Peng!: Action Sports Adventures

At the All-World School of Sportsmanship, the sports-focused curriculum includes "fringe sports" such as advanced kickball, hacky sack, and breakdancing. Rocky Hallelujah, 16, leads Foot Knux, a freshman team vying for the kickball championship. Heavily inspired by sports manga and martial arts media, Lewis (Sharknife) makes the mundane fantastical: kickballer anatomy includes a "guts meter," and players employ physics-defying moves. After facing opponents including the reigning champs, "protectors of kickball purity" Aurora Skeddos, Foot Knux explores other sports. Though the cast of this pan-Asian mash-up world seems diverse, the mostly male characters fall into generalized tropes--caricatured Tibetan monks, headscarf-wearing characters with hook noses and slit eyes--and use a conglomeration of Asian phrases. A different color enlivens each black-and-white section, with the kickball narrative highlighted in bubblegum pink. Sequences lacking distinct backgrounds or action through lines can be difficult to follow, but pages are packed with character-focused panels. Sans meaningful character development, the comic relies on action and charming cameos (including Scott Pilgrim and superhero Sharknife, Rocky's older brother) but remains a fast-paced, entertaining read. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (July)

Gr 5-8--The members of the Foot Knux, an advanced kickball team from the All-World School of Sportsmanship, battle it out with supernatural powers in hopes of winning the championship. Talented in a variety of fringe sports, including Hacky Sack and break dancing, the athletes learn to master their special moves and beat their competitors no matter the stakes. This is an adrenaline rush of a graphic novel, focusing more on battle scenes than character or world development. Although limited to three colors, the artwork is intense and chaotic with dramatic linework, and readers will have to pay close attention to characters' hair and clothing to keep track of them. In the tradition of shonen manga and kung fu movies, the stories are all about defeating the opponent, no matter the odds, in the coolest (and oftentimes the most unapologetically absurd) way possible. All of this, along with the host of slang terms and the unique handles of each character, makes this title well suited to advanced graphic novel readers. VERDICT Sure to be a hit among fans of indie-style comics and the battle sports genre, who also have a taste for radical awesomeness.--Amanda Melilli, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas