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 20, 2018 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: ‘Gillbert Vol. 1: The Little Merman’

November 20, 2018 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   Leave a Comment

Gillbert 1 Header

Gillbert Vol. 1: The Little Merman
Writer/artist: Art Baltazar
Papercutz; $9.99

Gillbert 1The star of cartoonist Art Baltazar’s new original graphic novel for kids is referred to as a merman, although he more closely resembles an anthropomorphic iguana. His name is Gillbert. Because he lives under the sea and has gills, you see. Midway through the first chapter, he befriends a mermaid, who has the traditional layout of a humanoid head and torso with a fish tail. Her name is Anne Phibian.

That should give one an idea of the level of sophistication in Baltazar’s Gillbert, as well as the work’s sense of humor and sense of silliness. Of course, if one is already familiar with the prolific cartoonist and illustrator’s work from his many, many other projects, then one probably knows exactly what to expect from this.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

There are basically two types of Baltazar comics, those that take established characters or franchises and render them cuter, funnier, and more kid-friendly, like Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures, Super Powers, Itty Bitty Hellboy, and so on, and then his original work, like Patrick The Wolf Boy, Aw Yeah Comics, and Adventure Bug.Gillbert falls into the latter category, but nearly every aspect of it—the character designs, the line-work, the lettering, the coloring, the pacing, the shaggy plotting—is familiar from pretty much all of the above.

Gillbert is the son of Nauticus and Niadora, the oval-shaped king and queen of the undersea kingdom of Alanticus. One day Gillbert finds a message in a bottle, but he’s unable to read the surface-world writing on it. Before he can get to translating it, he and his sea turtle friend Sherbert are distracted by the arrival of Anne Phibian. (If you’re wondering why Baltazar didn’t name the turtle character Shelldon, it may be because Gillbert’s friends’ names apparently all end with -bert; he’s also friends with a starfish named Albert.)

Anne takes them to a lower level of the bottom of the sea, where they party in an abandoned submarine and Gillbert makes lots of new friends who are eager to make his acquaintance. Then she takes them to a lower level still, where they find a space ship housing aliens who have been there a long time.

Meanwhile, Gillbert’s parents find a mysterious meteorite that isn’t really a meteorite, and a swarm of what look like one-eyed, three-legged pieces of burning charcoal make their way towards earth with seemingly malevolent intent. All of these things are connected. In fact, they are so connected that all conflicts are seemingly resolved completely and peacefully by the end.

As there is a number one in the title and on the spine, this is apparently the first installment of an ongoing concern. That might explain why so much time and space is devoted to Gillbert being introduced to many sea creatures, most of whom who barely serve any function in the story before filling up crowd scenes. Presumably, we will see most of these characters in future volumes.

Now because the plot is so tidily resolved here, there doesn’t really seem to be anything that needs to be picked up on in a second volume, but because of the nature of Baltazar’s plotting, which can sometimes read a bit like a dream and a bit like a story that a little kid might tell an adult, making it up as they go along, I suppose practically anything can happen in a future volume.

One can only expect that most of it will probably occur in or around water. And that it will bear all of Baltazar’s familiar visual signatures. And that it will be cute, funny, and kid-friendly. Oh, and rather silly.

Filed under: All Ages, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Art BaltazarGillbertPapercutzThe Little Merman

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

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

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

October 2022

A Costume for Charly | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

September 2022

History Comics: The Roanoke Colony | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#181)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

2 Graphic Novels About Making Friends in Middle School

The Publishing Industry Adapts to COVID-19 While Offering Support

YA Books Reflect the Activism of Real-Life Teens

Nonfiction Graphic Novels Spotlight Microhistories and Overlooked Historical Figures

Marvel, Scholastic To Launch New Line of Graphic Novels for Young Readers

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