J.E. Bright is the author of many novels, novelizations, and novelty books for children and young adults. He lives in a sunny apartment in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, with his difficult but soft cat, Mabel, and his sweet kitten, Bernard. Art Baltazar is a super-cartoonist machine from the heart of Chicago and the winner of two Eisner awards! He's all about the peace, love and joy. He defines cartoons and comics not only was an art style, but as a way of life. Art started his funky secret art studio in 1994 with his self published comic book "The Cray-Baby Adventures." Since then, he created other comics such as "Captain Camel & the Space Chicken," Lunar Lizard," Meteor Mite" and the famous, "Patrick the Wolf Boy" and "Tiny Titans." Art Baltazar is a super-cartoonist machine from the heart of Chicago and the winner of two Eisner awards! He's all about the peace, love and joy. He defines cartoons and comics not only was an art style, but as a way of life. Art started his funky secret art studio in 1994 with his self published comic book "The Cray-Baby Adventures." Since then, he created other comics such as "Captain Camel & the Space Chicken," Lunar Lizard," Meteor Mite" and the famous, "Patrick the Wolf Boy" and "Tiny Titans."
MIDWAY MONKEY MADNESS by Sarah Stephens Summary: When the carnival
comes to METROPOLIS, BEPPO THE SUPER-MONKEY isn't far behind. This
CHIMP OF STEEL can't wait to chow down on chocolate-covered bananas
and other fair foods. Unfortunately, the world's evilest ape,
GORILLA GRODD, has other plans. He wants to turn this festival of
fun into a day of destruction. With a little help from the WONDER
TWINS and their space chimp, GLEEK, BEPPO must somehow stop GRODD'S
midway monkey madness. -- Picture Window Books HEROES OF THE HIGH
SEAS by J.E. Bright Summary: Deep in the ocean, TOPO THE OCTOPUS
plays some relaxing music for AQUAMAN. Suddenly, a huge whirlpool
appears in the distance, threatening the city of ATLANTIS. Without
a moment to lose, AQUAMAN leaps aboard his SUPER-SEAHORSE, STORM,
and jets toward the liquid tornado. While the SEA KING rescues a
whale caught in the deadly current, his SUPER-PETS discover the
source of the problem . . . MISTY and SNEEZERS, the BLACK MANTA'S
minions! TOPO, STORM, and ARK THE SEAL, must stop these evil rays,
or their underwater city could be lost again. -- Picture Window
Books POOCHES OF POWER! by Sarah Stephens Summary: When sardines go
missing from the GOTHAM CITY Marina, ACE THE BAT-HOUND
investigates. This clever canine quickly discovers a couple of
clues, but something still smells fishy. To help solve the case,
ACE calls on the most powerful pooch around . . . KRYPTO THE
SUPER-DOG! They track down three fowl felons, the PENGUIN'S BAD
NEWS BIRDS, ARTIE, GRIFF, and WADDLES. Working together, the doggy
duo must recover the stolen sardines and throw those dirty birds in
the can. -- Picture Window Books ROYAL RODENT RESCUE by John
Sazaklis Summary: While napping in the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE,
STREAKY THE SUPER-CAT is suddenly awakened by a television news
alert. The evil Siamese cat ROZZ has kidnapped Prince Zouli, a
noble hamster from the village of Kardamyla. UP, UP, AND AWAY! The
CAT OF STEEL is on the case and quickly tracks down the royal
rodent. Unfortunately, the fearsome feline has a few tricks up his
fur. When ROZZ reveals a chunk of KRYPTONITE in his collar, STREAKY
must help the hamster, and save himself as well. -- Picture Window
Books SUPER HERO SPLASH DOWN by Jane B. Mason Summary: After
traveling through the universe, the GREEN LANTERN B'DG chills out
at a water park on Earth. However, when the RED LANTERN DEX-STARR
shows up, his day in the sun is anything but fun. This fearsome
feline chases B'DG through the pool, down the waterslide, and into
outer space. While there, the two opponents discover a common enemy
. . . the SINESTRO DOG CORPS! These parched pooches are looking for
a place to soak their snouts. If B'DG and DEX-STARR don't team up
and stop them, their favorite water park will become mutt puddle.
