DC Comics Secret Hero Society, Book 5 - Field Trip Disaster

Clark, Bruce, and Diana return for a fifth adventure in this world of DC Comics' Secret Hero Society. And while their supporting cast had been growing in recent books, author Derek Fridolfs takes a step back and returns to just the Big Three (or Small Three, as the case may be) in this book, as Clark, Bruce, and Diana take an unexpected field trip into the future!

Field Trip Disaster finds the future heroes pulled away from their classes - heck, from their very time! - to help the heroes of the future avert a disaster that could have devastating repercussions on the time line.  Enter: The Legion of Super-Heroes! Fridolfs introduces the 31st century superheroes into the world of young Diana, Clark, and Bruce. Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, and the rest try to help the Secret Hero Society determine exactly what it is in the 21st century that goes so wrong that is creates ripples and dangers in the 31st century.  Diana, Clark and Bruce even get their own Legion flight rings (even though Clark and Diana don't really need them), and they take classes with some very esteemed teachers (including one Booster Gold!).  Ultimately, though it is through their own standard methods of clue-finding and deductive reasoning that our three heroes figure out who and what must be changed in order to save the future.

Dave Bardin takes over the art chores for this book, making him the third artist for this series. Bardin's art, though, is very similar to the prior artists, so for the target audience, it is unlikely to make a difference. The story, was with its predecessors, is told through prose, comic panels, and fun images (such as invitations, brochures, study guides, warnings, etc.), making it almost an interactive book as you read it.  For adults, it's likely you will spend less than 30 minutes reading the book from start to finish - but it is a well-spent thirty minutes (or less) and loads of good fun!

And, just like the prior books, there is a lesson to be learned, and Fridolfs gives his readers something to think about when it comes to friendship, pride, and sacrificing one's own wants to help someone else. Plus, Legion fans will get a kick out of some of the cameos and Easter Eggs throughout the story - and those who have been reading the series from the beginning will love the time travel jaunts into some of the characters' own past stories!

If you like fun and you like the DC pantheon of characters, then you'll enjoy this series. I am hoping there are more to com, but judging from DC's cancellation of the DC Super Hero High books, and the fact that there are no solicitations for a book six on Amazon or anywhere else that I can find, I'm guessing this may be the final book in the series - which would be sad, indeed.  However, it was fun while it lasted!

RATING:  9 selfies with Booster Gold out of 10 for remembering that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman can still have adventures that are fun!

DC Comics Secret Hero Society, Book 4 - Science Fair Crisis

DC's world of young super heroes in the Secret Hero Society continues to expand with the fourth book in this children's series.  Part prose, part comic, part notes and journals, these books have been a lot of fun to read, and it's nice to see DC actually allowing their characters to be used for stories that are all dark and gloomy.  Since I've already seen that a fifth book is forthcoming, I am hoping this means the sales have been good, and DC will continue publishing the books for young readers!

Science Fair Crisis finds the students returning to Justice Preparatory Academy for an all new year of school under the new principal, James Gordon. As fate would have it, the return to school also means a new mystery for the secret hero society to solve - who is causing all of the accidents throughout the school that threaten to affect the upcoming science fair sponsored by S.T.A.R. Labs?  The book features the return of Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Clark Kent, Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, and Victor Stone, and introduces readers to the newest member of the SHS, Arthur Curry (better known as Aquaman!).

The story is pretty creative, as someone sabotages the science fair projects, and poor Arthur gets blamed for the damage done to the school. Arthur is forced to leave the school, and his thought-to-be-a-sure-fire-winner science project is withdrawn from the S.T.A.R. Labs contest.  While Bruce (Batman) is quick to believe Arthur is the blame, the other children (heroes) are not so quick to agree. They believe Arthur was set up, so they decide to investigate on their own - after all, isn't that what friends (and heroes) do?

It's fun to watch the kids use their own special talents to try and uncover clues that will lead them to the real culprit - and along the way, readers will meet Lois Lane, who runs the school newspaper; see Clark become a "reporter" for the school newspaper; see Diana use her lasso of truth to try and get to the bottom of things; see Ms. Waller come on board as the new guidance counselor and truancy officer; see Barry (the Flash) get some special tutoring from Professor Zoom; and see the Secret Hero Society work together to uncover the true villain behind the caper (and it's not at all who you will be expecting - quite frankly, even I didn't see this one coming, although the clues were there!).

