Can we talk timing for a bit here? Because when it comes to pacing, Monster on the Hill knows what it's doing. Not every graphic novel can say the same. The colors in this book are understated without being muted. Harrell himself?), but whoever it might have been they did a top-notch job. Now Top Shelf didn't deem it necessary to list in this book whom the colorist might be (perhaps it was Mr. Lousy is easier to do so you'll it much more often. Trouble is, there's excellent computer coloring and then there's the lousy variety. They rely on good old-fashioned computer coloring. With the exception of fabulous independents like Matt Phelan ( Bluffton) most comic book artists for kids don't dabble in things like watercolors or pastels.

They love their comics to be full-color, an expensive and time-consuming proposition most of the time. I feel that way because my instinct right now is to begin by talking about the colors in this book, which is kind of an odd choice. That said, I've the vague sense that I probably should. What do you talk about first when you're reviewing a graphic novel? I don't really have a rote set of talking points in a distinct order. Unfortunately a trip to his friend Tentaculor leaves Stoker-on-Avon without a guardian. Together, the three try to get at the root of Rayburn's problem. Charles Wilkie is charged by the town fathers to perk the creature up he unwittingly brings along plucky newsboy orphan Tim.

Worst of all, he knows it, so his days are spent wallowing in self-pity. Best of all, a good monster will guard a town from a threat known only as The Murk. Much of the time they're terrorizing the citizenry, and as everyone knows that's just good for business (tourists love to be terrified). There's nothing here YOU won't love.Įvery good town has a good monster. There is nothing here your children won't love. So it is with great rejoicing and the throwing of small pieces of confetti that I welcome to my shelves the fast, funny, not so furious Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell. Thanks to Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre, Sidekicks by Dan Santat, and Jellaby by Kean Soo I've managed to feed their hunger, but nothing's ever been enough. You want kid-friendly fare that's adventurous AND funny? And full-color? Uh. If Scholastic hadn't rereleased Jeff Smith's classic series in full color editions and marketed them to kids, we wouldn't have had to face wave upon wave of impressionable children holding up their worn and battered editions saying, 'Do you have anything like this?' Because crazy as it might sound, the answer is usually no. See, people? *shakes book in the air* How hard is this, really? I stand beside thousands of children's librarians who have, for years now, been in a bit of a pickle with the kiddos when it comes to great graphic novels.

Rob harrell author