Review by C.J. Bunce
Last year John Carpenter and Sandy King’s Storm King Comics published Fetch Book One: The Journey, the first half of a new adventure story for kids. Next month will see the arrival of Fetch Book Two: The Rescue, the finale to the story. Fetch follows Danni, a 12-year-old girl dealing with the death of her dog via a fantasy journey where she interacts with characters in Greek mythology.
Along the journey she loses track of her little brother, so she’s assisted by Odysseus himself, a brave and noble companion who gets her in and out of many a confrontation with a Cyclops, a Minotaur, and more all to face off with Hades himself to try to get her dog back. The first volume is out now here at Amazon, with the second available for pre-order here.
Many stories try to approach death of a loved one in a way kids can handle and understand. This books does it right. Who wouldn’t want to battle any opponent to pull their dog back from death? A quest to the Underworld? Why not? Writer Mike Sizemore balances the reality and fantasy of the story with an even hand. At the same time this book would make a good companion to Katie Cook’s Nothing Special, a book we reviewed here at borg last month. Both address loss via a fantasy quest of self-discovery, and Fetch would do well released in a similar combined hardcover, storybook edition down the road.
Dave Kennedy’s reproductions of Greek gods and heroes and Pete Kennedy’s vibrant colors will appeal both to kids and adults, who will see a lot of the Ray Harryhausen Titans in the pages of this graphic novel/comic series. Kids will be introduced to the heroes, gods, and monsters of Homer’s The Odyssey.
The best change-up of characters finds Danni confronting Medusa, in a great update to the infamous monster that could merit her own spin-off. For a story like this Cerberus is a must, and it’s a great addition to this tale.
It’s a nice approach for older kids dealing with death for the first time and a cute adventure story with action to keep kids interested. Add Fetch Book One: The Journey and Fetch Book Two: The Rescue to your pull list at Elite Comics , find them on Amazon, or buy them direct from Storm King comics at its website stormkingcomics.com. Fetch Book Two is slated for release May 21, 2023, at comic shops everywhere.
