SkullKickers: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body is an irreverant and somewhat disjointed tale of two nameless mercenaries that accept a job of reclaiming the remains of an assassinated dignitary. The two main characters go on a wild journey that involves monsters, homocidal gypsy-like traders, goblins, torture including the threat of cannibalism, reanimated corpses, and even some dwarf-tossing. The two characters are surprisingly well developed, and the art work is well done throughout the graphic novel.
I enjoyed this novel, but I would not feel comfortable actually recommending it to a student. The violence, drinkig, and suggestive language makes me believe that encouraging a student to read this would be a law suit waiting to happen. The two mercenaries also have fairly questionable morality; they are certainly not evil, but they do engage in shady behavior. I really did like the way the authors and artists included some basic sketches of the characters at the end of the novel. I think that this type of creative encouragement can really inspire a teen that is interested in art and anime. 
1 comment:
I am kind of surprised by this book and the review. At first from simply looking at it I would think it would be geared to a way younger crowd in the form of a video game or a tv show..which is what I was expecting in the review. I had a feeling of power rangers or transformers with a underlining message that would be to be kind to others or something of that sort that we would want to share with our students. The review rather stated that there was suggestive language and drinking etc. I think that this is important to not give out to YA because it would just be one more thing that would cloud their judgement at that age. When they are receiving this from all sides it seems at that age they don't need another thing such as reading material to give out that message too.
Post a Comment