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SANDWALK ADVENTURES #2
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Writer/Artist: Jay Hosler
Price: $2.95 US/$3.95 CAN |
After reading Clan Apis, Jay Hosler went onto my "check out everything he does" list. After two issues of Sandwalk Adventures, he has ascended to the much smaller "buy everything he does sight unseen" list. Sandwalk Adventures combines the same love for knowledge, educational tone and absolute comedic genius that was the hallmark of Clan Apis, and I would never have
imagined that reading about Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution could
be as entertaining as it is enlightening. But then, I would never have imagined
that I would find a pair of follicle mites to be so sympathetic, funny and cute
either.
Hosler's story is simple
enough that a younger reader can get into it, but layered with enough
information and themes, not to mention humor, that adults will love it just as
much, or possibly more. Charles Darwin is presented not simply as a genius who
influenced science forever, but as an extremely knowledgeable and likeable man.
His continuing belief that the follicle mites are a hallucination (and who can
blame him) makes for some great humor, and his teacher's attitude when talking
to them makes his narration entertaining and educational.
Serving the purpose of comic
relief and also the reason for Darwin to explain his theories to the reader are
the two follicle mites in his eyebrow. Their boredom with his reality-based
stories, as well as a mixture of respect and impertinence, is the same kind of
thing you'd expect from kids in school, and Hosler has managed to make
sympathetic characters who will keep kids reading, failing to recognize
themselves in those characters but relating to them anyway, and learning despite
themselves.
Though I keep mentioning kids, it should not be assumed that Sandwalk Adventures is a young readers' comic. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Hosler's deep research and love of the subject is as infectious and as expertly done as Eric Shanower's work on Age of Bronze, and I spent as much time
learning about the life of Darwin, and the theories he formed, as I did laughing
at Hosler's dead-on funny dialogue.
Given that this week saw the release of high-profile favorites like Dark Knight Strikes Again, The Ultimates and Powers, it would be easy to skip over Sandwalk Adventures when you
pass it on the new rack. Don't make that mistake, as this is one of those comics
that will make everybody's "Best Of" list for the year.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
