Sutton, Laurie S. Demons of Deep Space.

Sutton, Laurie S.   Demons of Deep Space.  Capstone/Stone Arch    88p  $25.32 978-1-4342-4098-9       2013  elem  VG      series: DC Superheroes: Man of Steel  Graphic novels

           

Reluctant readers who enjoy Superman and superheroes in general will enjoy this new title by Laurie Sutton, illustrated by Luciano Vecchio.  In this title, Superman is busy saving a submarine, when a Metropolis Airline plane needs assistance.  When Superman is assisting the airplane, he realizes that something big is happening.  Along with two new gods, Superman and his friends are being invaded by the Female Furies, and Darkseid is behind it all.  Fearing that Darkseid and his crew might find the Infinity Particle, Superman and his friends must stop him to save the universe.  Readers will cheer Superman on as he battles with the evil Lord Darkseid, since he’s the only one who can defeat him.  The author uses onomatopoeia to describe the sounds of actions throughout. 

The book includes several pages of color graphics intermixed in the story, a profile of Darkseid, biographical information on the author and illustrator, a glossary of terms, discussion questions, and writing prompts.   Students are also given guided to FactHound, where they may use the book’s International Standard Book Number to obtain additional information and other cool things.

For schools that use Accelerated Reader, this title already has a quiz ready for readers (AR Quiz #152839).      

Superman (Fictional character)-Fiction              --Charleen Forba-Mayer

Dahl, Michael Green Lantern: Guardian of Earth

Dahl, Michael Green Lantern: Guardian of Earth  

Stone Arch see Capstone

            2011   48       25.32  978-1-4342-2611-2            

elm/ms           Science fiction            DCSuperheroes(Capstone)       VG-BNes         

Hal Jordan becomes the new Green Lantern,

Guardian of Earth, after a close encounter with a mysterious alien from a UFO.                    

From the ╥3-D╙ cover art, eye-catching endpapers and full-page illustrations,

through the inclusion of hand-lettered sound-effects in the text, this novel is

designed to be visually arresting.  Fans of the superhero comic genre ╨ as well

as reluctant (high-low) readers ╨ will make this volume fly off the shelf.  

 The release of a movie featuring the Green Lantern this summer will focus

interest on the new-to-this-generation superhero.  The story focuses on the

origin of Earth╒s first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.  Hal is a test pilot, whose

jet takes a nosedive when it encounters a mysterious UFO.  The alien, who was

making an emergency landing on Earth due to injuries sustained in a recent

battle, rescues the aircraft, preventing a crash.  With his dying breath, the

alien announces that Hal is now the new Guardian of Earth, and gives him a green

ring with incredible powers.  The action-packed chapters are a mere 8-10 pages

long, in friendly font accompanied by lively comic-style graphic art.  A

glossary defines unfamiliar terms and is followed by discussion questions and

writing prompts.  

            Readers are also invited to visit two websites.  After drilling

through the links, the facthound.com link ties in to DC Comics website (which

was featuring Green Lantern at the time of this review). The capstonekids.com

website did not feature superheroes, which might disappoint some readers.

      This is not a graphic novel, but a brief novel with graphic/comic book

elements.    Welliver, Hilary