-- Picture Window Books FASTEST PET ON EARTH by J.E. Bright
Summary: The speedy super-villain CHAUNCEY THE CHEETAH is loose on
PARADISE ISLAND! However, WONDER WOMAN'S SUPER-PET, JUMPA THE
KANGAROO, isn't worried. This blazing-fast bouncer is the quickest
critter on Earth. Or is she? When CHAUNCEY challenges JUMPA to a
race, the kangaroo must prove her swiftness and her cleverness. But
this criminal cat is chasing more than bragging rights. She's
seeking JUMPA'S tiara as top prize. If the SUPER-KANGAROO doesn't
have a few tricks in her pouch, she might lose in more ways than
one. -- Picture Window Books When I first heard the idea behind the
new series, DC Super-Pets, I had a feeling that Booking Son might
be just a tad bit interested. And I was certainly right! You should
have seen him when he first saw these little books -- his eyes got
really big and he started to smile. Then, he asked me if they were
for him because "I really want them." After I told him yes and that
they were for early readers, he immediately grabbed a book and
started flipping through it. I don't think he got my subtle dig
about "early readers" but he is only 6 years old -- he is
constantly be
*Booking Mama*
With a small suite of writers, Art Baltazar has created a new line
for DC Comics and Capstone publisher, six new books based around
the Super Pets. JE Bright, John Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens have
written stories around the pets of the Justice League and
villainous pets they must combat. Out in the New Year, here is a
Bleeding Cool sneak peek…
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/11/23/preview-alt-baltazars-super-pets/
*Bleeding Cool*
To celebrate the launch of "DC Super-Pets", Picture Window Books is
sponsoring a writing contest for students in grades 1-3. Children
enter the "My Pet is Super" contest by writing an article for an
imaginary newspaper, The Daily Planet, about why their own pet is
super. Art Baltazar will create an illustration of the winning
Super-Pet that will appear in a future book in the DC Super-Pets
series. The winning student will receive the original illustration
as well as copies of the book. Authors of the top 50 entries in the
contest will also win free books. For complete rules and to enter,
visit www.CapstoneKids.com. The contest runs from January 15,
2011–February 28, 2011. The DC Super-Pets series features the
crime-fighting adventures of the pets of favorite super heroes from
beloved DC Comics: Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and
Green Lantern. These intrepid Super-Pets-Krypto the Super-Dog, Ace
the Bat-Hound, Streaky the Super-Cat, Beppo the Super-Monkey, Jumpa
the Super-Kangaroo, and their friends save the day and foil the
evil plans of the universe’s most dastardly super villains. The
books have been specially designed for children just learning to
read independently. Included in the endpapers are illustrations of
all the Super-Pets in the series (both heroes and villains), jokes,
and a guide to the meaning and pronunciation for each book’s most
challenging words. The first six books in the series are
illustrated by Eisner Award-winning DC Comics artist Art Baltazar.
They debuted on January, 2nd and are available for order on
Amazon.com: ? The Fastest Pet on Earth ? Heroes of the High Seas ?
Midway Monkey Madness ? Pooches of Power ? Royal Rodent Rescue ?
Super Hero Splash Down DC Super-Pets is the second project Capstone
and DC Comics have collaborated on in recent history. The
publishers launched a successful partnership in 2008 under
Capstone’s Stone Arch Books imprint to publish DC Super Heroes, an
original book series based around DC Comics' iconic characters
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and, coming in Spring 2011,
Green Lantern and the Flash.
http://www.supermansupersite.com/0106618.html
*The Superman Super Site*
Capstone Publishers and DC Comics have joined forces to produce a
new children’s books series, DC Super-Pets. The series will focus
on the super-powered pets of heroes like Superman, Aquaman, Wonder
Woman, Batman, and Green Lantern. Art Baltazar will illustrate the
project. The first six of the 24 books will be available this
month. The titles include: The Fastest Pet on Earth, Heroes of the
High Seas, Midway Monkey Madness, Pooches of Power, Royal Rodent
Rescue, and Super Hero Splash Down. Here’s more from the release:
“These intrepid Super-Pets—Krypto the Super-Dog, Ace the Bat-Hound,
Streaky the Super-Cat, Beppo the Super-Monkey, Jumpa the
Super-Kangaroo, and their friends—save the day and foil the evil
plans of the universe’s most dastardly super villains. The books
have been specially designed for children just learning to read
independently.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/dc-comics-capstone-launch-dc-super-pets-series_b20588
*GalleyCat*
There’s an undeniable appeal in the idea of superheroes, especially
to kids– the ability for good to reign supreme over evil, all those
powers, the awesome gadgets and costumes! The major superheroes are
well-known, but with a new series, the attention turns to the
animals who work with the heroes we all know and love. DC
Super-Pets! brings to life a large cast of superhero pets, from
Batman’s pal Ace the Bat-Hound and Krypto the Super-Dog friend of
Superman, to Wonder Woman’s Kangaroo Jumpa and B’Dg, The Green
Lantern’s Space Chipmunk, among others. The first six books of the
series have released in January aimed at children in grades one to
three, including Pooches of Power, Midway Monkey Madness, Super
Hero Splash Down, Heroes of the High Seas, The Fastest Pet on
Earth, and Royal Rodent Rescue. These short chapter books are
geared toward newly independent readers, with brightly colored
illustrations incorporated throughout the text, although I have to
say that my younger children have been fascinated by the books and
keep begging to hear the stories. Each adventure sees a super-pet
or two working to defeat the actions of the super-villain pets. Oh
yes, some of the most well-known villains also have pets, and they
need to be stopped! The story lines are creative and appropriate
for young children, yet still filled with action and adventure.
