Poptropica
A four-part, time-traveling epic graphic novel series
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In last week’s Bird and Squirrel review, I had an aside about graphic novels and how they are a wonderful and worthy medium, but sometimes feel less nutritious than “regular” books because they do the visualization for you. But if I think of the works of Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series (all of which are very not for young kids) they are rich and dense and thoughtful. The series we’re talking about today is structurally and stylistically similar to Bird and Squirrel, but it’s one step toward Sandman. Let’s go to…
The Series: Poptropica
The Authors: Jack Chabert did the first one, and the other three are by Mitch Krpata (not sure what the story is there)
The Illustrator: Kory Merritt
Length/Picture Density: 110-140 pages, graphic novel format
Poptropica is an epic tale across four books. It has time travel, a secret society, a clever villain, branching paths in time, magical items and devices. Shakespeare makes a cameo. So do the Amazons. It’s all over the place, but the story is generally pretty followable — which the graphic format makes easier.
That description makes it sound like you just tumble from one adventure to the next, which is kind of true, but in the actual reading, a lot of it feels character-driven, and enough of the episodes are given proper time to marinate.
As for the characters, we have three main ones — two siblings, Oliver and Mya, and a third kid, Jorge, who gets tossed in with them. They’re
The bad guy, Octavian, is kind of what makes this series. He’s wily, hard to handle or contain, and his motives come into focus over the four books, eventually making him somewhat sympathetic. His impact on the story also operates in multiple directions because his real target is not the main trio but the aforementioned secret society and it’s not always clear who’s right and who’s wrong in that conflict.
Be prepared for some amount of violence. Nothing too bloody, but plenty of tussling, battling, some swords and arrows. Octavian is perfectly willing to crack some eggs to make his time traveling omelette.
Also, there are bad jokes and cheap digs at characters. They keep the mood generally quirky and enjoyable, but can occasionally slip into cringe/eye-roll territory. These books have roughly the level of seriousness as a 90s action movie. They’re not dark, and there are one-liners everywhere you look, but the narrative makes you feel like the whole world is at stake and you want to see it saved even if you’re pretty sure that’s how it’s going to end. Meanwhile, you’re warming up to the characters almost in spite of yourself. The emotional resonance gets turned up several notches right near the end when we suddenly get a lot more back story on the main characters.
The Poptropica books aren’t as visually intense as some adult graphic novels, but they are a step up from some of the more simplistic works out there. The difference between Poptropica and Bird and Squirrel is akin to something like the difference between Garfield or Dilbert and Calvin and Hobbes. The facial expressions and personal details are a little more nuanced, and the landscapes and scenery feel more detailed.
(By the way, I’m not trying to knock “simplistic” illustrations. Mo Willems’ renderings of the pigeon and Piggy and Gerald are just a few lines, but they’re incredibly expressive. In fact, they get their power from their simplicity — there isn’t any clutter that gets in the way of their character. The different styles lend themselves to different moods and stories, but I’m not calling one inherently better than the other.)
The effect of that extra visual detail is that the trio’s long journey feels more epic. It’s still cartoony enough to leave room for some slapstick and visual gags, but the story draws some depth from the presentation.
Oh, and if you’re googling these, include the word “books” or the author’s name or else you’ll get swamped by links to a game with the same name.
There are elements of these that might turn you off, but if they don’t, the story gets more and more gripping as you start to figure out what’s going on and there are more twists and reveals.