Mystery, Magic & Mayhem: Three Graphic Novel Adventures

For the past 10 years, Jason Patterson and Dan Abdo have developed numerous animated campaigns, network TV and web series, and commercial work. They have set up properties at Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, and Nickelodeon and a feature animated film through Paramount Pictures. Patterson and Abdo have developed original content for a wide variety of platforms, including print (Nickelodeon Comics, The New Yorker), theater (Pilobolus), and digital. In their graphic novel, Barb the Last Berzerker (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Barb is one of the warriors sworn to protect the land of Bailiwick from the scourge of monsters that plagues it. But the evil Witch Head, using power from his magical sword, has tricked the Zerks and took them captive. Only Barb was able to escape – and she took the Shadow Blade with her. Now it’s up to her to free her fellow warriors so they can stop Witch Head from taking over Bailiwick. On the way, she’ll battle vampire goat fiends, snot goblins, and a giant with serious foot odor issues (which he’s very sensitive about). Luckily, she’s got her best friend, Porkchop the yeti, to help her. But the power of the Shadow Blade has a mind of its own, and it’s getting harder to keep it under control.

Armando Mendive has been an educator for nearly 30 years, the last 25 at Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens/Opa-locka, Florida. He teaches all levels of world and American history, human geography, government, and economics.

John Patrick Green is a human with the human job of making books about animals with human jobs, such as Hippopotamister, Kitten Construction Company, and the InvestiGators series. He is also the artist and co-creator of the graphic novel series Teen Boat! with writer Dave Roman. InvestiGators: Ants in Our P.A.N.T.S. (First Second), the fourth installment in the series, finds agent Brash trapped in a mysterious coma. The technicians at S.U.I.T. have designed the ultimate replacement: RoboBrash! But while this high-tech replica has been programmed with all of Brash’s original crime-fighting skills, it also seems he’s got a few bugs in his system. Orchestrated by the spaced-out villain, Maestronaut, and Houdino, the dinosaur escape artist, giant ants are on a rampage in the city. Will RoboBrash and Mango be able to stop them?

Nidhi Chanani was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in California. She is the author of the graphic novel Pashmina; Shubh Raatri Dost/Good Night Friend, a bilingual board book; and illustrator of the picture book I Will Be Fierce. Her illustrations are often featured at Disney Parks. In time-travel adventure Jukebox (First Second), Shaheen’s father abruptly disappears, and the only clues about what happened are a mysterious jukebox, old vinyl records, and cryptic notes on music history. Then Shaheen turns on the jukebox – and it pulls her and cousin Tannaz to the era of the record playing. As the jukebox sends them through decade after decade of music history, from political marches to landmark concerts, the question remains: Can they find Shaheen’s dad before the music stops? Publishers Weekly celebrated the book as possessing “a rich color palette, vivid historical details, and funny rapport between the cousins … Chanani writes a love letter to music through the decades, visually twining the albums with important historical events.”

For the past 10 years, Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson have developed numerous animated campaigns, network TV and web series, and commercial work. They have set up properties at Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, and Nickelodeon and a feature animated film through Paramount Pictures. Abdo and Patterson have developed original content for a wide variety of platforms, including print (Nickelodeon Comics, The New Yorker), theater (Pilobolus), and digital. In their graphic novel, Barb the Last Berzerker (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Barb is one of the warriors sworn to protect the land of Bailiwick from the scourge of monsters that plagues it. But the evil Witch Head, using power from his magical sword, has tricked the Zerks and took them captive. Only Barb was able to escape – and she took the Shadow Blade with her. Now it’s up to her to free her fellow warriors so they can stop Witch Head from taking over Bailiwick. On the way, she’ll battle vampire goat fiends, snot goblins, and a giant with serious foot odor issues (which he’s very sensitive about). Luckily, she’s got her best friend, Porkchop the yeti, to help her. But the power of the Shadow Blade has a mind of its own, and it’s getting harder to keep it under control.