Scary Godmother

Scary Godmother #1

by Jill Thompson

One Halloween night, little Hannah Marie ventures out for Trick or Treats alongside her rotten older cousin, Jimmy. Unhappy to be saddled with Hannah, Jimmy cooks up a scheme to frighten her home early. But his plan backfires when Hannah gets help from the coolest spooks around - including her own personal Scary Godmother!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Halloween, Comics, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 1997

About the author

Jill Thompson is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably best known for her work on Neil Gaiman's Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman and more recently, Beasts of Burden.

Reviews

[Brian James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Hannah's first Halloween trick 0r treating with the big kids and she's a teeny bit afraid that there will be monsters. However, she trusts her older cousin to protect her. Big Mistake!

It turns out Hannah's older cousin doesn't want to be slowed down. He and his friends come up with a plan to spook poor Hannah so badly that she'll want to go home. But when they trick Hannah into entering the scariest house in town, they only get spooked themselves.


Hannah on the other hand isn't so afraid anymore, not after she meets her Scary Godmother who shows her that the monsters are nothing to be afraid of. They befriend her and even help her get back at the meaner older kids, making her the truly brave one.

Published outside the major New York children's houses, this book is very different than the average picture book. I can't imagine many mainstream houses allowing a story where the older kids are so rotten and treat Hannah in such a manner, even though it's an incredibly realistic portrayal of kids being mean. In this way, I think it would really appeal to and be meaningful for slightly older children.

Another interesting aspect of the book is that it's told in a combination of traditional picture book style and graphic style. There's a ton of art in the book. I can see the style turning some off, and there certainly are weaker panels, but overall I really love that it doesn't look like everything else out there. And Jill Thompson is able to do extreme expressions about as good as anyone. Definitely for the collector of unique picture books.

[Dee Dee G · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8 year old and I enjoyed this. Very cute.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent. The story is predictable, repetitive and moralizing, common with children’s books. Characterization is thin and conflict is kept from getting too upsetting. (No Roald Dahl, this)

The text employs both captions and dialogue and is closer to a picture book than a comic, as the captions tell the whole story.

Art is pretty good, especially in its use of Halloween motifs. The main character Hannah is very poorly drawn, and the other humans aren’t much better. The boogeyman has a strong design, in particular the way its mouth defies spatial logic.

There is a natural history lesson on bats meant to dispel chiroptophobia, but it’s awkward and out of place.

Here is the plot:

On Halloween a naive girl goes trick or treating with her jerk cousin.

He resents her presence so tricks her into a creepy old house, hoping to drive her to madness.

But the monsters of the house are friendly and conspire with the girl to terrify the boy instead.

He learns his lesson and she makes some new friends.

THE END

[Jaimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop smiling while reading it in the characters' voices this is adorable.

I'm always surprised when finding out a film or show says it is based off a book and sometimes I will look them up then see if I can somehow read them. I've LOVED the Scary Godmother films since I was a little boy, me & my friends always watch it every Halloween & fortunately our library has the book so I got to enjoy it today.

[Alex M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, loved this! I have been tirelessly tracking down a physical copy of the omnibus for the better part of a year and was pleasantly surprised by the first volume for Christmas. The art style is unique (can definitely see Thompson's watercolor skills throughout) and the story balances being silly, sweet, and endearing very well. I grew up watching the TV specials every year for Halloween and I am so pleased to now read the comics that inspired them.

[Megan Pleasant · Rating 4 out of 5]

What better way to kick off October than with a Scary Godmother book?

[elstaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. The giant kewpie eyes only on the youngest child freaked me out more than all the monsters could ever hope to.

[Riegs · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Scary Godmother loves the dark and creepy and unusual! We pop in when it's scary and we're always with you on Halloween!" (Basically, this would be an excellent family role to have: the weird auntie who loves creepy stuff.)

It's little Hannah Marie's first Halloween, and none of the big kids want her trick-or-treating with them. So they attempt to ditch her in a haunted house, where he meets her Scary Godmother. SG shows Hannah that all of the monsters she's afraid of aren't really terrible creatures at all, but wonderful friends. Hannah is now a "Scary Princess," which is the label I should have been given as a kid. :)

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically for younger kids, but there are a lot of sidebars that only older kids are going to appreciate. Even though they imply "Fairy Godmother" by the title, this book reminded me more of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with someone taking over special holiday duties and learning a lesson by the end. The rhymes and pictures were a lot of fun!

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Hannah's first Halloween Trick-or-Treating with the big kids and she's excited. But she's too slow for them and they soon come up with a plan to ditch her. Luckily, Hannah's Scary Godmother finds her and comes up with a plan of her own to get back at the big kids.

I thought this was really a fun book, with a nice story and great illustrations. I really, really liked it.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun kid's tale with gorgeous illustrations.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story about a girl's first Halloween with the big kids and how she learns to love scary things.

[Sean Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

great fun... boy, she showed them, huh? and had fun doing it!

[Shelby Troutman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to show that you can overcome our fears if you try. Great for a fun tale during the fall.