SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE-TIME!
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://jeffreybrowncomics.blogspot.com/
CITY: Deerfield
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 352
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/kids-are-weird.html
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 17, 1975, in Grand Rapids, MI; married; wife’s name Jennifer; children: Oscar.
EDUCATION:School of the Art Institute of Chicago, M.F.A., 2002.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Cartoonist and author and illustrator of children’s books. Barnes & Noble, Deerfield, IL, former music section manager. Instructor at School of the Art Institute, Chicago, IL. Creator of an animated music video for Death Cab for Cutie. Has been featured on the National Public Radio (NPR) program This American Life and in the 2009 documentary Drawing Between the Lines. Exhibitions: Art has been exhibited in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Paris.
AWARDS:Ignatz Award for Outstanding Mini-Comic, 2003, for I Am Going to Be Small; Best Indie Books of 2004 citation, Wizard magazine, for Wolverine: Dying Time; Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for best humor publication, 2013, for Darth Vader and Son; Best Book for Kids selection, New York Public Library, 2016, for Lucy and Andy Neanderthal.
RELIGION: Atheist.WRITINGS
Also author of Wolverine: Dying Time. Contributor to anthologies, including McSweeney’s Quarterly Showcase #2, McSweeney’s (San Francisco, CA), 2004; and the Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book Two, Drawn & Quarterly, 2004. Cowriter of the screenplay for Save the Date, 2012. Contributor to periodicals, including the Chicago Reader and NewCity.
SIDELIGHTS
An award-winning cartoonist, Jeffrey Brown has published numerous comic books, graphic novels, and illustrated memoirs aimed at adult readers. Brown has also earned recognition for his humorous “Star Wars” series of self-illustrated children’s books as well as his “Jedi Academy” series of illustrated graphic novels. In his “Lucy and Andy Neanderthal” tales, Brown follows the comic exploits of a prehistoric brother and sister.
Brown first gained recognition for his autobiographical comics, such as Clumsy, that examined the up and downs of his youthful relationships. One of Brown’s most widely reviewed works is his graphic novel Little Things: A Memoir in Slices. Again featuring the autobiographical vignettes for which Brown is best known, the book touches upon the author’s everyday experiences, from working at Barnes & Noble to feeding his cat, as well as significant life events such as his gall-bladder surgery. A Kirkus Reviews contributor remarked that “the bulk of the pieces charm with their off-kilter humor and sad-sack tales of the lovelorn.”
In 2012 Brown began his “Star Wars” series of children’s books with Darth Vader and Son. Brown noted that the idea for the series began when an employee of Google asked him to draw a cartoon about Darth Vader for the website’s Father’s Day illustration. In Darth Vader and Son, Brown depicts the Star Wars villain performing typical father-son activities with a young Luke Skywalker. The two go trick-or-treating on Halloween, observe the animals at a zoo, and shop for toys. The dialogue between Luke and Darth draws inspiration from themes in the Star Wars movies as well as Brown’s experiences with his young son, Oscar. A writer in Publishers Weekly praised the book’s “lighthearted, charming tone.”
Discussing the work in an io9 blog interview with Lauren Davis, Brown stated, “I think what I tried to get at was that your kids do these things that are so unbelievably frustrating, and you just have to bite your tongue or you just have to put up with it. So I just tried to put Darth Vader through that. I think the difference there is that for him it’s got to be even more aggravating because he’s this powerful Sith Lord ruling the Empire and yet he has this four-year-old and he’s just got to kind of take it.” Other books in the “Star Wars” series include Vader’s Little Princess and Goodnight Darth Vader.
With Jedi Academy, Brown opens his series of graphic novels about Roan Novachez, a middle-schooler who dreams of attending the elite Pilot Academy like his father and grandfather. When Roan fails to gain entrance at the school, however, he receives an invitation to Jedi Academy where he learns the ways of the Force under Master Yoda while keeping up with his studies, coping with bullies, and learning to slow dance.