Also included at the end of each book are pages with silly jokes
and definitions for the most challenging words from the text.
http://www.5minutesforbooks.com/12359/dc-super-pets/
*5 Minutes for Books Blog*
Picture Window Books (a division of Capstone) proudly released the
first six books in the "DC Super-Pets!" series in January. I was
lucky enough to receive all six books: The Fastest Pet on Earth ,
Heroes of the High Seas , Midway Monkey Madness , Pooches of Power!
, Royal Rodent Rescue , and Super Hero Splash Down . The books are
a lot of fun. The each begin with a profile page of the main Super
Pet featured in the book, outlining the character's particular
super powers or gadgets. The page also gives a brief background
origin story and who their superhero owner is. A three chapter
story is the main content of the book. While the stories are
simplistic and obviously aimed at young children under the age of
10, the illustrations are colorful and full of energy. While the
story focuses on one particular super-pet, they're usually joined
by other super-pets or super-friends. For example, Beppo the Super
Monkey is joined by Zan, Jayne and Gleek to battle Gorilla Grodd.
Ace the Bat-Hound is joined by Krypto the Super Dog to take on
Penguin's Bad News Birds. The Super-Pet's owners do sometimes make
cameo appearances, but the books aren't about them, the focus is
definitely on the Super-Pets themselves. Each book finishes with
the same two-page spread showcasing all the Super-Pets and
Super-Villain-Pets featured in the series. Forty four in total...
Twenty two of each. The books also contain a jokes page, and a
"Word Power" page which gives the definition of some of the harder
words found in the story. Finally the books close out with a bio on
both the writer and artist of that particular book. All six books
in the original release are illustrated by Eisner Award-winner Art
Baltazar. The writing duties are shared between Sarah Hines
Stephens, John Sazaklis, Jane Mason, and J.E. Bright. Anyone
looking to introduce their young child to the world of superheroes
could do a lot worse than pick up the initial six-book run of the
new "DC Super-Pets!" series.
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php
*Superman Homepage*
Capstone Kids has released a new series of fun books geared towards
early readers. The books were created in conjunction with comic
book giant, DC, to bring about a new series: DC Super-Pets! They
stories include characters like Super-Pet Beppo who is Superman's
pet Monkey, along with many other clever characters. They have a
comic book feel detailing the character and showing action words
and sound effects in big and colorful ways that grab your
attention. Right now your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Grade aged children can
enter a "My Pet is Super Contest" where the child is asked to write
an imaginary newspaper article about their Super-Pet and how he/she
did something extraordinary! Entries will be judged on creativity,
content, and originality! The top 50 entrants will each receive 2
free DC Super-Pets Books, one for the student and one for their
school library. There will also be a first place winner who will
win the prize of being drawn into a DC Super-Pets book and will
receive the original illustration! The first place winner and their
school will also win 5 copies each of the book! The contest ends on
2/28/11. I was able to review the first six books in this series. I
think these books are fabulous! Both of my boys were instantly
extremely interested in them and they held their attention while I
read the story. I pointed to the words for my 4 year old to follow
along and had him read me the few words he is beginning to learn as
we came across them. I believe he will be able to begin reading
most the words sometime next year. At 4 he is still a little bit
young to read them independently. However, I think these books are
great for getting young children interested in reading and eager to
try it on their own. Every page has full color illustrations that
really seem to pop off the page they are so bold! I absolutely love
the comic book feel of the fun text popping out at you on each
page. These books retail for $4.95/each and you can find them in
bookstores locally as well as on Amazon .
http://www.amomstake.com/2011/02/dc-super-pets-books-contest-review.html
*A Mom's Take Blog*
You root for Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and even Aquaman. You
love to hate The Penguin and Catwoman. But what about their pets?
What do they do all day? Lounge in the sun? Nah. Apparently they’re
quite busy. There is a new series of books out which is centered
around the adventures of the Super Pets of the heroes and villains
of DC comics. The first six books of the 24 book series are now
available and are aimed at grades 1-3, with plenty of colorful
artwork and a second grade reading level. To get a feel for the
series, check out the book trailer. Each story contains an exciting
adventure, jokes, definitions, and a guide to all the pets of the
DC Super Pets. The books definitely have a Superfriends kind of
feel, for those of you who watched that show back in the 1970s. (It
sure was one of my favorites.) Books have plenty of bolded words
and interspersed onomatopoeia, like in the old Batman series
(“Kapow!”), which really gives a sense of action. Each book has
usually at least a couple of good pets, and often at least two bad
pets. There are plenty of happy endings and lots of saving the day.
