SHELF-AWARENESS -- In a world where spelling bees are more
dangerous than mixed martial arts and more popular than any sport
ever devised, one group of ragtag spellers unite to destroy the
secret society behind it all or die trying. Because losing a match
surely means D-E-A-T-H!" That (or something very much like that)
had to have been the pitch the authors delivered to Oni Press when
they first talked about this book. This not-quite-our-world
features a society built on the English language, where every class
in high school is somehow related to the language arts (except for
PE, of course), back-alley spelling bees exist for those banned
from official matches, and a shadowy organization called the
Spelluminati run everything and remove undesirables with swift
efficiency. Words and letters can be (and often are) used as
weapons in the right mouths (and occasionally hands) in videogame
style matches where dichotomy can be more dangerous than
thaumaturgy. While the world is interesting enough and the main
characters engaging, the awesome cast of supporting characters is
very enjoyable: they're other spellers who come with superhero
names, great gimmicks and excellent, word-related backgrounds. My
favorite is the Immortal, who is rumored to have been alive since
the first spelling bee, and knows the meaning and history of every
word thrown at him. Handselling Opportunities: Fan of magical
realist comics like Scott Pilgrim, Sharknife, Street Angel and
Suburban Glamour, among others (it's pure synchronicity that they
all start with "S").
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