Graphic Novel Review – Escape from the Lizzarks (Nnewts, Book 1) by Doug TenNapel (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 192 pages
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Release Date: January 6, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0545676472
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Nnewts series
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I have read nearly all of TenNapel’s graphic novels and really enjoy them. I was very excited to see that TenNapel had a new graphic novel out. This graphic novel is the first in TenNapel’s new Nnewts series.

This is the story of Herk, Herk would love to have stronger legs so that he can leave the tadpole pond and venture out with the other hunters. However, when the evil Lizzarks attack his village Herk is forced to leave his parents behind and ends up being the only Nnewt to escape. Herk makes an unbelievable journey to a far away land with an evil lord in hot pursuit.

I got an ARC for review and the first few pages of it were in beautiful full color. However the rest of it was not (this was kind of disappointing since I love TenNapel’s coloring). I think final copy will be amazing once it is all in full color. For those who are familiar with TenNapel’s illustration style, this is more of the same. The illustration has beautiful color, wonderful detail, and is easy to follow.

The story is well done as too. It’s kind of your typical “underdog finds a way to do something exceptional” type of story. Herk is obviously suffering from a disability of sorts with his weak legs. However he still manages to escape the Lizzarks and do amazing things.

This is just the start of Herks amazing adventures and I very curious to see where the story goes. There is a lot of adventure and some magic in here and all in all it was an entertaining story. My only small complaint was that I didn’t find Herk to be that engaging as a character, but I am guessing that will change as we get to know Herk in future books.

Overall this was a very fun and well done fantasy adventure graphic novel. It’s beautifully done, has an engaging story, and is appropriate for all ages. Recommended to those who love fantasy graphic novels. While this isn’t my favorite graphic novel by TenNapel (I like Ghostopolis and Cardboard better), it is really well done.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge