Review - Unicorn Boy

 

We were lucky enough to be sent a copy of this in exchange for an honest review, but will be buying future instalments ourselves! All views and opinions are our own.

 Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman, with colour by Heather Mann, published by Hachette.

I loved this. We're always on the lookout for new comics and graphic novels to read in our house, and this has definitely proved a hit (indeed we're already looking forward to seeing what will happen next. Peapod, of course, has theories.)

Brian is an ordinary kid...until he suddenly grows a unicorn horn, develops magical powers and starts to attract evil forces and dark beings. And this is only the start of his problems; when these evil beings take his friend Avery, he finds himself as a very reluctant yet determined hero on a quest to the underworld to save them. 

There is so much to love about this. It's a pacy, well-plotted adventure, with excellent world-building, wonderful characters and friendships, and a perfect balance between humour, action and emotion. 

Behind its one-liners and cat-rescuing, there's a depth to this with a its magical world and systems, as it casually and unobtrusively breaks the usual gender stereotypes and sensitively explores feelings of shyness and self-doubt and metaphorical darkness vs light...

And out of it all comes an over-riding yet not at all smushy message of having each other's backs, of sticking up for those you love and of those we love always being with us. In particular, I loved Avery and Brian's friendship (I think Avery might have been my favourite character; their loyalty and belief in their friend was just the loveliest!) and the fact that their families weren't a big part of things, but were present and supportive (I LOVE this in stories and this does it really well!)

The artwork is great, it feels both grown up and playful and we really loved the style and use of colour, and while this could just as easily have been written in novel form - talking muffins aside perhaps, the plot, characters and worlds would easily have expanded into longer form prose - I'm really glad it wasn't; the art adds an extra something to it and it feels like a really unique and original offering in the kids' comic graphic novel arena sitting somewhere between all-out fantasy and all-out comedy caper.

There's many reviews comparing this to Dogman or Bunny vs Monkey, but honestly it's not really much like either (I don't think!) If anything, it has Dogman's underlying warmth and wordplay, but it's a different beast really.

Yes, if you have readers who are fans of comics/graphic novels they'll probably like this because it's an excellent example of that format done really, really well. So by extension, if you have fans of DM or B vs M, they'll probably like this. But don't go into it expecting that same sort of slapstick silliness (which we also love by the way).

There is humour, yes, and elements of the surreal (I mean, the main character has a unicorn horn, talks to a muffin and swallows the villain) However, it feels less techincolor-tour-de-force and more quick-wit (no coins for the ferryman? pay via the app instead) and wordplay (Gran Reaper, anyone?) with some very amusing takes on well-known phrases or ideas ("FLY, MY KITTIES!" being a personal favourite).

I loved the way that we still laughed a lot reading this, but this is first and foremost a magical adventure and it feels really different to a lot of the other comics/graphic novels I've read (admittedly this isn't loads, we're only just starting to get into these and I do not profess to be any kind of expert in them!). 

We often hear about kids' comics as a 'bridge' to chapter books or a 'stepping stone'  for reluctant readers into 'proper reading' (do not get me started). Conversely, this feels like a bridge from novels to comics for those looking to explore the other way around; something fans of magical middle-grade novels, computer games or drama/role playing could get into as easily as existing comic fans surely will. Bring on book two!