[I received an electronic review copy of three chapters from this book from Netgalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary and Review
This title includes ten “tales of science and technology,” illustrated with DC characters like The Flash. My review copy included three stories:
- “Fast Tracks” – The Flash explains the science of crime scene investigation.
- “More Than Meets the Eye” – Cyborg and Beast Boy (Teen Titans Go) explore the world of virtual reality.
- “Human Extremes” – Swamp Kid learns about three examples of ways humans adapt to extreme conditions.
The facts are predominant with only the loosest example of a “story” to fit around them. I found “Fast Tracks” the most engaging of the three. After Flash/Barry explains concepts like DNA and blood and hair evidence, readers are invited to test their skills on a simple crime. While the content was dense and detailed, the art work was complementary. And the facts were a perfect fit for who Barry is in his every day life. The “skills test,” while brief, made me feel like I was part of the conversation with the character. Alone I would have given this story 3 or 3.5 stars. The material might be too dense, or not a good fit, for kids who come to the book for the DC characters and for comic-like stories. But this one piece of the three I got to read would have the best chance of keeping even those kids who were expecting something else engaged with this.
The other two stories were not great. Reading them felt like I was being force-fed information I didn’t ask for. I identified with Beast Boy in the second story who only wanted to be left alone to play his VR game. He never asked to understand the technology behind virtual reality. If Robin had been the one droning on and on, I would have thought it was an attempt at humor. Anyone who has watched a few episodes of Teen Titans Go knows how he can be. But this was Cyborg, so it didn’t click for me. Readers who do want to know how VR works will find plenty to enjoy here, but kids who come for a fun Cyborg and Beast Boy story may be disappointed.
The third story included three facts that were barely connected by the theme and the fact that one character was present for all three parts. There was an attempt to put a story in where Swamp Kid and Swamp Thing team up to fight a wrong, but it was thin and unsatisfying.
While the Flash story felt information-heavy, I was on board for a whole book like that. There are other non-fiction graphic novel series like Science Comics and Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales that do a fantastic job melding the graphic novel format with the fact-based content in a way that grabs kids and draws them in. The format can work. And fun DC characters would have been a bonus if this had come together in a different way.
But the other two sample chapters turned me off from this. While it is quite possible that the other 7 stories are excellent, I am troubled that these three were chosen to publicize the book if there were other, better examples in the collection. I wish there had been a better integration of DC characters and engaging stories to go along with the science and technology content. As I said, the Flash story is an example of how that can be done in a way that makes sense.
I think kids who pick this up for the science and technology pieces will have the best chance of being satisfied. Those who see DC characters and a graphic novel format who pick this up expecting adventures for their favorite characters might be disappointed.
Rating: ♥♥*
*♥♥ = Finished but didn’t enjoy; issues