The Unsinkable Walker Bean

The Unsinkable Walker Bean #1

by Aaron Renier

Walker Bean never wanted to be a high-seas pirate waging a pitched battle against the forces of the deep. It just worked out that way.

Mild, meek, and a little geeky, Walker is always happiest in his grandfather's workshop, messing around with his inventions. But when his beloved grandfather is struck by an ancient curse, it falls on Walker to return an accursed pearl skull to the witches who created it—and his path will be strewn with pirates, magical machines, ancient lore, and deadly peril.

Author/illustrator Aaron Renier brings everything he has to this swashbuckling adventure story. Drawing from sources as disparate as Tintin, Treasure Island, and Harry Potter, Renier has woven together a breathless tale that will leave readers' ears ringing from the cannon-shot and their eyes dazzled from the glowing stares of sea-witches.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

AARON RENIER is the author of three graphic novels for younger readers; Spiral-Bound, Walker Bean, and Walker Bean and the Knights of the Waxing Moon. He is the recipient of the Eisner award in 2006 for talent deserving of wider recognition, and was an inaugural resident for the Sendak Fellowship in 2010. He teaches drawing and comics when he is not working on his own comics and illustration projects.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is a pirate future set sometime in the past with modern day ideas like putting wheels on a boat. There is a mystical myth about mermaids who protect these skulls and one was stolen. It is evil and trying to escape and Walker must return the Skull against all odds to save the world and his grandfather.

It has a lot going for it and the artwork is lovely - really splendid. Yet, with everything else, I didn't totally connect with the book. It was enough to keep me going with the story and there were some fun and interesting albeit far-fetched ideas. Still, some little thing was missing. I don't know what really.

I think it will be enjoyed by anyone into adventure and pirate stories who enjoy those things.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about primarily the main character, walker bean, who finds himself on an adventure after his grandfather gets sick after looking into a certain skull. nothing much to say here. my only complaint is that i found the main character extremely hard to like. plus, a lot of the ideas in the book, even though i'm quite sure this was in the fantasy genre, seemed far-fetched. however, it was beautifully drawn.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this, but to be honest, it kind of let me down. It started about a dozen interesting strings of story—the pearl skulls and how they came to be, the secret language on the mysterious tablet, the origins of the girl pirate, the eerie doctor, etc—but it never really resolved any of them. I mean, the language on the tablet looked a lot like the language the monsters were speaking, but then it didn't seem to quite match up into a code you could decipher, and we never learned what any of it meant or the purpose. And the doctor was maybe a sea creature? What was that all about? And the girl could look int the skull, but why exactly? Was she descended from the creatures, or the person whose skull it originally was, or someone else? And were the monsters even alive at the end? And did the world end like they thought, or not? This book was definitely going places, but by the end I was just kind of confused.

[Alec Longstreth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the honor of coloring this book, which is by one of my favorite cartoonists (and best friends!) Aaron Renier. There is more imagination and inventiveness packed into these 200 pages than some authors could dream up over their entire careers. Aaron has created such a convincing world, that you can smell the salty sea air and hear all the different vendors yelling at the market in a faraway port.

This book will hold up to multiple readings, as every panel on every page is jam packed with detail. I loved this book as an adult, but I wish I could travel back in time and read it as a kid. I know that I would have become totally obsessed with it. I only hope that Aaron will draw a lot more Walker Bean books, so we can all explore more of this world.

I can't recommend this book highly enough!

[Brenda Lower · Rating 2 out of 5]

From my blog at http://brensbookstoread.blogspot.com/

Walter Bean is a slightly dorky kid who worships his grandfather, his stories and his inventions. When his grandfather gets struck by an ancient curse, it is up to him to return the evil skull causing the curse.