Pamela Lovas and Shane Clester take over the art chores for this fourth volume in the series. Not sure what happened to Dustin Nguyen or why he didn't illustrate this one - but Pamela and Shane do a great job, and the variation in style really is not that noticeable.  The story flows as smoothly as previous ones did, and the characters maintain their look (making them easily distinguishable and identifiable even without their iconic costumes).

These stories are the perfect introduction for young readers who enjoy super heroes, allowing them to read about their favorite characters without having to face the continuity-heavy, down-trodden, darkness-filled stories that over-saturate the comic book market today.  Fun, simple stories that are truly enjoyable to read - even as an adult!

RATING:  10 mysterious text messages out of 10 for making super hero school fun to read!

DC Comics Secret Hero Society, Book 3 - Detention of Doom

Clark, Bruce, and Diana return to school in Scholastic's third book of the DC Comics Super Hero Society series, Detention of Doom.  Written by Derek Fridolfs and drawn by Dustin Nguyen (of Li'l Gotham fame), this series has been a real delight, and this book is no exception.

(And just in case you are wondering, yes, Clark is Superman, Bruce is Batman, and Diana is Wonder Woman - DC Comic's big three, so to speak - although in this series, they are far from big - they are elementary school students in Gotham City, and, as can be expected, they must face off against villainous crimes in each story)

Detention of Doom begins with a simple award ceremony - the award for bravery, the peace prize, and even a participation award.  While Bruce is somewhat bored with the ceremony, finding the whole thing to be frivolous, it soon turns out to be anything but when Clark's award suddenly causes him to disappear!  With the help of Barry (Allen a/k/a the Flash) and Victor (Stone a/k/a Cyborg), Bruce and Diana begin to investigate what has happened to their friend.  All roads lead to Lex Luthor, but they cannot find any evidence to prove he did something to Clark.

Needless to say, the frustration gets to them, and when Diana accidentally drops Clark's award, the group of super-friends suddenly find themselves ... well, somewhere else.

I love the fact that Fridolfs and Nguyen increase the cast of these books with each volume.  What started out as just Clark, Bruce, and Diana has now expanded to include Barry, Victor, Oliver, Joker, and Harley, as well as appearances in this volume of Doomsday and Bizarro (and even a brief appearance by Bat-zarro).  The story is not dumbed down at all, despite starring the heroes as children and with a target audience of young readers; instead, Fridolfs and Nguyen tell a fun story of adventure and team-work as the super-friends desperately try to find the missing Clark and then escape from the detention of doom in this other-worldly place.

The inter-mixing of comic panels with screen-texts between the kids, as well as photos from Bruce's robotic drone and messages in Bruce's online diary, to tell the story keeps it fresh and makes the reader feel as if they are a part of the search and rescue.  And the heroes' adventure in this "phantom zone" is full of lessons on trust, team work, and patience, and it's fun to see the characters learn as they go to depend on each other's strengths, as well as compensate for one another's weaknesses.

There's obviously no doubt the heroes escape their time in detention, but the turning of tables at the end of the story will bring a smile to any reader's face.

Thankfully, I see on www.amazon.com that a fourth book is scheduled to be released in March of next year, so that pretty much tells me this series is still successful (which I'm happy to see, since so many series that I really enjoy end up getting cancelled pretty quickly).

RATING:  8 time-out rooms out of 10 for proving that detention can be just as much a learning experience as the regular classroom!

DC Comics Secret Hero Society, Book 2 - Fort Solitude

The adventures of elementary-school age Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Diana Prince continue in the second DC Comics Secret Hero Society book, Fort Solitude.  As with the first book, this is not a typical prose novel, nor is it wholly a graphic novel.  Rather, it is a combination of comic book pages, journal entries, "photo" album pages, notes, e-mails, text conversations, and more.  However, despite this form of storytelling, the story and plot flow nicely and it makes for a very easy, fun read.

