Written by Julie Yeh
Drawn by Jack Hsu
48 pages, color
Published by Way Out Comics
You know those old commercials about two great tastes that go great together? I think that can apply to more than just chocolate and peanut butter, myself. Take the Xeric Grant and Comic-Con International. The first is a fund that helps creators print their comics; the second is the largest comic convention in the United States where you never know just what you’re going to find. So when the two come together… well, let’s just say that my wallet is always a little lighter by the end of the trip, but usually for a good reason.
Poppie Field is a new writer for The Young Traveler magazine. Together with photographer James Hamamura, she’s going to the Big Island of Hawaii to write a vacationing article. What she finds, though, is a conspiracy involving snakes, a cult, and what could be the most disastrous ecological shift to ever happen to the Hawaiian Islands… good thing Poppie’s caught up in the middle of it!
Having your main character as a travel writer is a quick and easy way to get into the middle of a story; fortunately, Yeh doesn’t rely solely on that as a plot hook in Poppie’s Adventures. Poppie’s a smart and inquisitive person, one who takes information and quickly processes it for further use. She’s a fun lead, and while she may be making things up as she goes along, it’s a nice journey. Yeh’s story feels inspired by the wonderful nature of Hawaii itself, and Yeh does a good job of bringing the most unique state of the country to life. It’s nice that the story focuses on aspects of the setting itself, really helping the reader get a feel for Hawaii.
Jack Hsu’s art in Poppie’s Adventures has a real pleasing look to it. I love Poppie’s freckles and floppy hair; it gives her a sweet, fresh look that can’t help but bring a smile to your face. She looks much more fantastic than if they’d given her a supermodel look, to be honest, and definitely more easy for younger readers to empathize with. Poppie’s not the only character design that Hsu does well, mind you. The priest of Kebechet looks great with his coiled serpent headdress and robes, looking both sinister and somehow realistic at the same time.
Poppie’s Adventures: Serpents in Paradise is a fun all-ages story that promises to be the first in a series. If Serpents in Paradise is any indication of things to come, I think there will be a lot of happy readers ready to see more and more Poppie’s Adventures down the line. Poppie’s Adventures: Serpents in Paradise is on sale now at better comic book stores everywhere.