Drawing comparisons to Jeff Kinney’s popular “Wimpy Kid” books, Jedi Academy garnered strong reviews. According to School Library Journal critic J.M. Poole, “Brown combines Star Wars excitement with real-life kid problems to make a fresh, inspiring, and humorous take on the franchise.” A writer in Kirkus Reviews noted that the work “takes familiar Star Wars tropes and runs with them and is at its best when it subverts the traditional doctrine.”
Roan’s adventures continue in works such as Return of the Padawan and The Phantom Bully. The former title depicts Roan’s second year at Jedi Academy, including his disastrous efforts on the flight simulator, a host of unpleasant experiences with the new cafeteria chef, and a series of misunderstandings with his friends. “Roan is a very sympathetic main character, and readers will feel his pain and laugh at his misfortune in equal measure,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor noted. Booklist critic Sarah Hunter felt that “Brown’s naive, sketchy black-and-white illustrations are the perfect match for this journal-style comics hybrid.”
The Phantom Bully chronicles Roan’s final year of Padawan training at Jedi Academy. As he prepares to tackle a challenging obstacle course, and hone his lightsaber skills, and develop an act for the talent show, Roan also deals with a prankster who is trying to ruin his reputation. Hunter applauded Roan’s journal entries, which contain “comical cartoons” as well as “authentically middle-school-esque musings on his worries and victories.”
Brown mixes fact with fabrication in Lucy and Andy Neanderthal, a graphic novel set 40,000 years ago. A pair of Stone Age siblings, exuberant Andy and quick-witted Lucy spend their days hunting mammoths, creating cave paintings, and babysitting their little brother. Periodically, two anthropologist characters appear, offering relevant scientific information about the duo’s escapades. “Brown has created a graphic novel that is as much nonfiction as fiction,” Elizabeth Nicolai remarked in School Library Journal, and a Kirkus Reviews writer noted that the “vivacious plotlines are laugh-out-loud funny, and in spite of the prehistoric setting, this comic charmer should readily appeal to young readers.” The series continues with The Stone Cold Age and Bad to the Bones.
A stand-alone title, My Teacher Is a Robot presents “an entertaining romp through the mind of a child who refuses to settle for boring,” in the words of a Kirkus Reviews critic. Fred, a young student who detests school, lets his mind run wild as he sits at his desk, conjuring visions of an attack by a giant spider, a battle involving mud monsters, and a robotic instructor. “Brown’s vivid, glossy cartoons drolly interject Fred’s whimsical daydreams into the classroom,” a Publishers Weekly reviewer stated.
(open new)
In 2020, Brown launched his self-illustrated children’s series, “Space-Time,” with the graphic novel, Once Upon a Space-Time!. Set in 2216, the work features two young students at the Earth School for Space Mission Preparation to be chosen for galactic space travel to Mars. The two chosen are Petra and Jide. Petra is very smart but also very confused about how she got chosen for this mission, as the nearest she wants to get to space is writing science fiction. Jide is intended to be the brains of the mission, but his ever-present parents make it clear that he will not be out of their orbit. These two head out on a journey to Mars and beyond, meeting various strange aliens, conducting experiments, and generally attempting to avoid any adult supervision. Along the way they encounter a space elevator, a shower with zero gravity, and a spaceship classroom, the Potato, carved from an asteroid. Booklist reviewer Jesse Karp lauded Brown’s “signature childlike figures and hand-lettered word balloons.” Karp further felt that this graphic novel is “[b]rimming over with ideas, humor, and the author’s infectious excitement.” A Kirkus Reviews critic, on the other hand, felt that young readers “will likely have trouble discerning science facts from science fiction.” The critic concluded: “A mildly entertaining read for young space enthusiasts.”
The series continues with the 2021 A Total Waste of Space-Time, which finds Petra and Jide back on their orbiting classroom, the Potato. They discover a black hole, make the acquaintance of a number of different extraterrestrials, and visit some new galactic destinations. Discussions of real science–such as coprolite, the fossilized feces of long dead animals–rubs shoulders with fanciful inventions like the planet Brgltz where creatures such as the gliblark roam. A Kirkus Reviews contributor found this second installment to be a “wilder ride than the first.” The contributor further termed this an “imaginative flight of fancy for aspiring astronauts.”