The second volume of this series finds our trinity of young heroes headed off to Evergreen Adventure Camp (the name should have given me a clue - and no, I'm not talking about Poison Ivy - but I'll admit, even I didn't catch it until the villain was revealed at the end!), where they and tons of other young future heroes and villains hope to have a week of crafts, hiking, competitions, and adventures.  Only, one by one, some of the campers begin to disappear (specifically, those who exhibit any kind of powers that help them win a particular game or tournament).  Bruce is suspicious from the get-go, but eventually Clark and Diana jump on the bandwagon, along with Victor Stone (a/k/a Cyborg) and several other campers who grow concerned that they may be next.  The counselors seems totally unconcerned, even going so far as to make excuses as to why the other campers are missing.

Clark finds a hidden treehouse, where one Lois Lane, a camper from a previous year, had set up a station to keep all her secrets about the camp.  It seems this year is not the first year campers went missing, and Lois was doing everything she could to expose what was going on.  Clark and his friends set up headquarters in this "Fort Solitude" to figure out what's going on.  Using themselves as bait, however, they do ultimately overcome the villainous plan and reveal the true culprit to be a long-time enemy of Superman in the comics (and no, not Lex Luthor, if that's what you are thinking).

The little Secret Hero Society expands with this story, as Barry Allen, Victor Stone, Ollie Queen, and Arthur Curry join the ranks, and their adventures appear to be just beginning...

Derek Fridolis tells a romping fun tale, very worthy of the characters he is writing.  Definitely intended for children, it is not dumbed down in any way, and quite frankly I'd be willing to bet just about any comic book fan would enjoy the story.  Dustin Nguyen provides the art for the cover and the interior, and frankly, it fits perfectly with the storytelling technique.  It's not overly childish (such as the art in certain DC books supposedly aimed at children), but it's not all dark and gloomy like a lot of the mainstream comics.

Fun and easy - exactly what comic and comic-related books should be!  Definitely an A++ read!

RATING:  9 cabin inspections out of 10 for actually making me enjoy stories about Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman as kids!

DC Comics Secret Hero Society, Book 1 - Study Hall of Justice

What if when Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince were children, they all attended the same boarding school in Gotham?  And what if that boarding school just happened to be a school run by an unseen principal, but with teachers such as Hugo Strange, Solomon Grundy, Vandal Savage, Zod, Siobhan McDougal, Basil Karlo, Jervis Tetch, and the like?  And what if Bruce, Clark, and Diana didn't really fit in, but they knew something strange was going on?

And what if these three youngsters formed a secret society within the school to uncover the secret behind the fact that no real learning was going on?

You'd get the Study Hall of Justice!  The first book in DC's new Secret Hero Society series, published by Scholastic, is a combination graphic novel, scrapbook, yearbook that is - - well, simply put - - FUN!

Yes, that's right.  It was fun.  Something all comics should be.  Even when a hero is fighting a bad guy, it should still be fun.  And for the first time in quite a long time, DC has hit the nail on the head with this book.  Written by long-time comic writer Derek Fridolfs and drawn beautifully by Dustin Nguyen (who is no stranger to many of these characters, having did the art for DC's now cancelled all-ages series, Batman: Li'l Gotham), the book tells the story of Bruce, Clark and Diana coming together to discover why they are not learning anything at Ducard Academy, where all the other students are pretty much allowed to do whatever they want, which usually consists of chaos and other sundry bad deeds.  The three try to hide their secret lives from one another, but they eventually come together to put a stop to the principal's plans to create a hive of villainy (I'll leave the identity of the principal a secret for now - but I will say his daughter is a student at the school and seems to take a shining to Bruce....)

I would highly recommend this book to any fan of these characters, as well as parents who want to introduce their kids not just to reading, but to comics as well.  It's a great introduction, and it pretty much represents what comics should be more like.  The book is published in hardcover format, with a glossy cover.  Although there is nothing on the cover, spine, back, or inside to indicate this is a first book in a series, Amazon and other booksellers tote it as being book one.  So here's hoping it sells well enough to warrant future stories (and hopefully they will touch on other characters in DC's huge universe of heroes, and not just focus on these three).

RATING:  10 secret case files out of 10 for good, clean, all-ages fun and family friendliness - what comics should be!