To me, the books are a lot of good fun. To my son in the first
grade, they’re pet-rific (his word). He especially loves the jokes.
The series’s publisher, Capstone, is also sponsoring the My Pet is
Super! writing contest that goes through the end of February. Kids
in grades 1-3 are asked to write a newspaper article about their
pet for The Daily Planet. The writer of the winning submission will
have his or her pet drawn by Art Baltazar, the illustrator for the
series, and have the pet appear in a future book in the series. The
winner and his or her school will also receive books. For complete
rules and to enter the writing contest, visit the Capstone Kids
website. The DC Super Pets books retail for $4.95 each. They’re
cartoony, superhero fun for early elementary kids.
http://www.geekmom.com/2011/02/animals-save-the-day-with-dc-super-pets-plus-a-writing-contest/
*Geek Mom*
’m excited to share with you a fantastic and engaging new series
for young readers. DC Super-Pets Books are early chapter books
about the super pets of familiar superheros and super villains like
Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Catwoman, and Aquaman. The
Super-Pets are these Superhero’s pets — Streaky the Super-Cat and
Jumpa the Super-Kangaroo, for example. The pets fight crime often
perpetrated by Super-Pets of Super Villains and always save the
world. Each book is illustrated by Art Baltazar, the Eisner
Award-winning artist, with fantastic, colorful comic-style graphics
and the text is large and easy to read. My third grader thought
they were great and so do I. The first six books in the series came
out January 2011 and are: The Fastest Pet on Earth Heroes of the
High Seas Midway Monkey Madness Pooches of Power Royal Rodent
Rescue Super Hero Splash Down
http://imaginationsoup.net/2011/02/superhero-pets-for-early-readers-series/
*Imagination Soup*
I’m so excited about this new book series for early readers (grades
1-3) debuting from Capstone Publishers. The series is called DC
SUPER-PETS, and it’s created in conjunction with comic book giant
DC. These books feature action-packed stories about the pets of the
world’s greatest superheroes -- Supergirl’s cat, Aquaman’s
seahorse, Superman’s monkey, Green Lantern’s chipmunk, Wonder
Woman’s kangaroo, and Batman’s dog -- as they do battle with the
pets of famous villains! The first six titles in the planned
24-book series are: Heroes of the High Seas Midway Monkey Madness
Super Hero Splash Down The Fastest Pet on Earth Pooches of Power!
Royal Rodent Rescue Here’s a fun book trailer about the series…
[Email subscribers, please click on the title of this post to view
the video online.] My boys are in first grade, and these early
chapter books are perfect for them! They’re just the right level
for kids who are just getting into chapter books, and the colorful
illustrations by award-winning comic illustrator Art Baltazar
definitely keep my boys’ interest. They’ve really been enjoying
this fun and exciting book series!
http://susanheim.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-dc-comic-book-super-pet-series-for.html
*Susan Heim on Parenting Blog*
One of the highlights of every month around our house is the
arrival of the latest issue of Art Baltazar’s Tiny Titans, the
all-ages title from the Johnny DC line. Consistently one of the
best reads of the month, it’s at the top of the To Read pile both
for me and for my six-year-old daughter Georgia. I like it because
it is (a) funny, (b) beautifully drawn and written, and (c) makes
great use of the DC Universe that I’ve spent so many years
exploring. Georgia likes it because it’s a funny, well-drawn book
about kid superheroes–but best of all, because we sometimes get to
see their pets. My kid loves animals, to put it mildly. And her
favorite issues of Tiny Titans usually involve the “Super-Pets” in
one way or another (she’s a huge fan of the Krypto The Super-Dog
cartoon for the same reason). So when we heard last year that
Baltazar was going to be doing a line of Super-Pets chapter books
with Capstone, we were very interested. And now they’re here… There
are six books in the line all together (and hopefully more to
come), and in the week or so since they arrived from Amazon we’ve
read more than half of them. They are FANTASTIC. Anyone who is
familiar with the DC characters at all will recognize all sorts of
clever little nods and winks, but for young readers who have never
encountered that world before these serve as a great introduction.
