Reviewed by annieb123 on
Drew And Jot: Dueling Doodles is the first volume of a new series by Art Baltazar. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Kaboom!, it's 208 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The author / artist has a number of long running comics series and although comparisons with Dav Pilkey's work are inevitable, I submit that Drew and Jot are bringing their own energy to the game and are worthy on their own merits.
I really enjoyed the story-within-the-story trope and it works very well here. I love the spontaneity of the story line. Protagonist 5th grader new kid Andrew meets a friend his first day at school who is also into drawing and making up superhero stories and they trade sketch books to create crossovers featuring each other's superhero/supervillain. The fast moving action and appealing art will certainly prompt readers to pick up their own pencils and paper and start creating (and that's a wonderful thing).
This would make a great selection for school or classroom libraries, as inspiration for a maker group, or a superlative gift for a young artist or reader, possibly bundled with some drawing materials to do their own stories.
Beautifully written and full of energy, this is a great read. I enjoyed it loads. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 23 December, 2019: Reviewed