Not looking for adventure, Walter is suddenly swept up into hiding from pirates, ancient sea monsters hunting them, and inventing machines to fool the entire crew on his ship. Not to mention, he has to fight on the side of the pirates, rebuild the ship, and try to keep everyone safe from the skull. If he listens to the whisperings of the skull, he and everyone around his will end up dead. With new found friends, Walter must figure out who the strange doctor is, what he really wants, and how to protect everyone from the curse of the pearl skull.

So, the story was fun and mostly interesting. But, to me the artwork was cluttered and messy. I found myself skimming through a lot of it, just to get it over with. The story was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish, but the artwork was very distracting from the story for me. It was like Amulet, where I wanted to stop and really look at the pictures as much as I wanted to read the story. This was just get it over with!

Other than the artwork, I like the story. Nice twists, turns and lots of foreshadowing. The story also has more potential, as if was meant to be the first in a series. Some things haven't been resolved, but the book doesn't feel like it's left you hanging. Good balance of wrapping up, but leaving more to be done.

Overall, engrossing storyline but the artwork detracted from the plot, at least for me. Great adventurous, pirate story with buried treasure (kind of), sword fights and strange inventions. Boys will get a kick out this book, but there's enough complexity that girls will like it too. I labeled it as Middle School, but late elementary would probably like it too.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is Aaron Renier's "The Unsinkable Walker Bean" not considered a stone cold classic children's comic? Everyone knows the big ones: Jeff Smith's "Bone" series, anything by Raina Telgemeier, Kazu Kibuishi's "Amulet" books, etc. But I rarely hear anyone recommend this book for younger readers. Well, it's flown under the radar for too long. For its sheer force of creativity, its lovely production, and its abundance of rip-roarin' fun, "The Unsinkable Walker Bean" deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of Kid's Comics (if such a monument were to exist).

Cartoonists seem to have a fascination with swashbuckling sea adventures (if you haven't already, I highly recommend Lucy Bellwood's seafaring comics), but rarely does their work look as detailed and authentic as Renier's. Despite forays into mythological creatures, heat-powered automatons, out-of-this-world locales, and the like, Renier's pages always look plausible and invitingly so; I want to live in Walker Bean's world. Every characterization is spot on, the humor is gentle, and you couldn't ask for more exciting adventures. My favorite part, though, is the absolutely exquisite artwork; sketchy, complex, but folksy, with a huge assist from Alec Longstreth's subtle, pitch perfect coloring (it's no coincidence that Longstreth himself is the creator of another incredible graphic novel for kids, "Basewood"). My only gripe is that this book is seven years old and there isn't a sequel yet.

"The Unsinkable Walker Bean" is like the high seas themselves: full of adventure with just a little bit of danger lying deep beneath the surface. Aaron Renier's work is on par with the great names of all-ages comics: Smith, Telgemeier, Kibuishi, Hatke, etc. Whether you're looking for action, romance, humor, or some steampunk-y sci-fi, "The Unsinkable Walker Bean" has you covered. Set your course to the bookstore (or library) and get it!

[Ardea Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing graphics but convoluted hard to understand text sometimes. felt like i missed pages, but just gaps in story
Title / Author / Publication Date: The Unsinkable Walker Bean/Aaron Renier/2010

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fiction

Format: Large paperback

Plot summary: This book has amazing graphics but the storyline at times is convoluted and hard to understand. At times as I followed the story I'd flip to the next page, and then I would have to flip back to double-check - the story would jump forward and I felt like I had missed pages - as if there were gaps in the story.

In order to save his ailing grandfather from a curse, boy inventor Walker Bean must return an accursed pearl skull to the witches who created it, and face pirates, magical machines, and deadly peril along the way.

Considerations or precautions for readers advisory: N/A

Review Citation: Davila, D., Anggraini, T., & Barger, B. (2011). [The Unsinkable Walker Bean]. Language Arts, 88(5), 393-394.
Bush, E. (2010). [The Unsinkable Walker Bean]. Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books, 64(1), 40.