(close new)
Brown once commented to SATA: “I’ve always hoped that my work could do two things: inspire others to express themselves in whatever form, be it writing, drawing, music, or whatever, and more importantly, create a dialogue in which some greater understanding of life would come about.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 1, 2003, Gordon Flagg, review of Unlikely; or, How I Lost My Virginity, p. 309; February 1, 2005, Ray Olson, review of Bighead, p. 951; July 1, 2005, Flagg, review of Minisulk: More Sappy Comics!, p. 1912; November 1, 2005, Flagg, review of AEIOU: Any Easy Intimacy, p. 33; April 15, 2006, Flagg, review of Every Girl Is the End of the World for Me: December 26, 2003-January 15, 2004, p. 34; November 15, 2007, Olson, review of Incredible Change-Bots, p. 27; April 1, 2008, Flagg, review of Little Things, p. 37; April 15, 2014, Flagg, review of Kids Are Weird: And Other Observations from Parenthood, p. 39; May 15, 2014, Sarah Hunter, review of Return of the Padawan!, p. 46; June 1, 2015, Sarah Hunter, review of The Phantom Bully, p. 68; June 1, 2016, Sarah Hunter, review of Lucy and Andy Neanderthal, p. 73; July 1, 2017, Sarah Hunter, review of The Stone Cold Age, p. 47; April 15, 2019, John Peters, review of My Teacher Is a Robot, p. 55; May 15, 2020, Jesse Karp, review of Once Upon a Space-Time!, p. 40.
Horn Book, July-August, 2019, Eric Carpenter, review of My Teacher Is a Robot, p. 104.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2007, review of Little Things; July 15, 2013, review of Jedi Academy; June 1, 2014, review of Return of the Padawan!; May 15, 2016, review of Lucy and Andy Neanderthal; May 1, 2017, review of The Stone Cold Age; June 1, 2019, review of My Teacher Is a Robot; April 1, 2020, review of Once Upon a Space-Time!; May 15, 2021, review of A Total Waste of Space-Time!.
Library Journal, January 1, 2005, Steve Raiteri, review of Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book Two, p. 88.
Publishers Weekly, October 6, 2003, review of Unlikely, p. 63; June 6, 2005, review of AEIOU, p. 42; January 14, 2008, review of Little Things, p. 45; April 9, 2012, review of Darth Vader and Son, p. 39; March 10, 2014, review of Kids Are Weird, p. 50; May 23, 2016, review of Lucy and Andy Neanderthal, p. 71; June 24, 2019, review of My Teacher Is a Robot, p. 170.
Portland Tribune, November 30, 2004, Joseph Gallivan, “Bighead Skewers Superhero Genre,” author interview.
School Library Journal, January, 2014, J.M. Poole, review of Jedi Academy, p. 107; June, 2014, Gaye Hinchliff, review of Return of the Padawan!, p. 110; June, 2015, Lisa Gieskes, review of The Phantom Bully, p. 107; May, 2016, Elizabeth Nicolai, review of Lucy and Andy Neanderthal, p. 104.
ONLINE
Aesthetics for Birds blog, https://aestheticsforbirds.com/ (June 23, 2015), “Artist Interview: Jeffrey Brown.”
A.V. Club website, https://www.avclub.com/ (July 17, 2012), Jason Heller, “Graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown Talks about Star Wars, Memoirs, and Faith.”
Comics Bulletin website, http://www.comicsbulletin.com/ (March 6, 2004), Tim O’Shea, author interview; (November 11, 2008), Markisan Naso, author interview.
io9, https://io9.gizmodo.com/ (April 28, 2012), Lauren Davis, “Jeffrey Brown Explains Why Darth Vader Would Have Made a Great Dad.”
Jeffrey Brown website, http://jeffreybrowncomics.blogspot.com (November 11, 2021).
New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/ (September 8, 2008), Patrick Montero, author interview.
