Friday, April 16, 2010

The New Brighton Archeological Society


The New Brighton Archeological Society by Mark Andrew Smith and Matthew Weldon. Image Comics. 2009. Copy from author. Graphic Novel


The Plot: After their parents die during an expedition, siblings Cooper & Joss and Benny & Becca go to live with their godparents in the huge mansion where their own parents grew up. Exploring the Manor and its surrounding grounds leads to mysteries they never imagined -- including why their parents died.


The Good: A fun, adventurous story with a quartet of likable kids.


Mysteries are introduced in the first few pages (a Manor house, a flying island, a goblin (or fairy?) wedding. Flashforward fifty years, where we see the two sets of parents die in Antarctica while searching for something. So, another mystery! The four kids recover from the loss of their parents by discovering that their parents weren't simply archaeologists. The parents also trapped ghosts, befriended goblins, and pursued assorted other supernatural thrills and fun. The kids dub themselves, like their parents before them, the New Brighton Archaeological Society.


There is a fun mix of supernatural creatures, introduced slowly to the reader with the discovery, first, of ghosts. Then goblins. And I enjoyed that the goblins are the good guys! By the time the fearless foursome are storming castles, Chinese vampires and frogs join the mix and its just a ton of fun. (Fun for the reader; I personally don't want to battle vampires).

This is a set up for a series; so while the kids accomplish some things, danger still lurks, things still need to be recovered. It'll be interesting to see what the Society gets up to next!



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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

1 comment:

Ms. Yingling said...

This does look interesting, but the cover is a little young for middle school. It will have to be fabulous to overcome that!