Gladstone's School For World Conquerors

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors #1

by Mark Andrew Smith

Welcome to Gladstone's School for World Conquerors, a top secret academy for the children of the world's greatest super villains to learn the trade. Join us as Kid Nefarious, Mummy Girl, Martian Jones, Ghost Girl, and the infamous Skull brothers unearth the School's and their parent's hidden past.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes, Young Adult, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

About the author

Mark Smith studied film at UC Santa Barbara and has a Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages from SIT Graduate Institute. He writes Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors and the New Brighton Archeological Society.

Reviews

[mark monday]

overall quite delightful. the young students at Gladstone's School for World Conquerors are the daughters and sons of various super-villains, excitedly anticipating the time they can follow in their parents' villainous footprints. little do they know, the world outside their school has moved past such old-fashioned and often deadly endeavors like "battles between good and evil"...

this G-rated superhero spin on the always popular School for Special People plot is mainly a lot of endearing fun. full of nice little surprises here and there too, not least being the Shazam-type alpha hero turning out to be a little bug in a robot human body!. the writing is cheeky and bright, especially paired with the sparkling, high quality art. I do wish the kids had a bit more personality, especially the girls - who would certainly fail the Bechdel test. still, the book has a charming cast: the leads Kid Nefarious and Mummy Girl have no depth but are still an adorable pair (I especially liked how Kid N's stylish scarf is matched by Mummy Girl's cloth tendrils) and I loved angsty siblings Skull Brother One and Skull Brother Two.

subsequent issues would feature a different, equally enjoyable style of art, but with writing that is too strenuously cute and snappy. I imagine it would be hard to keep a comic genuinely kid-friendly while exploring villainy; still, it was disappointing seeing the series' students - and their parents - become so thoroughly heroic. fortunately, in this collection at least, there is enough (kid-level) super-villainy tartness to balance out what could have been a too-sugary experience.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

not 144 pages, issue #1 was 40 pages

*Book source ~ Free from NoiseTrade

From Goodreads:
Welcome to Gladstone''s School for World Conquerors, a top secret academy for the children of the world''s greatest super villains to learn the trade. Join us as Kid Nefarious, Mummy Girl, Martian Jones, Ghost Girl, and the infamous Skull brothers unearth the School''s and their parent''s hidden past.

Not a new concept, but still enjoyable. Reminds me of the movie Sky High except it’s for villains instead of heroes. The story is a bit shaky and kind of disjointed, but the art makes up for it. The colors are vibrant and I love the artwork. Seriously.

[Erin the Avid Reader ⚜BFF's with the Cheshire Cat⚜]

Is that Invader Zim on the cover? If it is, I'm gonna be at the library by 6 am.

[Ingrid]

I really enjoyed this comic. Only thing I dislike is that I can't get my hands on the second one, and this first installment was very clearly only he beginning. I want mooore

[Jeremy]

This was a fun book with great artwork. Some of the dialog was a bit rambly and could've been more succinct but overall I enjoyed the premise of the book. The villain school children and their relationships were great. It's almost like a reverse Runaways.

[Justin Robinson]

Smith harnesses whimsy like a bronco, never letting it overpower his story. Villavert is a talent of the first order, with every page worthy of being framed and put on the wall.

[47Time]

The characters are so varied here it could give the X-Men a run for their money. If only the monologues were shorter. Or nonexistent. Damn, they sure talk a lot. I rarely skim a comic, but here the script was not only long-winded, it was immature as well. What did I expect from a story focused on a school?

Though their powers are very real, the heroes and villains don't really hate each other. They play roles that can be retired and make deals regarding where and when to fight. The kids are unaware of these things that are kept away from the public eye, but certain villains are threatening the truce between heroes and villains. Sounds fun? Ok, let's throw this idea away for a good 'ol-fashion beat 'em-up.

Kid Nefarious is aching to reach adulthood and be truly feared though his academic skills are lower than average. He and his colleagues are surprised to find that their parents are featured in comics and are always on the losing end. They band together to face a hero called Ironsides who defeated their parents in the comics. And get their asses handed to them. That is until a deus ex machina saves them. Their act may start a war between heroes and villains. Aaand, I don't care. What a wasted effort...

[Sean]

Where has this book been hiding?!?!? While the idea itself has been done before, Smith and Villavert create an adorable world of young villains in training. There is an overall story about these kids learning to be villains but also the bigger world they live in. There is young young romance, family drama, fight scenes, and more. I was so pleasantly surprised! Very good read!

[Matt Harrison]

2025 reread

It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book and had forgotten a lot of its charm - a great cast of characters and engaging artwork compliment the story which in and of itself offers a novel take on the hero vs villain dynamic.

[jo]

Cute kid's comic. Dark ending. Might read again.

[Will Cooper]

Very cute and enjoyable.

[Aaditya]

It was amazing, the author had some great idea's that he put to good use the drawing were also awsome.

[Ionel]

This book is a graphic novel and it's about a kid who is a super villain going to school and practicing super villain things. But when his parents are made fools of in these comic books then he vows revenge on a superhero but the battle between superheroes and supervillains are fake!

[Alan]

While the whole school setting has become pretty common in recent years (Harry Potter, Morning Glories, Glee even) very few writers have decided to take us to where they train villains. A well written brief intro introduces us to the school and its history. None of the characters, especially the leads of Mummy Girl and Kid Nefarious, are very well developed. The closest we come to character development are the Skull Brothers, and that is where I feel a little let down by this tale.

Spoiler






What is revealed pretty early on is that the series central mystery. The battles between villains and heroes are fake. That a truce was signed years ago, and the villains wait until their children are older to tell them about. There are some villains who wish to bring back the old ways, and that is where it appears the conflict will be if this series continues (sales and Image's sales model leaves that in doubt at this moment).