Rumpus, https://therumpus.net/ (July 5, 2012), Jory John, “The Rumpus Interview with Jeffrey Brown.”
Star Wars.com, https://www.starwars.com/ (February 6, 2019), Kristin Baver, “Illustrator Jeffrey Brown on Reimagining Rey and Pals.”
Tech Times, https://www.techtimes.com/ (July 9, 2015), Brian Heater, “An Interview with ‘Star Wars Academy’ Cartoonist Jeffrey Brown.”*
Jeffrey Brown (cartoonist)
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Jeffrey Brown
Z jeffrey brown8304556.JPG
Born July 1975 (age 46)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works Clumsy
Unlikely
Bighead
Incredible Change-Bots
A Matter Of Life
Darth Vader and Son
Star Wars: Jedi Academy
Awards Ignatz Award, 2003
Eisner Award, 2013, 2014
http://www.jeffreybrowncomics.com
Jeffrey Brown (born July 1975[1]) is an American cartoonist born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life and education
1.2 Career
1.3 Personal life
2 Comic works
3 Critical and commercial reception
4 Other work
5 Bibliography
5.1 Books
5.1.1 Standalone books
5.1.2 Star Wars: Darth Vader and Son (series)
5.1.3 Star Wars: Jedi Academy (series)
5.1.4 Lucy & Andy Neanderthal (series)
5.2 Comics
5.3 Significant anthology contributions
6 References
7 External links
Biography
Early life and education
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After growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Brown moved to Chicago in 2000 to pursue an MFA at the School of the Art Institute. By the time he finished his studies, Brown had abandoned painting and started drawing comics seriously.
Career
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Brown specializes in personal and intimate works detailing moments in relationships. He writes and draws his comics in sketchbooks, and his drawing style mirrors the strain and awkwardness of the situations he depicts. His first self-published book, Clumsy (2002), appeared seemingly out of nowhere to grab attention from cartoonists and comics fans, alike.
Established as a sensitive chronicler of bittersweet young-adult romance and nonsensical superhero parody, Brown's current direction remains split between autobiographical material, examining the minutae of everyday life, whatever humorous fiction he feels in the mood for, and a wide range of fiction subjects in his series Sulk. Brown has also created two series of books set in the Star Wars expanded universe (under the "Legends" & "Infinities" brands).
In 2012, Brown told USA Today about how Mark Alan Stamaty's picture book Small in the Saddle had influenced his own career and about subsequently meeting its author; Brown's girlfriend (and later his wife) had helped him find a copy.[2]
Personal life
Brown lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their two sons.[citation needed]
Comic works
Jeffrey Brown at Heroes Con 20.
Brown's most popular works - Clumsy (2002; the story of a long-distance relationship), Unlikely (the story of how Brown lost his virginity), and AEIOU (Any Easy Intimacy (Over Us)) - comprise the so-called "Girlfriend Trilogy" and its epilogue, Every Girl is the End of the World For Me. More recently, his autobiographical work has included Little Things, and the memoirs Funny Misshapen Body and A Matter Of Life. His humorous works include Bighead (a super-hero parody), I Am Going To Be Small, Cat Getting Out Of A Bag, Kids Are Weird, and the graphic novel series Incredible Change-Bots.