I recommend them to anyone, whether you’ve got kids or not, but if
you do have kids then you must get them.
http://www.chrisroberson.net/2011/01/23/aw-yeah-super-pets/
*The Myriad Worlds of Chris Robertson*
An awwwwesome package arrived @ Shrine Central last week--a set of
the new DC Super Pets books! Aw, yeah! There are six books in all,
but of course the one we're the most excited about is Heroes of the
High Seas, starring Aquaman! Written by J.E. Bright and drawn by
Art Baltazar, Heroes of the High Seas stars off with a little
primer explaining who all the characters are: Following this is an
entry from the Atlantis High Command Sea Computer, giving us some
details on Storm the Sea Horse--his skills, his relationship to
Aquaman, and more. Chapter 1, "Wild Whirlpool", opens with a
full-page illustration that makes me nearly giddy in its
Aqua-rifficness: you've got Aquaman, Mera, Aqualad, Tula, Arthur
Jr., Topo the Octopus, and more, all exquisitely rendered in
day-glo colors by Art Baltazar. I want this on a t-shirt, greeting
cards...everything. Anyway, the concert is interrupted by Aquaman's
seal friend Ark (who first appeared waaaay back in More Fun Comics
#89!) who says there's a giant whirlpool just outside the city, and
its growing! Aquaman jumps aboard his loyal steed Storm and
investigates. They see a mother whale getting caught in the vortex
trying to save its calf. Aquaman goes to rescue the whales, while
ordering Storm, Topo, and Ark to see what's causing the whirlpool.
In Chapter 2, "Into the Deep", Aquaman's three pals get too close
to the vortex. Finding themselves with a thud on the ocean floor,
our three heroes spy another denizen of the deep called a Diggler,
as its tunneling directly into a mountain. They also spy to manta
rays, Misty and Sneezer, who are the pets of...Black Manta! Misty
and Sneezer are in charge of digging tubes through the mountain
rock, causing water to rush in, feeding the vortex above. The plan
is to create such a huge whirlpool that its eats Atlantis whole!
"That's not going to happen", Topo replies. In Chapter 3, "Sounds
of Victory", Storm tries to occupy Misty and Sneezer and get them
away from the diggler. Meanwhike, Topo plays his violin, in an
attempt to soothe the diggler, calming him down long enough to stop
the burrowing. Misty and Sneezer attempt to escape, disappearing
behind a rock--but Topo sees that's not a rock, its the ship of
Black Manta!: Arriving just in time, along with the blue whale, is
Aquaman! The blue whale scares Manta so badly he jumps back into
ship and takes off, with the mama blue whale giving chase. With her
calf now safe thanks to Aquaman, Topo, Storm, and Ark explained
what happened. Topo begins to play again, this time in celebration.
...the end! Do I even need to bother to mention how delightfully
awesome this book is? The story is cute, fast-moving and light as
air. And with Art Baltazar doing the illustrations, its a pure
pleasure to look at. If I had had this book when I was five or six,
I would have worn it to pieces due to constant reading and
re-reading. The book also comes with some bonus pages, like a "Know
Your Super-Pets" checklist, a joke page, creator bios, and a
helpful glossary of terms: As I mentioned, there are five other
books in this series. I haven't had a chance to read them all yet,
but they all look as utterly charming as Heroes on the High Seas. I
cannot imagine a more fun way to teach young comics fans to read
than these DC Super Pets books, and of course its fantastic that
Aquaman got his own book in this series, a fairly rare thing when
it comes to the Sea King and mass market projects like this. With
his unique setting and cast of colorful side characters, Aquaman
more than hold his own. I was thrilled to hear that some of the
people at Capstone putting these books together are Aqua-Fans, and
there are plans for more Aqua-centric DC Super Pets books. If you
have a little Aqua-Fan in this house, run, do not walk, over to
Amazon (or your local bookstore) and get yourself a copy. One last
thing: those of you with aforementioned young Aqua-Fans in the
house, be sure to check back with the
*The Aquaman Shrine*
Now that the DC Super Pets books are available, I'm considering
letting each of the kids pick one out the next time I place an
Amazon order. The books are geared towards early readers, ages 4-8,
which means they are at the right level for The Comic Wizard, but
would be beneath the recommeded reading level for Super Reader.
Despite that, I suspect she'll still be excited for the books
because of the characters and illustrations by Art Baltazar. Let's
take a look at the first six releases: The Fastest Pet on Earth by
J. E. Bright The speedy super-villain CHAUNCEY THE CHEETAH is loose
on PARADISE ISLAND! However, WONDER WOMAN'S SUPER-PET, JUMPA THE
KANGAROO, isn't worried. This blazing-fast bouncer is the quickest
critter on Earth. Or is she? When CHAUNCEY challenges JUMPA to a
race, the kangaroo must prove her swiftness and her cleverness. But
this criminal cat is chasing more than bragging rights. She's
seeking JUMPA'S tiara as top prize. If the SUPER-KANGAROO doesn't
have a few tricks in her pouch, she might lose in more ways than
one. Heroes of the High Seas by J. E. Bright Deep beneath the
ocean, TOPO THE OCTOPUS plays some relaxing music for AQUAMAN.
