Sardine in Outer Space, Volume 1

My students loved looking at and reading this comic book. I will buy more from this series.

As many librarians will tell you, "give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Give a child an age-appropriate graphic novel and it will circulate until the pages disintegrate". Kind of an odd saying, I know, but a true one. This title was originally published in France and has now been translated for the American audience. Less graphic novel than serial, this collection of short comics tell the story of a little girl (Sardine), her uncle Captain Yellow Shoulder, and cousin Louie. Together they fight against the evil combo of Supermuscleman, chief executive dictator of the universe, and his large headed sidekick Doc Krok. The adventures are fast paced and goofy, occasionally straying into the absurd. In one tale, our heros travel to planet Discoball to take part in a dance contest with The Empress Laser Diskette. Providing the music? Diskette's son Prince BeeJeez. Yes, like the band. Kids will enjoy the action and silly situations, but this reviewer was left wanting just a little bit more.

Sardine in Outer Space is the creation of a couple of two brilliant French cartoonists and writers Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar. This book collects twelve stories featuring the adventures of a little girl named Sardine, her cousin Louie, and her Uncle, the pirate Captain Yellow Shoulder as they travel through space on their ship The Huckleberry with a crew of kids and battle the evil Supermuscleman and his chief henchman Doc Krok. In the opening tale Sardine has to rescue her uncle who has been captured by the diabolical pair who are trying to force him to tell where his ship is hidden. It's up to Sardine to save the day but only after she eludes a giant space leech. In another tale, the kids are swimming on a planet made almost entirely of water called "Glug" when Sardine and Louie are captured by some honking and tooting undersea fishmen. In "Planet Discoball" uncle Yellow Shoulder is forced to land on a planet that looks, well, just like a glittering discoball in order to re-fuel. Gas is in short supply but the Empress Laser Diskette have promised a full tank of gas to the winner of her tournament. All you have to do is dance with the slug-like Empress to win! As you can see these are stories geared towards a younger reader, but not too young as there is some wonderfully clever humor that very young ones won't catch. That said, adults will get a kick out of these wacky antics as well as the book has a look very reminiscent of old underground comics. The colors by Walter Pezalli must also be pointed out as his bold coloring truly makes the book come alive. I found myself enjoying this book so much more than I would have ever dreamed. Unfortunately we don't often get much exposure to comics outside of the U.S. and kudos to First Second books for publishing this gem. Reviewed by Tim Janson

Geared more toward children, more so the middle reader, Sardine in Outer Space is the first "graphic novel" I've reviewed. The cartoon drawings will attract children and can be enjoyed by adults as well. This story was translated from French by Sasha Watson. Comic authors Guibert and Sfar took turns writing the script and drawing pictures. The heroine Sardine, her uncle Yellow Shoulder and Little Louie board the Huckleberry and blast off into space. There they encounter cosmic squid, masters of the universe, leeches, talking clouds and many evil characters. Your child would love think this is so cool. Supermuscleman is the evil guy and with his helper Doc Krok, they chase Sardine and friends. The story line also includes manners, moral stories and human--teaching and reinforcing messages. About one character they say, "He is so brave," to which another says, "No, that's just his job." Another chimes in, "But he is NOT crazy." Many of the space-age characters will remind you of the Star Wars space mutants. Armchair Interviews says: If your child is imaginative and enjoys quirky things they will like Sardine in Outer Space, a good example these new graphic novels (that means a comic bound like a book).