His work has been featured in MOME Summer 2005, Vol. 1, as well as Drawn & Quarterly Showcase, McSweeney's #13, and The Best American Comics 2007. He was also featured in local newspapers such as the Chicago Reader and NewCity.[citation needed]
Brown's "To Phoenix I'm Sorry I Missed You" was published in the Spring 2008 issue of The Florida Review.[citation needed]
Brown has written and drawn seven books set in the Star Wars expanded universe. These include four humorous takes on Darth Vader as a hapless father to young Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia - Darth Vader and Son, Vader's Little Princess, Goodnight, Darth Vader, and Darth Vader and Friends - and three volumes in the Jedi Academy series, which are young-adult novels done in the mixed cartooning and diary style of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.[citation needed]
Critical and commercial reception
He won an Ignatz Award in 2003 in the category of Outstanding Mini-Comic, for I Am Going To Be Small.[3]
James Kochalka has called Brown's Clumsy his "favorite graphic novel ever."[4] Clumsy (2002) was originally self-published and was later published by Top Shelf Productions; as of 2007, an estimated 20,000 copies have been printed, according to an interview with Brown in The Comics Journal.[5]
Brown won back-to-back Eisner Awards for Best Humor Publication, for Darth Vader And Son (2013)[6] and Vader's Little Princess (2014).[7]
Other work
Brown at the 2017 Texas Book Festival
Brown has contributed to NPR's This American Life (April 18, 2003).[8]
Brown directed the animated music video for Death Cab for Cutie's "Your Heart is an Empty Room" (April 11, 2006).[9]
He was featured in Bruce Parsons' documentary Drawing Between The Lines (2009).[10][11]
He illustrated the movie poster for the feature-length documentary Rabbit Fever (2009).[12]
He co-wrote the feature film, Save the Date (2012), with Egan Reich and Michael Mohan. The film, directed by Mohan, stars Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, and Mark Webber. [13][14]
Bibliography
Books
Standalone books
Clumsy (2002)
Unlikely (2003)
Bighead (2004)
Miniature Sulk (2005)
AEIOU or Any Easy Intimacy (2005)
Every Girl Is The End Of The World For Me (2006) (included in Undeleted Scenes)
I Am Going To Be Small (2006)
Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations. Chronicle Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-4521-2621-0.
Incredible Change-Bots (2007)
Little Things (2008)
Sulk Vol. 1 - Bighead and Friends (2008)
Sulk Vol. 2 - Deadly Awesome (2008)
Funny Misshapen Body (2009)
Sulk Vol. 3 - The Kind Of Strength That Comes From Madness (2009)
Undeleted Scenes. Top Shelf Productions. 2010. ISBN 978-1-60309-227-2.
Cats Are Weird: And More Observations. Chronicle Books. 2010. ISBN 978-0-8118-7997-2.
Incredible Change-Bots Two (2011)
A Matter Of Life (2012)
Kids Are Weird (2014)
Incredible Change-Bots Two-Point-Something-Something (2014)
Star Wars: Darth Vader and Son (series)
Star Wars: Darth Vader and Son (2012) ISBN 9781452106557
Star Wars: Vader's Little Princess (2013) ISBN 978-1452118697
Star Wars: Goodnight, Darth Vader (2014) ISBN 978-1452128306
Star Wars: Darth Vader and Friends (2015) ISBN 978-1452138107
Star Wars: Jedi Academy (series)
Star Wars Jedi Academy (2013)
Star Wars Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan (2014)
Star Wars Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully (2015)
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal (series)
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal (2016)
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal: The Stone Cold Age (2017)
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal: Bad to the Bones (2018)
Comics
Be A Man (included in Undeleted Scenes)
Conversations #2 (with James Kochalka)
Feeble Attempts
Significant anthology contributions
MOME Vol. 1-6
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Vol. 2
Kramers Ergot Vol. 4
The Escapist Vol. 3
McSweeney's #13
Best American Comics 2007
Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction Vol. 1-2
POPGUN volume 4
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #15
Strange Tales #3
Side B from Poseur Ink
BOOKS + COMICS // FEBRUARY 6, 2019
ILLUSTRATOR JEFFREY BROWN ON REIMAGINING REY AND PALS — FIRST LOOK
THE DARTH VADER AND SON AUTHOR TELLS STARWARS.COM ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK, TOLD IN HIS UNIQUELY ADORABLE STYLE.
If Rey and Kylo Ren had grown up together, would they have joined forces for an epic game of dodgeball? Would Poe have been a hotshot video gamer teaching a hapless Finn the basics of virtual space battles?
The cover of Rey and Pals by Jeffrey Brown.
These are some of the questions running through the mind of Jeffrey Brown, the author and illustrator behind the forthcoming Rey and Pals. Told in the style of his bestselling series Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess, the new book will feature pint-sized versions of Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, and other characters from the sequel trilogy and the hilarious hijinks that ensue in some very relatable situations.