Section source used to find the material: Children's Core Collection Database, Most Highly Recommended

Recommended age: 9 and up

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a little Tintin here. A little Pirates of the Caribbean. A lot Aaron Renier. And it reads like a J. Although the sea-witches are very creepy. Very. Creepy. But beyond that, the characters don't have as much punch as I would like. The pirates aren't very well delineated, ages are hard to guess. But Renier's illustrations have a definite charm. This didn't have the quirk of Spiral Bound, and I'm bummed that this is slated to be a series when that was not. But this wasn't bad for what it is.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the art but found the storyline somewhat hard to follow at the end -- there's a major reversal that's not fully explained, and all these narrative threads have been left hanging for the sequel. Still, a solid old-fashioned high seas adventure with a scrappy, inventive boy hero that will appeal to Tintin fans.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a well-crafted graphic novel for the middle-grade reader. Recommended.

For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/10/08/th...

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Sentence Review: Usually I love Renier's work, but while this is a good fun book it just didn't gel for me, personally.

[Kaethe]

I'm sure many will love it, but for some reason it just wasn't working for me. I'd still recommend it to pirate-lovers.

Library copy.

[Sara Mostek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audience: boys; Grades 4-6
Appeal: great illustrations, funny, exciting
Awards: 2011 Eisner Award Nominee

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Unsinkable Walker Bean is frenetic to the point of being exhausting to read. It starts with a solid concept: a young inventor must toss a future-telling skull into the ocean to save his dying grandfather. Walker Bean, the young inventor, joins up with pirates to battle merwitches and strange men who want the skull for themselves.

But from that relatively simple, adventurous baseline, the story takes a countless number of Candide-style turns that steadily become more and more incomprehensible. These wild escalations also serve to diminish any sense of character. Walker Bean, ostensibly the main character, has zero attributes besides being a budding inventor. Otherwise, plot elements happen to him and he reacts.

The art doesn't help the frenetic pacing - it's loose to the point of obfuscating key scene elements. Some double-page spreads feel torn from a "Where's Waldo" book. That's not even an exaggeration - one spread contains a hidden Waldo. With some significant editing and far more quiet, character moments, The Unsinkable Walker Bean could have been a satisfying YA adventure tale. Instead it's a curious mess.

[Leo Servetar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read this book I was around 7 years old in a public library. I don’t know how I found it or why I read it, but I became absolutely obsessed with it and read it almost every night before bed. When it came time to give it back to the library I promptly forgot the name of it and the memory of it has HAUNTED ME FOR YEARS!!! It’s been about 9 years ago and after scouring countless local libraries and driving my friends to madness by trying to explain this book to them I’ve finally found it!!!!! AT LONG LAST!!!!!! I WAS NOT CRAZY!!! Anyway I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has unknowingly formed a strong root in my brain. Thank you for writing it! The merwitch sisters haunt my nightmares!

[Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's reminiscent of Tintin, but with better art and less dull exposition. The art is phenomenal, and the mythology of the world weird and creative and surprising. The writing can be awkward and confusing at times, evidenced by Inara's continuing (though she's read it numerous times) confusion over what actually happens at the end. Also, I find Walker a bit annoying, I hate to say. Too prone to tears and a bit of a wuss. Is it OK to say wuss? Fuck it. He's a wuss.

[Suzan Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fast-paced, action-packed middle-grade graphic novel is filled with fantasy adventure, with pirates, sea creatures, evil skulls, and more. Read my full review and see some sample pages at:

https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2018/...

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: My son loves seafaring tales and this looked wonderful.

This is a beautiful book to behold. The illustrations are so bold, vibrant and full of details. The panels have so much going on in the background that one can look into them and see something new each time. We are even treated to the occasional two-page spread illustration. While some of these may be focused on a large central figure, the background will still hold many small details that one should linger on so as not to miss, but on the other hand there are a couple of amazingly intricately detailed two-page spreads that just make you want to keep looking to see what you are missing before turning the page.

