Some of you may be familiar with the author of Family Pets. He goes by the name Pat Shand (we're pretty certain that's his real name too!) and you've seen his name around these parts for such books as Godstorm and Robyn Hood, both of which are put out by Zenescope.
Now, he brings us a whole new tale and this one with the all ages subsidiary type thing of Zenescope, otherwise known as Silver Dragon. If you've been around me for long, you've heard me bemoaning the fact that nobody has done anything with this company and there is such potential for amazing there. Well, it seems finally the comic gods are listening! Well, it's that or they're like merciful heavens, Katrina, hush, we got it. Either way, it's happening and it's starting out with Family Pets! Aaaannndddd...we were sent a copy to check out! Woo! *ahems* Sorry. I may have had a bit too much sugar tonight. Let's get to the actual review, shall we?
After turning sixteen, Thomasina begins to accept that her life will remain unremarkable… But when she wakes up one morning to discover that her foster family has been turned into pet animals, her ordinary life will turn into an extraordinary adventure! The series is written by Pat Shand and artwork by Sarah Dill.
The Good:
This is a fantastic introduction to what is going to be a hit series. Why a hit series? Well because people are going to like it, of course! What makes it so wonderful? Well, if memory serves, it's my job to tell you that, right?
In all seriousness, this is a book that I would consider to be a great introduction to comics, if you have children who are interested but you don't know where to start. While we're used to far more adult subject matter from Mr. Shand, this books brings the story down to a level that anyone can enjoy. In just the first issue, you'll meet a girl who could be any girl. If you're like me, you'll recognize some of the folks in the story to be people in your own life. Pat gives us a story that we can all somehow relate to from the very first panel.
Did I mention the art? Nope. I haven't but that doesn't mean it's not fantasimus because it is! (Is fantasimus a word? No? Well, it is now. Consider it a hybrid of fantastic, smashing and mystical/magical.) Sarah Dill isn't an artist that I was previously familiar with but she brings the characters to life in such a way that your eye is drawn to what's important. There's not a ton of filler and for this book, personally, I found that perfect. The art is family to the story and that's just how it should be.
The Bad:
Here's where I have to get nitpicky...are you ready? I promise it'll be okay. You can even hold my hand..here we go ....
Honestly, it was pretty tough coming up with anything bad about this book. I found some grammatical type things that probably only I would notice and if I hadn't been editing for the past four days straight, I may have overlooked them. For the casual comic reader, I can't imagine them being noticed.
There's only one other thing that I can think of and honestly, it's not even a bad thing. It's more of a personal taste thing. When Silver Dragon announced that they were stepping up their game, I got excited because I have a 12 year old son who is on the fringes of really being into comics. He frequently asks about two of his favorite titles and if anything is ever going to happen with them. With Family Pets, I had hoped to find another book for his meager arsenal. Sadly, this won't be it. He's at the age where a female main character just isn't going to cut it for him. However, I don't want to label this a "girls only" book. I don't believe that it is and I think the more we get into this series, the more children and adults of all ages will be drawn in it.
The Summary:
Do you have children? Buy this comic. Do you read comics? Buy this comic. Do you like animals? Buy this comic. Have you searched your whole life for a guy whose vest looks like snake pattern? Buy this comic. Do you want to know what happened to Step 3? Buy this comic and then bug Pat to tell you.
Seriously though, this is one of those comics that grabs you from page one and keeps you until page 22. You won't have a single regret if you rush to ComiXology on May 1st and pick up this gem.
Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments, random babblings and opinions are those of the very worn out reviewer.
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