Adventure Kingdom

by Steve Foxe, Pedro Rodríguez (Illustrator)

Travel through the wishing well with Clark and Karoline—two kids who discover their beloved Adventure Kingdom is more than just your average theme park. From Epic Originals, this fantastical story collection serves up twists, turns, and never-before-seen Adventure Kingdom artwork, activities, and park memorabilia!

When Clark sneaks into Adventure Kingdom, all he wants is a peek at the remains of the once-magical theme park he loved as a kid—plus a cool livestream for his fans. But then he meets Karoline, the granddaughter of the park’s creator, and the two of them discover that the magic of that place was never just an illusion. With the help of an enchanted coin and a talking monkey with questionable loyalties, they set off to find what they’ve both lost and rescue Karoline’s mysterious granddad.

Through the characters’ adventures, readers learn the importance

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Epic, Juvenile

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 7, 2021

Reviews

[Melanie Gaum]

Two teens work together to save a magic land and a theme park. This graphic novel was rather too predictable for me and the characters felt flat. The pacing was way too fast, and in some scenes it seemed like panels were missing. Transitions happened abruptly and I didn't buy the main characters' suddenly strong bond. The monkey started to explain his backstory but it was never actually told, which was odd. All in all a bit of a let down.

If you are looking for a better graphic novel/comic about saving a declining theme park and its connected magical land, I would recommend Welcome to Wanderland.

[Ms. Yingling]

Library copy

A fantasy adventure graphic novel with slightly larger font. My students don't usually go for evil carnivals, but an abandoned theme park might be okay. Karoline's family is trying to keep Adventure Land from falling to pieces after the disappearance of her grandfather, who built it, but when Clark shows up, streaming his adventures, the half coin necklaces that both wear magically fuse, and they find that the grandfather is stuck in a fantasy world. They try to save him, as well as the park. Book one ends on a cliff hanger.

[Kelly]

This book was okay. It had a good beginning and a good ending, but the middle was a little sluggish. It did seem like it was trying to teach lessons about doing the right thing and was a little heavy-handed in that respect. There could be a sequel, and I am undecided as to whether I'd read it or not.

[Lisa]

I really expected to like this book but after reading it I am certain I don’t want to put it into any classroom because of its subtle racism. The artwork is beautiful and the premise of the story is a good one…an abandoned theme park, a magic coin that transports you to the theme park in another world. I was initially uncomfortable with the dialect of Eddie because he was a monkey and then when the “goons” known as the Organ Grinders came into the story, it solidified my uncomfortable feeling that the monkeys (the bad guy later refers to an army he hopes to enslave) were stereotypical representations of African Americans. I don’t expect kids to pick up on it, but as adults who put the books into their hands, I feel like we have to be sure we aren’t subtly reinforcing racial stereotypes. Would it really have been so difficult to cast any other circus animals in the roles of the bad guys and the little buddy who once was a bad guy? And even though the author used terms other than goons, why use that one? It is right up there with the word thug as one that is racially charged. If we know better, we must do better.

[Theediscerning]

This lively young graphic novel is actually quite good fun, despite containing things like talking monkeys called Eddie. A young teenaged kid trying to amass an online following videos himself when he sneaks into a deserted theme park, only to find the sole human occupant – a girl who has the other half to his necklace, 'won' back when the park was active. The united doodad reignites a magical portal into the really magic world the park could only ever pretend to be – but it's a magic world peopled by danger, perilous pursuits and an evil king with a whole dragon roller-coaster as his avatar. The art isn't the world's best, but it certainly moves everything along in a kinetic fashion, and while the big bad's explanatory speech goes on too long the script is suitably curt too, meaning this is quite the snappy read. I enjoyed it, so I dare say the target age range (of 10 to 13, at a guess) should find much to like.

[Melanie Dulaney]

Epic graphic novels are sure to be a hit with middle grade readers! CatNinja seems just right for the youngest in that group and Adventure Kingdom will extend from that group and well into grades 6 and 7. The artwork by Pedro Rodriguez is edgy and leans a little darker than panels for the little ‘uns and villains Hogswallop and Mimeo look like thoroughly bad guys! But Clark and Karoline are on the side of good and have set themselves on a course to find her missing magical uncle and bring his amusement park back to life. Rounding out the cast of main characters is Eddie the monkey whose motives are not entirely clear until well into the story. Several other details are still fuzzy at the end—Clark’s fear of being betrayed, for one—but maybe that is because further installments will elaborate on that fact. Librarians with a little extra to spend on a well-established graphic novels section should consider this one.

Thanks for the print copy, Andrews McMeel Publishing.