Today, Brown answers a few questions about his creative process and reveals some charming new sketches from the forthcoming book.
StarWars.com: Fans were first introduced to your imaginative style with the Darth Vader and Son series. When you’re taking characters fans already know and love and restyling them as children, what do you define as the essential details and pieces to make sure that, for example, Rey still looks and feels like Rey? How do you capture the personality and costume details so the kid version is immediately recognizable?
Jeffrey Brown: The first step is to simplify, and boil the look of the character down to a few elements. Some of the costumes have a lot of detail, but if I draw too much detail in a costume, it doesn’t gel with the cartoony look of the characters’ faces — especially when I’m drawing Rey as a little kid. The other thing to focus on is body language and expressions. Rey is someone who dives right in, and can be very decisive and isn’t afraid to try and fail. So when I’m drawing her I’m imagining when kids are like that, trying to capture that feeling with how she stands or walks or gets into mischief. It also comes with time. I have to live with the characters quite a bit, watching the movies over and over while drawing and sketching them, so by the time I’m creating the final artwork, they’ve developed their own look and feel.
StarWars.com: Tell us a little about your process for writing one of these books, marrying some real-world scenarios children encounter everyday with Star Wars references and characters. What inspires the situations that you end up including in your stories?
Jeffrey Brown: It’s always a mix of starting with a character or scene I want to draw — or both, in the case of a giant spread set in Maz’s castle — or thinking of a real-life situation and finding the right Star Wars moment to filter that through. For example, I grew up playing role-playing games, and my older son has started playing them with friends now, so I came up with some of the characters playing something like Dungeons & Krayt Dragons. Overall, the process starts with coming up with a ton of ideas — almost 200 for this book! Some are clear from the start, some get re-worked and recycled, left for later. And some I know aren’t likely to make the cut, because they’re too dark or don’t have the right tone, but I draw them anyway. By the time I’m creating the final art, all the concepts seem obvious and immediate, and sometimes I forget just how much work it was for us (myself and the editors and Chronicle and Lucasfilm) to craft the ideas.
StarWars.com: Can you give us a sneak peek of your work on the book?
Jeffrey Brown: Yes, and you don’t even need Bothan spies to share!
A sketch from Rey and Pals.
The mirror sketch was one of my first handful ideas. I was telling my older son to brush his teeth way back when I drew Vader’s Little Princess, and now I’m always telling my younger son. I think if you’re a kid it must seem like the scene on Ahch-to, you’re always having to brush your teeth over and over!
Face sketches from Rey and Pals.
These character heads are for the end sheets. It was a fun solution for the first book, but even more fun this time with so many more characters to choose from.
Associate Editor Kristin Baver is a writer and all-around sci-fi nerd who always has just one more question in an inexhaustible list of curiosities. Sometimes she blurts out “It’s a trap!” even when it’s not. Do you know a fan who’s most impressive? Hop on Twitter and tell @KristinBaver all about them.
QUOTE: "will likely have trouble discerning science facts from science fiction."
"A mildly entertaining read for young space enthusiasts."
Brown, Jeffrey ONCE UPON A SPACE-TIME! Crown (Children's None) $13.99 6, 2 ISBN: 978-0-553-53435-1
A space adventure with extraterrestrials, zero gravity, and a spaceship built inside an asteroid called the Potato, acronym for “Property Of The Alien Transportation Organization.”
