Tuesday, January 03, 2012

My New Year's Resolution: Read More Creator-Owned Comics

As a comic book store owner, I read a ton of comics - usually 10-15 per week, plus graphic novels and advanced preview copies. My customer base is primarily made up of DC/Marvel fans, so that's the bulk of what I read. But, as I get older, I'm finding that I'm enjoying more creator-owned comics than ever before and I'm trying to bring as many other readers along for the ride with me.

So, one of my goals this year is to read more creator-owned comics and post reviews and comments that will hopefully get other comic fans to check them out.

Last night, I finally got around to reading Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Vol. 1 from Image Comics. Written by Mark Andrew Smith with art by Armand Villavert, Gladstone's is a fun, exciting and entertaining series that fans of Teen Titans and the movie Sky High will enjoy.

As the title implies, Gladstone's School for World Conquerors is a school where the children of super villains are taught how to be bad guys. Now this could be a very dark book, but instead, the characters are presented as regular kids that are dealing with bad grades from teachers, crushes, and fitting in.

But there's more to Gladstone's that just pre-teen fun and games. There's a mystery at the heart of the story, one that we get a tantalizing glimpse of in the first volume and that encourages the reader explore further.

Mark Andrew Smith has given fans engaging characters that, in many ways, are more fun and interesting than the Teen Titans. The characters and the world that they inhabit, feel fresh and exciting - as they should - and, based on the write-up at the end, he has plenty of stories to tell.

The artwork by Armand Villavert is excellent and fits the story very well. He does a great job of capturing the youth and emotion of the characters, while pulling off some eye-popping battle scenes.

I'm glad that I bit the bullet and opened the doors of Gladstone's School for World Conquerors. It's a place that I'm looking forward to visiting again.

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