SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

November 1, 2017 by Mike Pawuk

Review: ‘Wallace the Brave’

November 1, 2017 by Mike Pawuk   Leave a Comment

81lZVqVWriLWallace the Brave
By Will Henry
AMP Kids, 2017
174 pp. ISBN 978-1-4494-8998-4.

Welcome to Snug Harbor – a quaint coastal city and home for the year-round comic strip adventures of elementary students Wallace, his best friend Spud, and their new friend in town, Amelia. Wallace is adventurous and brave; Spud is the opposite of Wallace – he’s afraid of everything – but in love with food and Amelia; Amelia would rather throw a water balloon at Spud. Wallace lives at home with his fisherman dad, garden-savvy mom, and rambunctious little brother, Sterling. Wallace and his friends tackle the first days back a school, going fishing, avoiding mom’s cooking, complaining about homework, going to the comic book shop, and all year round adventure during all four seasons in a fictitious town in Rhode Island.

AMP Kids has collected the first strips of Wallace the Brave, which originally debuted online in 2015, in their easy to access AMP Kids format. The series is a welcome throwback to comics like Calvin and Hobbes and Cul de Sac, where each day with Wallace and his friends is a brand new adventure. The series is a fun read for not only kids but nostalgic adults and harkens back to the joyous days of when kids were kids and were allowed to explore the great unknown barefoot, brave, but with a punchline added in sprinkles.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Wallace

Like any great family cartoon, the family is a big part of the story, and Wallace the Brave has a fun, well-rounded cast. Wallace’s dad is a simple fisherman, but he’s an integral part of the story, reminding Wallace how awful school was, taking Wallace fishing, taking over coaching Wallace’s t-ball team, telling tall tales about the family history, and forgetting the names of Wallace’s friends (it’s a trait I share as well). Wallace’s mom loves maintaining the garden, secretly loves comic books, makes horrible lasagna, and tries her best to contain Wallace’s younger brother Sterling.

Wallace 1

The art by Will Henry does share much in common with Bill Watterson’s art. It’s a very simple inked look, but each of the characters has distinct facial structures. Wallace and Spud look nothing alike but are distinctly recognizable. Very similar to Calvin and Hobbes, when the panel calls for it, Will Henry provides some really dynamically detailed art, especially for when Wallace and Spud imagine a giant monster lurks just below the surface.

Wallace 2

Overall, I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed Wallace the Brave. My son read it as well and loved it. As he’s a die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fan, it doesn’t get much better than that. Anxiously awaiting the next volume.

Filed under: All Ages, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
comic strip

About Mike Pawuk

Mike Pawuk has been a teen services public librarian for the Cuyahoga County Public Library for over 15 years. A lifelong fan of comic books and graphic novels, he was chair for the 2002 YALSA all-day preconference on graphic novels, served as a judge for the Will Eisner Awards in 2009, as well as helped to create the Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection committee for YALSA. He is the author of Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More, and co-author of the follow-up book Graphic Book II both published by Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO Publishing.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by Mike Pawuk

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by Mike Pawuk

January 2023

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin | Review

by Mike Pawuk

October 2022

A Costume for Charly | Review

by Mike Pawuk

September 2022

History Comics: The Roanoke Colony | Review

by Mike Pawuk

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Books from Pura Belpré Winners

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Newbery / Caldecott 2024: Spring Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Pardalita | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Why Teens Should Read Hard History, a guest post by Lesley Younge

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Q&A: Harmony Becker, Creator of "Himawari House"

LGBTQIA+ Graphic Novels for Young Readers | Stellar Panels

10 Sports Manga for Hardcore Fans and Newcomers Alike | Mondo Manga

Laurie Halse Anderson Announces "Wonder Women in History," a YA Graphic Novel Anthology

Many Shapes and Moods of Yokai Inhabit Manga

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023