Suddenly, a huge whirlpool appears in the distance, threatening the
city of ATLANTIS. Without a moment to lose, AQUAMAN leaps aboard
his SUPER-SEAHORSE, STORM, and jets toward the liquid tornado.
While the SEA KING rescues a whale caught in the deadly current,
his SUPER-PETS discover the source of the problem . . . MISTY and
SNEEZERS, the BLACK MANTA'S minions! TOPO, STORM, and ARK THE SEAL,
must stop these evil rays, or their underwater city could be lost
again. Midway Monkey Madness by Sarah Hines Stephens When the
carnival comes to METROPOLIS, BEPPO THE SUPER-MONKEY isn't far
behind. This CHIMP OF STEEL can't wait to chow down on
chocolate-covered bananas and other fair foods. Unfortunately, the
world's evilest ape, GORILLA GRODD, has other plans. He wants to
turn this festival of fun into a day of destruction. With a little
help from the WONDER TWINS and their space chimp, GLEEK, BEPPO must
somehow stop GRODD'S midway monkey madness. Pooches of Power by
Sarah Hines Stephens When sardines go missing from the GOTHAM CITY
Marina, ACE THE BAT-HOUND investigates. This clever canine quickly
discovers a couple of clues, but something still smells fishy. To
help solve the case, ACE calls on the most powerful pooch around .
. . KRYPTO THE SUPER-DOG! They track down three fowl felons, the
PENGUIN'S BAD NEWS BIRDS, ARTIE, GRIFF, and WADDLES. Working
together, the doggy duo must recover the stolen sardines and throw
those dirty birds in the can. Royal Rodent Rescue by John Sazaklis
While napping in the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, STREAKY THE SUPER-CAT is
suddenly awakened by a television news alert. The evil Siamese cat
ROZZ has kidnapped Prince Zouli, a noble hamster from the village
of Kardamyla. UP, UP, AND AWAY! The CAT OF STEEL is on the case and
quickly tracks down the royal rodent. Unfortunately, the fearsome
feline has a few tricks up her fur. When ROZZ reveals a chunk of
KRYPTONITE in her collar, STREAKY must help the hamster, and save
herself as well. Super Hero Splash Down by Jane Mason After
traveling through the universe, the GREEN LANTERN B'DG chills out
at a water park on Earth. However, when the RED LANTERN DEX-STARR
shows up, his day in the sun is anything but fun. This fearsome
feline chases B'DG through the pool, down the waterslide, and into
outer space. While there, the two opponents discover a common enemy
. . . the SINESTRO DOG CORPS! These parched pooches are looking for
a place to soak their snouts. If B'DG and DEX-STARR don't team up
and stop them, their favorite water park will become mutt puddle.
Many of these pets have already shown up in the pages of Tiny
Titans, so the kids are familiar with them. Beppo is one of their
favorites, so I imagine Midway Monkey Madness will be their top
choice. As for the other... I'm not sure. Pooches of Power
*The Brave and the Old Blog*
Capstone has launched DC Super-Pets, a new line of chapter books
for early readers, and they are adorable. With art by Art Baltazar,
who illustrates DC’s Tiny Titans line, each book tells the story of
an iconic superhero’s pet: Batman’s Ace the Bat-Hound, Superman’s
Beppo the Super-Money, and Supergirl’s Streaky the Super-Cat. The
animal companions of Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman also
get to tell their own stories. Unlike Tiny Titans, which relies
heavily on the actual series for storylines and gags, the
Super-Pets books are accessible to new readers, and each starts
with a little infographic about the pet and its superhero
companion. Background information is introduced throughout the
story, so even a reader who has never seen superheroes before can
enjoy these books.
http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/goodcomicsforkids/2011/02/14/capstone-launches-super-pets-line-with-contest/
*Good Comics for Kids Blog*
On the other hand, you have the Super Pets, which are not only
adorable beyond belief, but they're actual prose novels for kids.
