Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius: Ultimate Collection, Book 1

Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius #1

by Chris Eliopoulos, Marc Sumerak

Move over, Mr Fantastic--Marvel's First Family has a brand-new star! Frankin Richards finally hits the big time with this collection of all four of his critically acclaimed one-shots! Join Franklin and his robot pal H.E.R.B.I.E. as they head into Reed's lab for all kinds of fantastic fun, amazing adventures and more trouble than you can shake an Ultimate Nullifier at! This compilation is bound to bring out the kid in every reader! COLLECTIONS: Son of A Genius, Everybody Loves Franklin, Super Summer Spectacular, Happy Franksgiving, March Madness, World Be Warned, Monster Mash, Fall Football Fiasco!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2010

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful: FF meets Dennis the Menace. Fun, cute, and full of charm.

[Jase · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Calvin & Hobbs, you'll love this scientific version of them.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are fun & silly little stories that are often nearly as hilarious as Calvin & Hobbes. Nearly, but not quite that good. Still, the antics of Franklin & HERBIE, his robot nanny, always bring a smile, if not a chuckle or guffaw. A pleasant Change of pace from the more somber regular titles from Marvel. 

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estremamente simpatiche e divertenti, queste strisce vanno lette come una versione Marvel di Calvin and Hobbes con Franklin che ne combina di tutti i colori e Herbie che cerca di proteggerlo e tenerlo a bada, inutilmente.
Nel complesso si ride o sorride sempre, ma la mia preferita resta quella dell'Happy Franksgiving con la parodia del Giorno del Ringraziamento.
4 stelle

[Caleb Abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounded up to a perfect score just because my 2.5 year old and 6 year old both absolutely adored it and I had a blast reading it to them and doing different voices. May not scratch a whole lot of storytelling itches for adult readers but it is outstanding for introducing children to comics.

[BMountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A respectful nod to Calvin and Hobbes - this will definitely appeal to kids who love Calvin. Not quite as much for adults as Bill Watterson’s masterpiece, but still a fun read. And comics are supposed to be fun.

[Dennis Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine Calvin and Hobbes, where Calvin’s parents are Reed and Susan Richards ofthe Fantastic Four and Hobbes is Calvin’s robot companion. Cute, amusing and fun for adults and kids.

[Redi Bortoluzzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Michael]

ffc

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a less powerful Calvin with a more annoying robotic Hobbes gives you Franklin Richards Son of a Genius! The Franklin Richards of this series is a less powerful and less imaginative version of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Franklin here is some how more evil and deliberately chaotic than Calvin ever was. While I am sure this was a fun read in the original runs of a few pages each as backup stories in this collection I am more annoyed than amused with the characters by the end.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is perfect for fans of the Fantastic Four and Calvin & Hobbes. I hate leaning on comparisons like that but it's too evident here. Franklin Richards is a suitable stand-in for the precocious Calvin. H.E.R.B.I.E. is a more uptight Hobbes although that analog isn't nearly as close given H.E.R.B.I.E.'s responsibility as Franklin's caretaker. The misadventures the two characters partake in are zany and full of wild action. And much like a four panel comic strip the stories are limited to a handful of comic book pages. There is no way this series would work with full length stories.

The artwork is also reminiscent of Calvin & Hobbes. Franklin's giant head and small body very much recall Calvin's physique. The frantic energy comes across in a similar manner as well.

One of the big problems with the series is every single story follows the same formula. Franklin steals one of his dad's projects and misuses it with hilarious results. Some of the results are more entertaining than others. Other times it just falls flat. Then again, this series is targeted toward younger readers who won't notice or care as much about formula. And also the formula gives the series a more comic strip feel.

A light read that manages to entertain and sometimes make you grin, but nothing outstanding.

[Rosabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take Calvin and Hobbes, make Calvin part of a superhero family and Hobbes his robot nanny, and there you have Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius--complete with monsters under the bed and an accidental clone who both gets him in trouble and is nice to girls. I think this is a great book for kids who love Calvin and Hobbes--the story lines go on a little longer than in C&H, and there aren't any jokes that go over a kid's head. It's not the genius of Bill Watterson, but it's a lot of fun, nonetheless.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suitable for 8+, it also appeals to adults. This is a lot of fun. Short stories featuring Franklin Richards and his robot babysitter HERBIE. Franklin does what any young lad would want to do if their father was a genius scientist. It made me laugh out loud. Favourites include Norbert the Hamster and the Hulk.

[Amy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review here

[Meghan Nels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this graphic novel series would be a hit - but the font just seems so small.