Sidekicks
Dan Santat
Arthur A. Levine, 2011
$12.99, Paperback
978-0439298193
March 24th, 2012
Genre:
Humor, Adventure
Age: 8+
Description:
Captain Amazing has protected the citizens of Metro City
for years but after a huge battle with four supervillains at the same time,
which resulted in the loss of a prototype DNA transferring device, everyone is
wondering is Captain Amazing is getting to old for this line of work. He
decides he is left with one option—trying, once again, to find a sidekick.
However, he cringes at this thought because of the horrible memories associated
with his first foray into having a partner—his former cat, Static Cat, got
injured on the job and disappeared. This gives his other neglected pets an
idea—if Static Cat could be a superhero why can’t they? These pets include
Roscoe, a dog who can turn into Metal Mutt (a natural hard exterior along with
super strength); Fluffy, a very patriotic hamster who doesn’t know if he has
powers but he’s got the attitude needed to get the job done; and Shifty, the
new chameleon who, can well, camouflage himself cause, you know, he’s a
chameleon and that’s what they do. While out on crime patrol, Fluffy and Shifty
meet up with Manny—the pet formerly known as Static Cat. He’s been living on
the streets protecting innocent animals as The Claw, the dreaded hero who puts
fear in the hearts of evil doers. Can Manny teach these two wimps how to
harness their powers in time for Captain America’s auditions? And what is up
with that new hero—Wonder Man—who has flown into town and is impressing
everyone and why does he look suspiciously familiar to Manny?
Opinion:
This is a super fun graphic novel that will appeal to both genders and animal
lovers. Guys will love the superhero antics while girls will get a kick out of
the anthropomorphic pets. Dan Santat is turning out to be one of my new
favorite artists. The art for this story is well done—I believe computer
graphically created—and the background of many panels actually contain many
hidden details and clues a perceptive readers can take in. Besides an
action-packed superhero story here, there is also a really tender story at heart—the
love between a human and his pets. One thing that I wish was explained more is
how the pets actually get their superpowers and is this a common occurrence or
is Captain Amazing just really lucky that he keeps adopting the animals with
powers.
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