In this graphic novel’s preface, set in 2206, an ET exits a spaceship to announce that sometimes UFOs are airplanes, but sometimes, they transport beings like himself. The ET leaves but returns five minutes later to deliver the same message. The pointy-eared beings are all clones named Tobey, and they belong to a group of beings from all across the Milky Way. Thus begins this outer-space episode that emphasizes silliness over plot. Ten years later, Tobey and Cmdr. Gusevich visit The Earth School for Space Mission Preparation and select Petra Novak and Jide Eshetu for a space mission to Mars. Upon their landing, a sentient robot takes them to the Mars Base, where a host of other beings wait to meet them. Petra and Jide enjoy learning about these friendly beings and spending time on Mars. While readers might enjoy Brown’s busy, paneled cartoons and gross humor (snot and toenails are considered edible), they will likely have trouble discerning science facts from science fiction. Throughout this episodic plot, the beings from other worlds function much like humans, reinforcing a bland, we-are-all-alike message rather than providing readers with a provocative take on the meeting of cultures. Petra, Jide, and Cmdr. Gusevich are all characters of color.
A mildly entertaining read for young space enthusiasts. (author’s note) (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Brown, Jeffrey: ONCE UPON A SPACE-TIME!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A619127649/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cb25dc55. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.
QUOTE: "signature childlike figures and hand-lettered word balloons."
"Brimming over with ideas, humor, and the author's infectious excitement."
Once upon a Space-Time! By Jeffrey Brown. Illus. by the author. June 2020. 256p. Crown, $13.99 (9780553534351). Gr. 3-6. 741.5.
It's 2216, and with the help of a rather braggy alien named Tobey (actually, everyone in his entire clone species is named Tobey), humans have advanced to the point where they're ready for galactic space travel. Problem is, "adult humans can be pretty whiny," so the students at the Earth School for Space Mission Preparation are tested to find the two best candidates. Turns out that's irreverent-but-brilliant Petra Novak and cautious-but-equally-brilliant Jide Eshetu, who embark on a journey through space to Mars and beyond, along with a cast of imaginatively conceived aliens, conducting experiments and avoiding adult supervision. Filled with absurdism and irony that still leaves room for a good old-fashioned butt joke or two, the story is peppered with fascinating space-science theory: A space-elevator! A spaceship carved out of an asteroid! A zero-gravity shower! And plenty more where those came from. Panels generously crammed with Brown's signature childlike figures and hand-lettered word balloons give it all a charmingly handmade feel. Brimming over with ideas, humor, and the author's infectious excitement.--Jesse Karp
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: New York Times best-selling, Eisner-winning Brown's new, space-oriented adventure is primed to please the growing legions of young graphic novel fans.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Karp, Jesse. "Once upon a Space-Time!" Booklist, vol. 116, no. 18, 15 May 2020, p. 40. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A627001418/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b0b2d750. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.
QUOTE: a "wilder ride than the first."
"imaginative flight of fancy for aspiring astronauts."
Brown, Jeffrey A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE-TIME! Crown (Children's None) $13.99 6, 29 ISBN: 978-0-553-53439-9
A black hole, unfamiliar galactic destinations, and new extraterrestrial acquaintances make this second adventure on the asteroid/spaceship Potato a wilder ride than the first.
Previously, young astronauts Jide and Petra were selected for a space mission led by clone Tobey and Cmdr. G. The crew visits the home planets of the alien students who inhabit this orbiting school: X’s Techola, where the equator consists of computer parts; Jemmy’s Fabrocal, where her moms and relatives greet the crew warmly and serve them ratulark toenails; Nedu, the planet of Sheila, a reptilian Lizarar, where an egg hunt is underway that determines who will parent the hatchlings who were buried 17 years prior, and more. Jide and Petra’s relationship remains contentious, but additional conflicts arise that keep readers guessing, like the power failure of the crew’s exosuits, Jide’s spontaneously sprouting a beard, and Petra’s refusal to forgive Tobey for an elaborate prank on his planet, Tobeyland. Although Brown invents details like the planet Brgltz, where they play brgbllbll with random rules, and creatures like migrating gliblark, he also includes real scientific details like coprolite. Brown’s handwritten text and loosely sketched landscapes give this graphic novel a sense of spontaneity and fun. To follow the story fully, readers should first pick up Once Upon a Space-Time! (2020). The main human cast is visually diverse.
An imaginative flight of fancy for aspiring astronauts. (excerpt from sequel, author’s note) (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)
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"Brown, Jeffrey: A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE-TIME!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A661545797/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fe780953. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.