Walker Bean has been sent off to sea by his grandfather, who has commanded Walker's father to return a cursed skull to its rightful place. Knowing that the father will not follow through, probably sell it somewhere, Walker is charged with making sure the job gets done. You see, grandfather bought that skull, looked at it and is now near death's door unless it is returned to its guardians. What follows is a rip-roaring yarn full of sea adventure mostly of the perilous kind.

While the story is not a fantasy per se, one must be able to suspend reality while reading of Walker Bean's adventures as they are of the most bizarre nature. Be prepared to meet pirates, a pirate girl who has turned the bow of the ship into a garden complete with lemon tree, great monstrous sea hags of legend and a cursed skull to begin with. Walker is a congenial protagonist who will appeal to all readers, wearing glasses, pudgy, reluctantly on the mission, but brave and determined. On the pirate ship Walker teams up with similarly aged Shiv and Genoa. Shiv is a humorous side-kick who knows his way around a pirate ship and comes up with great plans. Gen on the other-hand is a rather frightening, aggressive girl with red pigtails who is a delightfully enchanting character. Just loved her!

A great story and fantastic art combined with thrilling action and outrageously fun characters make this an entertaining seafaring adventure.

[Ashton Livsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: Graphic Novel
Summary: This comic begins with a mythical story about skeletons, merwitches, and underwater creatures. A young boy is told this story by his grandfather, an admiral. The young boy soon embarks on his own journey to return a skull to the merwitches, who will then in turn lift a curse off of his grandfather.
Critique: a) This being a graphic novel, the illustrations are equally, if not more, important than the words in the book. Together they tell an adventure story which will attract young boys.
The story is full of adventure but without the illustrations, people would of course be lost. The story, in my opinion, is not as well thought out as it could be. It does not flow, especially in the beginning, when they are explaining how the adventure begins. However, the illustrations make up for the jumpy story. The illustrations tell a story of their own which coincides with the conversations. The pictures are detailed, explanatory, and kid friendly. Kids will really appreciate the bright colors, creepy details, and fantastical creatures involved in the story.
On page 72-73, shows a two page picture of a busy town. It shows all the surrounding buildings, the center shops, and all the people walking around. Well balanced are the two boxes which show different pictures of what the reader is supposed to be focused on. These boxes are out of the way of the main picture in the top-left corner and the lower-right corner. Children will enjoy seeing tiny details such as a cat and dog about to fight, children climbing trees, and a dog stealing a fish.
Curriculum Connection: Not many books are graphic novels which allows for teachers to explain the benefits of this type of book. The teacher can explain how the pictures work with the words to explain what is occurring. Not every picture will have words but all the words will be surrounded by pictures. A child can learn about this type of literature and create their own.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unsinkable Walker Bean was kinda... sinkable. Walker Bean (whom I keep wanting to call Walter Bean) is a young boy whose grandfather, an Admiral in the Navy, is dying. His grandfather is under a curse from a skull that was rescued from the depths of the ocean- a skull that belongs to two "evil" lobster ladies in the depths. Walker, an imaginative and engineering child, decides to rescue his grandfather and find a way to remove the curse.

This book is just plain "eh". The graphics REALLY turned me off- it seemed like Archie or something I'd read in the Sunday comics. Don't get me wrong- those are not bad comics. They are just quickly done, sorta unfinished-looking, badly colored (or badly printed) comics. Walker Bean has the same feel. Oh, and the same hard-to-read font and messy comic bubbles.

The story itself is slightly too confusing to be compelling. I get where the author WANTED to take this story.... on a nefarious sea-adventure full of pirates and curses and gadgets. Unfortunately, it comes across as sloppy; who is this fox character? Oh wait, it's a girl. Oh wait, she's supposed to be good? Oh wait no she's not. Oh wait she is friends with Walker's friend? Ugh. Everything in this story is convoluted and confusing- and not in a compelling, "I want to know more" way, but rather a "I'll put this book down and try to sort it out later" way.

