Gary the Pirate

by Scott Christian Sava, Tracy Bailey

Thirteen-year-old Judy is so sick of boys and their immature ways. One night, Judy meets a boy unlike any she’s ever seen — a real, live pirate! But Gary isn’t after girls — he’s after treasure! Judy offers to help this hapless pirate and they embark on an adventure of a lifetime!

Genres: Graphic Novels

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Scott Christian Sava is an artist, animator, illustrator, director, writer, producer, and part-time Hobbit! Over the last 30 years, Scott’s work has brought some of the world’s most beloved characters to life in film, television, comics, and games, from Casper the Friendly Ghost to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Star Trek to Spider-Man. Scott’s unique talents and vision have been called upon by Marvel Comics, Disney, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, and more.

In 2000 he founded Blue Dream Studios, which has produced work for Star Wars, X-Files, Aliens vs. Predator, Spider-Man, and other franchises, in addition to creating its own line of kids’ graphic novels. The studio’s first feature film, Animal Crackers, is on Netflix and was the summer of 2020’s #1 animated movie in the world.

Currently, you can find Scott making videos online to his over 4 million followers where he talks about art, autism, and how to be a kinder artist… and human.

Scott lives with his wife and two kids in a Hobbit Hole in Tennessee. Scott’s mission, simply put, is to “make the world a kinder, gentler place, one story at a time.”

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gary is a young resident of Pirate's Cove, a pirate haven in the sky. However, he is not a very good pirate. In fact he is quite clumsy and frequently incurs the wrath of Stinky, one of the most ruthless and feared pirates. Meanwhile, down on land, Judy is being teased by her friend's for not being interested in boys. Next thing she knows, Gary is trying to steal some jewels from her. She decides she will pay him with the jewels if he will take her to Pirate Cove. They have a fun little bit of adventure and romance. Simple and rather dull story. Boys will be greatly disappointed if they grab this graphic novel as it is more of a silly romantic adventure than a swashbuckling pirate tale. The art was not thrilling either. The panels and layout were boring and the color choices too monochromatic and pastel. I have enjoyed many of Sava's graphic novels, but not this one.

[Kay Iscah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to introduce a young readers to comics, this is a good starter. The story is cute and self contained. The art is lovely. Simple but colorful and smooth, a balm for the eyes.

My biggest criticism would be how Judy's conversation with other women centers so heavily around boys/boyfriends. Not that there's anything wrong with girls talking about boys, but Judy seems like a well rounded kid with a strong personality. It would have been nice to see her other interests explored a little.

My nephew, 4, really loved this book. I managed to pick up a signed copy for him at my last convention.

I would actually love to see Gary turned into a film or TV series. There's a lot of potential for further adventures even though this is a standalone.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good balance of humorous and cute. The illustration style and dialogue make it feel very "Disney," but not in a bad way. This is an easily accessible graphic novel, and I would definitely give this to first-time GN readers and parents who want to know what they're all about.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The simplicity of the story and characters makes it more of a children's book than "all-ages," but it's sweet and harmless.