[Rosa]

Totally adorable. A group of students from Gladstone's get their hands on comic books that have their parents battling it out with heroes and are horrified to see that the books make their parents look ridiculous and incompetent. They don't know that their parents have a deal with the superheroes or that two of their number know about the deal and are trying to get revenge.

I loved the bright slick art style. It felt perfect for the story. I liked learning about the kids, watching Kid Nefarious and Mummy Girl develop a relationship, and getting introduced to the characters. The parents were pretty neat too. There were some amazing funny parts and i am honestly looking forward to seeing how the kids react to both what they've done and the realizations that things are being staged and their folks agreed to it.

[Richard]

I love this book.

Gladstone's is an all-ages series that, like Doctor Who, actually packs a big entertainment punch without seeming too silly or dumbed down.

I love the concept and the storytelling, but the biggest win goes to Villavert. His character designs are brilliant. I even love the background "extras," the kids who don't have speaking roles but who add life and energy to so many scenes.

Yeah, maybe character development comes up a bit short, but the series serves up enough Big Ideas in these first five issues that I'm willing to wait a minute for that. Especially since the climax of this volume is sure to leave some lasting changes on the students at Gladstone's.

Eagerly awaiting the next volume.

[Cale]

This is a cute story about a school for the children of villains, training the next generation of world conqueror's. It scratches the same itch as Tiny Titans, the overly cute young powered set. But even though the art is cutesy, the story goes some deeper places; positing a world where super battles are more WCW than heroism, and what that would do to the villains' perspective. It's surprisingly deep in its explorations, even as it has a dozen youngsters of various villain archetypes duking it out with each other. This is definitely the start of something, and there's a lot further it can go.

[Elizabeth]

I received a free copy of the book through the Goodreads Giveaways program and voluntarily chose to review.

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors is a top-secret academy for training the children of the world’s greatest super villains. Join a group of students as they uncover the secret of the school’s and their parent’s hidden past.

The story was well written with each character showing their unique personalities. I enjoyed the glimpses of the student’s lives outside of school, particularly the interactions with their super villain parents.

This was a fun read that had me laughing out loud.

[Ryan]

I was expecting this to be yet another "kids with special abilities at school" story, in the vein of X-Men and Harry Potter. And yes, it was a very good example of that, full of the awkwardness, nervousness, and fun that high school can be, but it also had a deeper level of intrigue and mystery that will keep me coming back for more.

Apparently the fights between superheroes and supervillians are a sham, prearranged WWE style and fought for the benefit of an audience. But we're not told the how, or why, of this, and I think it's going to be fascinating when we eventually find out.

[Melissa Nisbet]

Loved this read! It was a fun take on the tired Super heroes vs. Super villains routine but this time the new generation of villains don't want to be the losers anymore. Colourful pages and well thought out character designs, this graphic novel is definitely appealing to the senses. My only critique is the lack of complexity in the colouring and design of the backgrounds in most panels. In addition, some pages skipped into action too quickly and created a disconnect. Thought I was missing a page here and there but instead it was the story just jumped.

[Maria]

A school for villains - teaching the next generation what they need to know. But what they don't know is that all the battles between their parents and the heroes have been faked for years. How will they handle the truth?

Great mix of action and humor. Definitely will appeal to the upper elementary crew. Yet plenty of fun references that will keep older readers interested as well.

My sons adored this one!

[***Dave Hill]

It's P.S. 238, only for the kids of super-villains. The characters are interesting, the dialog's funny, and the background world intriguing -- especially as the actions of the kids serve to possibly change a delicate status quo in the universe of heroes and villains.

Triffic fun, and enjoyed thoroughly both by myself and by my 11yo daughter.

[Ming]

I liked the book and it changed the way we looked at villains and superheroes. It also had a lot of action and comedy at the same time especially how martian jones acts tough but when he is in danger, he is a wimp! Even though the introduction was a little slow, the story was the best i have read so far!

[Louise Bendall]

In this quirky, funny, adventurous comic, the kids of the world's greatest villains have to go to school somewhere. But, these tweenage villians-in-training were never told that the battles between superheroes and their villainous parents are fake. While their parents may have signed a treaty to keep the peace, these kids are going to start a war.

[Jason]

What a cliffhanger at the end! Too bad I missed the Kickstarter campaign for volume 2. Clever concept that is well-executed. Nice balance between plot and character development. The action sequence at the end went on a bit too long, but I don't think it detracted overall. Seems like it would appeal to a broad audience, too, from maybe 4th grade through adults.

[Kim]

This comic is actually comical. It's also smart and very well done. Great concept and good pacing kept pages turning. I burnt through the trade. As far as comics go its a personal favorite.
A school for future super villains... Brilliant.

[P.]

I liked the character design + fun attacks, and the humor is the kind that, if this were animated and shown in the 90s along with Freakazoid/Tiny Toons/Powerpuff Girls/AAAH Real Monsters/Beetlejuice, it wouldn't feel out of place (but with less clever cultural references/punniness)

[Dolores]

There were elements here that reminded me of "Evil Genius" & the H.I.V.E. series. The list of courses being offered is priceless. Guess I always suspected "Public Speaking" was for villains. A fun and very promising start. (P.S. Loved the little rant about the value of comics as educational tools.)

[Jamie]

This is my fourth read thru and I cannot say enough good things about this series. Great art! Great storytelling. I am looking forward to where this series goes next. If you love comics that are more retro and have a good hearted-spirit, check this out.

[Amanda]

Really liked the altern-superhero this book is goin for. Lots of fun with traditional superhero tropes and conventions.