I like the book in some ways because I can see what the author wanted to do with it- and I like that idea. It just wasn't executed very well. I'd recommend it, and I'd even get it for my library, but it would not be my first choice. Next!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier begins with a tale of how Atlantis sunk at the hands of a pair of sea witches. Now all these centuries later it appears that the story is true and Walker Bean's grandfather is suffering from their curse. Walker has to return a cursed skull to hopefully free him from a paranormal illness.

Walker Bean apparently lives in an alternate Earth version of the seventeenth or possibly eighteenth century. There's a world map included in the book and while the landforms are familiar, the names are not. I found this unexplained map disconcerting; it would have been just as easy (or perhaps easier) to not have to think about Walker's adventures in the context of an alternate Earth. It doesn't add anything to the story.

Besides the curses and the sea witches, there's a strange eight legged man who is scurrying after Walker. I swear I've seen him somewhere else but I can't think of where right now. In the context of this graphic novel, he was just one more "what-the-heck" element. Why does he have so many legs and what is his motivation?

A lot of weird stuff happens in this first volume that should be explained but isn't. I don't mean pages and pages of exposition, a simple one line of dialogue would do just find. As it stands, though, I had to re-read sections hoping I had missed something only to find that things happened just because. A little randomness if fine but a whole book of it leaves me not wanting to pick up volume two.

I read this graphic novel as a judge for the Cybils.

[Amy Keltner]

1. Graphic Novel
2. Walker Bean goes on his biggest adventure yet. When his grandfathers bag of mysterious treasures is stolen Walker finds himself on a ship with pirates, fighting sea monsters and maybe even discovering the lost city of Atlantis.
3. a: The greatest strength of the novel was it's ability to keep you entertained. It is full of adventure and you are able to see the mishaps that each of the characters find themselves in.
b: The book is about the adventurous mishaps of Walker. He finds out about himself on the journey as well as making many friends. "Exactly! This is the message jug her family sent...and this is the star globe she found her way to the water with..." It is through this talk bubble that you can see Walker beginning to use his critical thinking skills which is necessary in this adventure.
c: The language of the story is a mix of current language as well as language of pirates and a different era. "What's happening?!? PLEASE, let me look, Mr. Avery! QUIET! The Thief...he's....he's..." (page 92). The language and the severity of the situation allows for the reader to go back to another time as well as the understanding of the language around them.
4. I would use this book to go along with the learning of ancient times. We could read Treasure Island and compare and contrast the two. Over all I would use it as a tool to get the students interested in reading.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uh so. This was hella good.
I really liked Spiral Bound, kid-friendly but complex. Saw this guy at the Minneapolis Indie Expo, and was all "ooh what's your new book about". He was like "um a kid and an enchanted skull?" and I said ooh who are your influences? and he said "um French guys..". I said "Sfar?" He said "Yep." I said "awesome."

So of course I had to read it ASAP. I was a little worried that it would be overly Sfarian, but it did a really great job differentiating itself, in tone, in story telling, in the sorts of creatures and monsters it was filled with. Giant lobster-like sea witches (and we are talking humongous?) Full page illustrations of boats getting blown to bits? Kind-hearted kids? Crazy inventions?

Don't get me wrong. Alot of the time cheesy comic piratey adventurey fantasy stories irk me in their busy-ness, their show-offy-ness, their general Making Stuff Up-ness. Far Arden felt like that. But Renier is a great storyteller, a fantastic artist, someone who creates these fantasies to move the plot along and actually to develop the characters, not in place of doing those things, and it really worked, I really wanted to know what would happen to Walker Bean, Shiv, Bean's mustachioed grandpapa, etc. Book 2, ASAP.

[Dani Shuping · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walker is a young boy back when pirates still roamed the 7 seas and the British Navy was the avowed military master of the world. Walker's grandfather has come across a mysterious skull that is said to be from Atlantis and poses powers of the unknown...but the grandfather has become deathly ill after looking into the skull and asks Walter to return it to whence it came. Along the way Walker meets up with pirates, a mysterious doctor, and two ancient merwitches that want the skull back and will do all they can to get it. It's a high roaring adventure that is sure to captivate those that wish they could go back in time...when pirates and merwitches still roamed the seas.

