TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

Last week I started blogging about the upcoming 'Indy Comic Book Week' that starts December 27th, 2009.... 

The above pictured graphic novel is one that won't be at your Local Comic Book Shop, (LCBS) during 'Indy Comic Book Week', because it won't be out for a while until 2010!  However its' predecessor, "Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath" could still be on the shelves for you to purchase there!

The reason I'm bringing up the above graphic novel is because back on November 20th the following was posted on the Facebook Wall of the 'Kid Beowulf' Fan Page:

Yesterday morning, Michael D Hamersky became Kid Beowulf's 100th fan! Congratulations Michael! As a special thank you, we will be sending Michael an advance galley of the next Kid Beowulf adventure, KID BEOWULF AND THE SONG OF ROLAND. Michael, we hope you enjoy this sneak peak!

This was after I had met the creator of the series, Alexis E Fajardo, at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, and blogged about him in a 'Featurette' section of this Blog, as seen by clicking here!

I saw the Facebook Fan Page for Kid Beowulf, and wanted to be informed about new developements of this series, so I became a 'Fan', not realizing that there was a contest going on!

So what's this second graphic novel of the Kid Beowulf graphic novel series about?  Here is the press release:

"Inspired by the epic poem BEOWULF, Kid Beowulf follows the journey of 12-year-old twin brothers, Beowulf and Grendel as they travel to distant lands and meet fellow epic heroes therein! Currently slated at a 12 book series, their adventures begin in their native Geatland and Daneland. Book 2: Kid Beowulf & the Song of Roland takes place in France, while book 3: Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid takes place in Spain."

Here is another promo piece, along with the credits: 

Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland

by Alexis E. Fajardo

The Adventure Continues!

"The Song of Roland launches twelve-year-old twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel into their second adventure, bringing readers along in their journey into literary history—this time, introducing the French tales of Charlemagne and his 12 peers. Wholly original, the Kid Beowulf series stays true to its inspired characters and histories while weaving new imaginings of “what if…” and capturing the imagination of kids and teachers alike."

OK, so that's what this graphic novel's concept is about and the credits.

So what did I think of it?

Well, in the earlier blog post from November 19th, 2009, I mentioned that Tina was very interested in this proposed series. I also mentioned that: "Tina and I viewed a few pages of this presentation at the 2009 Comic Con International:  San Diego, (a.k.a. SDCC).  We did not receive a copy of the full format for possible review". We were given a 'press kit', which increased my interest in the proposed series at that time. 

So I was very pleased to see that I had 'won' an advance galley at the Facebook Fan Page for Kid Beowulf for being the 100th Fan! The graphic novel was shipped promptly by Bowler Hat Comics!

Here at Make It So Marketing Inc., we do receive many publications for possible mention / review.  When I first opened up the package, I saw that the graphic novel was very 'heavy' in dialogue text, as well as in actual weight of the graphic novel. It's actually 259 page long! So I put it to the side for a few days as I wanted to give it an ample opportunity to be read fully and carefully for possible review here.

I found the time this past week to read it totally through.  There is a lot there in those 259 pages! Tina and I were originally impressed with the concept of this series, and I've been newley impressed with what happened in this second part of the journey of the twin brothers!

There are a lot of 9 panel pages, plus a lot of dialogue going on. Plus a wide cast of characters for this storyline. There was a lot to see and read in this graphic novel. Sometimes that could be a little overwhelming, but here everything was presented very smoothly and in an entertaining way. 

I found myself wanting to continue reading, but found that with my schedule, that it took several nights to finish. There is a lot here for the cover price of $17.95. The storyline is charming, witty, and made for a good read.

The artwork is styled right for this story, and being printed in black and white format does not hurt this storytelling. I like Alexis' concept and implementation in this second of the proposed series. 

The graphic novel is stated to be for all ages, and I would agree with that.  It would be a good read for parents to read to their younger children, or for older kids to read for themselves. Plus it isn't "dumbed down". Young adults and older persons could find this to be an amusing and adventuresome story!

I haven't seen the first of this series, but if it is like this second volume, then readers are in for a treat should they get jump on this series. Other books planned for this series include:

Kid Beowulf in Rome – the Romulus and Remus tale
Kid Beowulf & The Labyrinth – the labyrinth myth
Kid Beowulf at Troy – The Iliad and The Odyssey
Kid Beowulf & The Fountain of Youth – Gilgamesh
Kid Beowulf & The Ring – The Nibelungenlied

I mentioned above that this graphic novel won't be ready for next week's Indy Comic Book Week.  So when will it be published? Bo Johnson, Publisher at Bowler Hat Comics states:

"We'll be launching the book in April, 2010. We're working on a series of events to coincide with Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, the weekend of April 24–25."

For more of info on this series, please see the following web sites at:

http://www.kidbeowulf.com

http://bowlerhatcomics.com/

and of course, the Facebook Fan Page where YOU too can be interactive with this series:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kid-Beowulf/153666087923?v=wall.

My thanks to Bo Johnson of Bowler Comics for shipping this 'prize' to me so quickly!

I will be blogging about more indy comics series right here at ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com in the days to come, straight into the New Year itself, as that is how long 'Indy Comic Book Week' continues into!

You can follow what is happening and how you can participate in 'Indy Comic Book Week' by checking out the details at:

http://indycomicbookweek.com/index.html.

For our part...Tina and I will be having all the independents comics / graphic novels that we have ready to be sold listed in our online store at low, low prices at:

http://www.makeitsomarketing.com/