs to stay together).  But both kids liked it, so it may be that a middle aged mom is not really the target audience. I bet the lack of space between the words in the title didn't bother them at all, and it's still the first thing that grabs me when I look at the cover. Why BADISLAND? What was wrong with Bad Island? Is it Badisland Island? 

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