[D.T. Henderson]

“We all make mistakes. What matters is what you do afterward.

Epic! really knows how to make engaging stories just by using simple elements. So far I’ve liked all of their series, and this one is no different. Foxe also made a likeable Twitch streamer as one of the main duo.

There’s a true sense of tension here, and I kept turning pages, excited to see the end. I enjoyed both Karoline and Clark and their adventure. But the ending is rather quick/slightly rushed because a huge plot point gets resolved offscreen. Still, Adventure Kingdom is definitely worth reading!

[Jie Yee]

Take note. Mine contains some spoilers (from book 1 and 2).


I am giving it four stars because the premise and the art style are brilliant. It's just a pity that there were quite a few plot holes in the story. My kids (aka my students lol) and I were very interested to find out what the monkey's backstory was, or how Karoline got the other half of the coin. But sadly, the story just skipped past it like we were supposed to fill in the blanks ourselves. Wish there had been better flow or at least, the details more thought-out...

[Amanda]

1 1/2 stars

This was a bit of a hot mess all around. I've been meaning to read it for a while. Kids keep showing it to me and saying, "I read this on EPIC! It's so good!" I can say that it's a quick read (so fast that I wondered if panels were missing). The plot was very predictable. The main characters were instant best friends/allies which felt highly unlikely as Clark was deeply annoying with his constant in-your-face streaming for his video platform. The pacing was very bumpy. The best thing was that it was a quick read.

[Danielle]

Not a bad concept. I feel like this could be good inspiration for an animated film. However, I had issues with the pacing. It felt way too fast. There were also things that should have been expounded upon. For instance, there was a moment where I was expecting back story, but then suddenly it just moved on. I even double checked to make sure I hadn't missed a page. So, good idea, but needed some fleshing out.

[Aimee]

Adventure Kingdom is a decent graphic novel. There is also a little bit of bonus content at the end of the book with character profiles and about how they put together the artwork and comic panels for the book. I would give this book 3.5 stars. I haven't read a graphic novel that I thought was a favorite one yet, but I might still buy and read the second book.

[Hailey]

Very exciting, thrilling and fun. Definitely check out other epic books, I think printed versions are better. It can be intense and if does have some scary things with some very mean characters so I would say 8+
(9 year old)

[Arman Waggoner]

I really like the story and the illustration, the design reminds of Genndy Tartakovsky's work from Hotel Transylvania

[Mateen Mahboubi]

A YA adventure around a mysterious abandoned carnival that holds a portal to an alternate world.

[Adam Sequoyah]

Passable. In all senses of the word.

MPA ratings: G (better would be TV-Y7 for violence)

[Maci D]

This was a cute theme park graphic novel!

[Siobhán]

Read this to chat with Annie about.

[Snapdragon]

Talk about getting a sugar rush. The story throw it reader in to the action without a moment to breath. I do not like when stories for kids are like that. Stories can be fast past. It when it starts at the beginning. There very little characterization. The story does not take it time to let the reader get the know Clark and Karoline, leaving nothing to connect to.

The art is good. It is smooth and does not have a district color palette. It look familiar, but I can’t put my finger on where. I like how at the end of the book it show the process of creating the art for the graphic novel.

On the flip side a fast past story can keep the attention of reluctant readers reading.

Another good thing is that this book does not push any agendas. Giving that it is a Cybils nomination that does not check any of the checkboxes of the guidelines. This book will get a pass without a second thought.

****Review base on Cybils Award guidelines****

This graphic novel has to a straight white boy and girl. Reinforcing cis heteronormativity. Not speck of diversity or inclusion. However while invasively searching through the authors and artist’s social media profile. The artist is lantinxx.

Adventure Kingdom gets an F!!!😡

Ma ha ha ha.

****This is satire. I do not condone the Cybils Award guidelines. ****

[Matt Glaviano]

I'll give a chance to anything amusement park related. There are a few things I quite liked about this; I think they may all be related to the art. In particular, the park map at the beginning got me excited. The posters for various rides interspersed between chapters - with their nostalgic feel - worked well for me too.

On the whole, I thought that there were some solid ideas at the center of this book, and that the panels themselves often brought those ideas to fruition. Stated another way, I was captivated by this title longer than I should have been.

Generally, my problem with EPIC! books is their writing. I think they're too wordy and poorly executed (put another way: poorly written). This title fit that for me. Characters talked repetitively of things that were cliché, not funny, or uninteresting. I muddled through for a while, but gave up about three chapters in. I flipped through the rest. The art conveyed enough of the story that I still felt like I knew what was happening. The specifics of the story - which was already bugging me - became even more superfluous.

Worth a flip through, but not recommended.