Ha! Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum!
Grind your bones to make my bread!
Heist on the Iron Horse!
When I read Rapunzel's Revenge, I wasn't prepared to be wowed, & thus was bowled over. This time, I knew what I was getting into, but I can happily say it lived up to expectations. Where ...Revenge is a Weird West tale, this goes east, goes urban & becomes a good old fashioned Grimm Bros. Heist story. Jack takes front seat, which is fine-- he's not as great as Rapunzel, but she doesn't get sidelined, so that is fine. There is a pixie sidekick, which you know I'm into. A giant crimelord with a floating penthouse A steampunk gadgeteer. Giant ants! Cultural diversity-- seriously, the witchdoctor or kachina fellow, or whatever that guy was, what?! Where did that guy come from. Great. The madcap & frantic pace of the book really works; I was compelled to blitz through it. Jabberwocks & Bandersnatches, too, in the bargain. Gender positive, respectful of race, rollicking fun-- why isn't everyone writing books like this? The advance reading copy I read was black & white, & I can't wait to get a look at the finished colour art, because Nathan Hale's art participates in the Jeff Smith school of cartooning with a heavy dose of details & expression in the colour. I had no idea this was coming out but I'm pretty excited about it.