The books are light hearted, fun, and wonderfully illustrated by
Tiny Titans artist Art Baltazar, perfect for young kids to pick up
and read - or even be read at bed time. These books are set to be
released soon, and having been given the opportunity to read a few
of them, I must say that I wish I had a kid to share these with. If
parents are looking for something to give their children in order
to acclimate them into the DCU, this is that book. Do you love
Green Lantern and the character Dex-Starr? Well, there's a whole
book starring him and B'dg, a squirrel Green Lantern, who fight
against the Sinestro Dog Corps at a water park. The book even
includes a cameo from Glomulus, Larfleeze's favorite Orange
Lantern. This title is absolutely perfect for any child who has
even remotely showed interest in super heroes, let alone has a love
for their pets! See, as much as we want to get kids into comics, we
also need to give them good options for reading. While there are
tons of great youth oriented books and novels (I fondly remember
reading the Fudge books, personally), it's nice that in today's
market, there are legitimate options for kids to bridge the gap
between super heroics and reading traditional prose pieces. This is
why a book series like Super Pets or the comic Tiny Titans is so
great. There is no linear timeline, no overbearing plot. These are
stories that can simply be picked up, read, and enjoyed, and that's
what kids with All Ages need before we can really worry about
trying to explain to them Blackest Night and Brightest Day. I'm
happy to give my nephew a copy of a book like Bone, which is a
wonderful comic, because as he grows older this is the kind of
comic he'll enjoy. But in an attempt to "get them while they're
young," I'd rather give a kid DC's Royal Rodent Rescue, starring
Streaky (not currently around in the DCU) than I would try and give
them most any other comic on the shelf at the moment - including
Thor: The Mighty Avenger.
http://www.multiversitycomics.com/2011/01/friday-recommendation-tiny-titans-and.html
*Multiversity Comics*
I'm a big proponent of getting kids to read comics but their
choices are slim when compared to what adults are offered in the
medium. So when I heard Capstone Publishers was teaming with DC to
put out DC Super-Pets I was ecstatic! Then I got to read them and
was filled with joy usually reserved for 8-year-olds. Here's why...
The first six books in the series were released last month and are
all drawn by Eisner Award-winning artist Art Baltazar. You're
probably already familiar with his work on Tiny Titans. The guy is
just plain awesome and he doesn't disappoint here. In fact, he ups
the cuteness quotient by a lot. There's a whole menagerie of
animals for Baltazar to choose from and one is cuter than the next.
I'll start off with the obvious book for me, Super Hero Splash Down
starring B'dg the Green Lantern and Dex-Starr the angry Red
Lantern. Written by Jane Mason, this was the first one I read
because Dex is my favorite. The story follows the antics of the two
at a water park, which is surprising considering cats don't like
water. Well, of course that comes into play. There's a lot of
horsing around but eventually a superhero team-up is called for
when some Sinestro Dog Corps invade the park. You'd think The
Fastest Pet on Earth would star The Flash's companion but no,
actually this book is all about Wonder Woman's trusty Kanga named
Jumpa. Written by J.E. Bright, the story revolves around Jumpa
having to protect a special Golden tortoise from Chauncey,
Cheetah's cheetah on Paradise Island. Jumpa has just as much
bravery and fight in her as Wonder Woman and uses not only her
power but her wits to outsmart the villain. Midway Monkey Madness
is filled with familiar DC characters. Written by Sarah Hines
Stephens, it stars Beppo the super-monkey, the Wonder Twins Jayna
and Zan, Gleek and Gorilla Grodd. Grodd decides to cause some havoc
at a local carnival and Beppo makes sure everyone gets to safety
while he and the rest of the heroes figure out how to stop him.
Writer Bright also took on Aquaman's giant seahorse storm in Heroes
of the High Seas. He stars along with Topo the octopus, Ark the
sealion plus Black Manta and his pets Misty and Sneazers. I
couldn't figure out what Misty and Sneezers were at first but turns
out they're manta rays! This was one of my favorites out of the
bunch because a lot of players got together and each had a very
specific job to overcome their problem. Pooches of Power features
the two most famous super pets, Ace the Bat-Hound and Krypto the
Super-Dog. Hines Stephens also writes this tale in which the dogs
go up against the Penguins animal companions, the Bad News Birds.
