Review: Isle of 100,000 Graves by Jason
Isle of 100,000 Graves
by Jason
Five years ago, Gwenny's father found a bottle on the beach containing a map leading to the treasure of
the Isle of 100,000 Graves. He set off to find the fortune, but he never came home. When a similar bottle washes on shore and Gwenny finds it, she decides to use it to find her father. She bribes a crew of sailors with promise of treasure in order to get a ship, and off they sail to find the island. When they arrive, however, Gwenny and the crew discover the horrible truth: the island is not the location of hidden treasure, but something far, far worse. With the help of a boy named Tobias, Gwenny may be able to escape, but she is still determined to unearth the fate of her missing dad.
This adventure story is delightfully dark, but it retains a strong sense of humor throughout. But man, Gwenny's life sucks. Her mother is apparently quite crazy - on the fourth page of the book, she attempts to murder her sleeping daughter, and the fact that Gwenny is completely prepared for this would suggest that it isn't the first time. But Gwenny is quite clever, and her wit quickly won me over. She avoids death at the hands of her pirate crew by destroying the map and tricking one of the sailors into protecting her from the others. She later reveals that she's known all along that the map was a trick to lure visitors to the Isle of 100,000 Graves, but she wanted to find her father so she played along. Tobias proves to be just as clever, and the two of them having adventures together would be great if Jason ever decides he wishes to create sequels to this story. Not that the story needs a sequel; the ending, the last in a series of plot twists, was both unexpected and satisfying.
Personally, I find the art pretty darn unappealing. The blank, dead eyes set in bone white or night black skin on vaguely animal-like faces just didn't draw me into the story at all. Some of the characters resemble dogs, while others have bird faces - weird, right? But if you just roll with it, the consistency of design and the flatness of each panel does suit the macabre dark humor of the story, and it is Jason's signature style.
3 out of 5 stars
To read more about Isle of 100,000 Graves, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2011: Another little break for school...
2010: The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
2009: Going on hiatus...
2008: Coolest Package Ever From Makers of 'Coraline'!
by Jason
Five years ago, Gwenny's father found a bottle on the beach containing a map leading to the treasure of
the Isle of 100,000 Graves. He set off to find the fortune, but he never came home. When a similar bottle washes on shore and Gwenny finds it, she decides to use it to find her father. She bribes a crew of sailors with promise of treasure in order to get a ship, and off they sail to find the island. When they arrive, however, Gwenny and the crew discover the horrible truth: the island is not the location of hidden treasure, but something far, far worse. With the help of a boy named Tobias, Gwenny may be able to escape, but she is still determined to unearth the fate of her missing dad.
This adventure story is delightfully dark, but it retains a strong sense of humor throughout. But man, Gwenny's life sucks. Her mother is apparently quite crazy - on the fourth page of the book, she attempts to murder her sleeping daughter, and the fact that Gwenny is completely prepared for this would suggest that it isn't the first time. But Gwenny is quite clever, and her wit quickly won me over. She avoids death at the hands of her pirate crew by destroying the map and tricking one of the sailors into protecting her from the others. She later reveals that she's known all along that the map was a trick to lure visitors to the Isle of 100,000 Graves, but she wanted to find her father so she played along. Tobias proves to be just as clever, and the two of them having adventures together would be great if Jason ever decides he wishes to create sequels to this story. Not that the story needs a sequel; the ending, the last in a series of plot twists, was both unexpected and satisfying.
Personally, I find the art pretty darn unappealing. The blank, dead eyes set in bone white or night black skin on vaguely animal-like faces just didn't draw me into the story at all. Some of the characters resemble dogs, while others have bird faces - weird, right? But if you just roll with it, the consistency of design and the flatness of each panel does suit the macabre dark humor of the story, and it is Jason's signature style.
3 out of 5 stars
To read more about Isle of 100,000 Graves, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2011: Another little break for school...
2010: The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
2009: Going on hiatus...
2008: Coolest Package Ever From Makers of 'Coraline'!