Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: GAAK #1 From First Run Publishing!     - Above: Being introduced to GAAK (Groovy Ass Alien Kreatures) at the 2010 Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC)! Top Left: A closer look at the Front Cover to GAAK Volume 1!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3385:

I found this title in the Artists Alley at the recent 2010 Long Beach Comic Con, (LBCC).

It was published in graphic novel format from First Run Publishing.

The title of the property 'GAAK' caught my eyes as I walked by the table. Finding out that 'GAAK' stood for 'Groovy Ass Alien Kreatures', I asked further about it.

Here is what the publishers state in their promo blurb about it:

"What is GAAK? It's like ET--With teeth. It's like The Gremlins if they came from outer space and had great comic timing. GAAK is what you get when you mix Steven Spielberg's "The Goonies" with equal parts of classic 50's style creature feature movies like "The Invaders from Mars". When aliens from outer space invade a small suburban town and hatch a fiendish plot to take over the earth and meet the original cast of "Star Trek", four misfit kids named Zach, Jemmy, Plato, and Chubs set out to save the world--And all before bedtime. After all, tonight's a school night. Story by Darryl Hughes, art by Monique MacNaughton."

My thoughts on this first volume are this:

Front Cover:  This cover should grab the attention of the target market of this graphic novel, IMO.  It shows the titel 'GAAK', what it stands for, and shows action as well as the main characters.  Good presentation.

The storyline is both fun yet silly like the old sci-fi creature features at the drive-ins, and a good read. I found myself continuing to read the graphic novel with increasing interest, although I wasn't in the target market age group.

The artwork by Monique MacNaughton really fits this storyline!  The dialogue and artwork together made this a fun read for me.

The black and white interiors are fine for this presentation, and fit the sci-fi storyline, where GAAK invade the Earth.  Color was not needed for this book.

The lettering is also done very well, and doesn't interfere with the artwork, a sign of good lettering!

This 'graphic novel' print format was actually from an earlier format.  Here's Darryl Hughes telling more:

"GAAK is a regularly updating webcomic that follows the adventures of 6th grade misfits Zach, Jemmy, Plato, and Chubs as they try to stop the maniacal Jim Carrey like alien Gakk and his posse' of kooky Pod Critters from taking over the earth and meeting the original cast of "Star Trek". LOL! GAAK volume two will be published once GAAK the webcomic has finished it's online run."  

So I'm calling it a 'graphic novel' instead of a TPB, (Trade PaperBack), as it hadn't been printed in a floppy comic book format before.

Researching a little further into the several websites that the creators and the publisher have started, I found that 'GAAK' started as a webcomic in 2001.  This printed volume was the first hard copy format for the concept.

Although the intended target market for this webcomic / 'graphic novel' was not me, I still found it an enjoyable read, and wanted to bring it to my blog readers attention.  This would make a good gift for younger readers, IMO.

My review rating for this comic book is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a 10.0 possible comic book grading scale.

To purchase this graphic novel please see the following link:  Purchase Groovy Ass Alien Kreatures

There isn't a Facebook Fan Page for this publication nor the Publisher at this time, so no link is provided.  However you can visit First Run Publishing LLC via this link.

~Michael D Hamersky

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