"The Unsinkable Walker Bean" is a page turning adventure and it's mostly a well written story...but it has some gaps in the tale into who some of the characters are. And I say this because its a central part of the tale, the doctor, the skull and the merwitches...we're told one thing about them, but it proves false but with nothing left to fill in the gap. Perhaps there will be a sequel where the gaps will be filled in and I hope there will be...but until then the story is left unfinished.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up for my nine year old son, and found myself drawn to the wonderful art and intriguing story, so in the end I nicked it from him and read it myself. Walker Bean's beloved grandfather is horribly ill. He made the mistake of looking into the eyes of the pearl skull, stolen from the hoard of the hideous merwitches who destroyed Atlantis. The skull must be returned, but only young Walker is willing to do so. The skull is stolen! There's a sea-battle! Walker stows away on a pirate ship. Pursued by the mysterious Doctor, the Royal Navy and the merwitches themselves! Can his determination and the odd crazy invention hello him fight through to save his grandfather?
This is just so damn good. Writer artist is clearly influence by Tintin, Where's Wally and a host of others, he also reminded me of Richard Sala, especially with his willingness to go full on ghastly with the nightmarish merwitches. It's a cracking read, thrilling and fascinating, with brilliant characters and an ending that goes from a jaw-droppingly epic set-piece reversal to a quietly moving funeral at sea. Highly, highly recommended

[Jill G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wanted to give this one a 4.5, mainly because I really loved the art--the colorization, in particular, is so vibrant and wonderful. Great stuff. My only qualm is that I feel like it might be kind of hard for kids to follow, considering it was hard for ME to follow, especially in the beginning. And then at the end I felt like all this great stuff was happening really fast and I was ALMOST beginning to thoroughly understand everything--and then it ended. I mean, I know that's how you set it up for a sequel, but there was a little more confusion left in my brain than felt comfortable. I also wished all the kids in it would have cried a little less throughout?! Walker clearly had some courage and intelligence in him, he could have whimpered a little less. But anyway, for all that, it's one of the best graphic novels I've read in awhile, and for more advanced comic/GN reader kids, this is pretty fantastic. As a last note, I LOVED the sketches included at the end, and also the tiny description of how the art was actually accomplished, which was really neato. Bravo, Renier and Longstreth. Okay, done.

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not used to graphic novels like these. The ones from my childhood were more like a full album of different length comic strips. What I can say from the story is that, if it had been published with graphics the story line may have been a bit convoluted and hard to follow for a 10 year old. I am a full grown 55 year old woman who still enjoys comic books. I was raised on Astérix and Tintin and enjoy a good play on words.
The story has a surprising ending. What kept me reading and looking at it is the quality of the drawings and the great colouring of the pages. A beautifully crafted album.

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quest tale, were young Mr. Walker Bean must return a cursed (talking)skull to the oceans deep and save his grandfather. So over 200 pages of action he must face his own father(a corrupt Navy captain), a ship of pirates, a evil doctor, a trio of friends(a mysterious girl pirate, a musical pirate and their heroic dog) and two of the most hideous sea witches the haunt the seas. Renier's art work match the weirdness of the story, which creates a alternate world that fills the life of this young hero with adventure and a lot of hard knocks.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ton of fun. Really enjoyed this. Stumbled upon Aaron Renier's work recently in an anthology about Middle School and wanted to read more of his work. Great characters, mystery, mythology, even a page where I said to myself "This is a lot like a Where's Waldo spread." Psst - he might just be in it!

My only disappointment? I can't seem to find vol. 2 any where. I'm quite ready to continue on the adventures of Walker Bean!

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations (I loved the creepy sea witches), but the story didn't really do it for me. The plot felt rather muddled, with too many things going on at once, none of which were resolved satisfactorily.