Ace and Krypto must put a stop to thievery taking place at the
local sardine factory before the Penguin can escape his own
justice. And Bruce Wayne/Batman makes a guest appearance to
congratulate his pooch. And last but not least, because it's
actually my favorite, Royal Rodent Rescue by John Sazaklis stars
not one but TWO felines. Streaky the super-cat and Rozz, the evil
Siamese of Catwoman. This story almost puts the villain in the
starring role as Rozz decides to head off to Metropolis on her own
in search of thievery while Catwoman is stealing in Gotham. Streaky
must intervene with the slinky cat kidnaps and royal hamster. Yup,
you heard me, a royal hamster. And the fight is not an easy one as
Rozz got her paws on some Kryptonite! Each book (all around 50
pages long) includes a rundown of the characters appearing in the
book, a stats page of the star, knock-knock jokes and a page with
definitions of some of the tougher or more unfamiliar words that
appear. The front and rear of each book also holds a mural of all
the super pets we'll see in the series. And let me tell you, we've
only hit the tip of the iceberg. I can't wait to see some of these
other pets in action. Although the book is called DC Super-Pets,
it's important to note that most, if not all of the "pets" view
themselves as friends or companions of the
*The Nerdy Bird Blog*
Aquaman's pets Topo, Storm and Ark save the day in Heroes of the
High Seas. Atlantis is on the verge of being destroyed by a giant
whirlpool coming from Triton Trench. Aquaman goes to investigate
with his pets, but must stop to save a baby blue whale and its
mother who are caught in the giant funnel. Aquaman requests that
his pets continue to the bottom of the trench to find out what's
causing the whirlpool. Down below, Topo, Storm and Ark learn that
Black Manta and his evil manta rays are behind it. They want
Atlantis destroyed and will stop and nothing to complete their
mission. Heroes of the High Seas is the first of the DC Super-Pets
series that I happened to read. Immediate thoughts were that
younger children, especially those who are into comic book heroes,
will love this new series. The stories are packed with action and
bold illustrations. There is mild violence, so some parents may
want to look at the books first before deciding if they want their
children to read them. The words are perfect for advancing readers,
not too difficult but a few harder words are thrown in and defined
in the Word Power section. Each DC Super-Pets book starts with a
bio page on the pet and then progresses in to the story. The end of
the book features a grid of all super-pets and villain pets.
There's also a bio offered on the author and illustrator.
http://roundtableforkids.blogspot.com/2011/01/dc-super-pets-heroes-of-high-seas-je.html
*Roundtable Reviews for Kids*
I recently received a stack of review copies from DC’s new
Super-Pets children’s book series. These brightly colored little
books all turned out to be of consistent quality and tone, so I
decided to do a little round-up review for the whole set. According
to the press information, the six books above are the first
releases in a projected series of 24. Each is illustrated by Art
Baltazar, celebrated for his Eisner Award-winning work on DC’s All
Ages Tiny Titans comic series. They’re available in both a
softcover digest format and hardcover, which is listed on Amazon as
“Library Binding.” That description is fair, because while the more
durable format is probably a wise investment for libraries and
schools, most families may find it easier to fit the 4.95 list
price softcovers into their budgets. The softcovers are still quite
nice, with clear high quality paper, lovely color printing, and
durable feeling bindings despite their small size. They will feel
much at home in smaller hands, whose owners probably won’t be
afraid to bend the book while hovering over their favorite pages.
The books are designed from the ground up as a set. Each one
follows a simple and informative format. The bright, pastel cover
opens to the DC Super-Pets! logo followed by a two page spread of
the series cast (repeated in the back of the book.) Then comes a
title and credit page, with floating heads of a couple of the
featured pets. After that, we find out who is starring in the book,
on a single page introducing the pet, their nemesis, and usually
the superhero or villain counterparts. Across from this page there
is a colorful table of contents. Then we get a computer file on our
main super-pet, which is fun – under the heading “Paradise Isle
Royal Computer” for example. This file shows abilities, points out
costume pieces, includes a height line up, and bio plus information
like Species, Place of Birth, Age, and Favorite Food. After that
there’s about 42 pages of illustrated story. The stories are mostly
large-type text punctuated by special font sound effects and the
odd floating head showing relevant expression. Every couple pages
has a half or fourth page illustration, with the odd full page or
2-page splash mixed in. The end is followed by a “Know Your
Super-Pets!” 2-page spread, with the hero and villain introducing
their associate animals – “Aw Yeah, Hero Pets!” There’s also single
pages in the back devoted to “Aw Yeah, Jokes!”, “Word Power!”,
“Meet The Author/Illustrator!” and, of course, an
advertisement/listing of the other books in the series, the
publisher’s website, and publication information. Now that you’ve
got some idea of the format, I should talk about the actual
content. While each book features work by Art Baltazar (a great
idea to keep a single illustrator to build recognition among the
kids), the authors vary. J.E. Bright, Sarah Hines Stephens, John
Sazaklis, and Jane Mason have all turned in work similar enough
that it should be totally indistinguishable to young readers. That,
in itself, isn’t a bad thing – you don’t have to worry about any of
these books being terrible or suddenly offensive. But the series
probably won’t gain any of them particular individual acclaim.
Baltazar’s art is nicely printed and of his usual high quality. The
bright and often pastel color scheme is warm and inviting and his
expressions should be immediately understood by all readers. If I
had any complaint at all, it’s only that I wish these were actual
comics so we could see more drawings. Which isn’t really a
complaint – I hope they inspire many readers to seek out his comic
work. The stories feature the pets almost exclusively. While there
is the odd appearance by owners, usually at the start and end of a
story, these animals are their own heroes. They solve problems and
build relationships all on their own. The solutions they find are
generally competitive but non-violent. They’re sometimes
surprisingly coopera
*Trade Reading Order*
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