Written by Ryan North
Art by Derek Charm
Published by DC Comics
I see why the team of Ryan North and Derek Charm have both won Eisner Awards and created New York Times Bestsellers. Good for them, but they were still new to me when I opened The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher today.
This is another of DC’s graphic novels for kids and also another book where hard and fast continuity is ignored. If you know absolutely nothing about DC history, this book can still be easily appreciated and enjoyed as both a literal and metaphoric look at kids that never seem to fit in at school.
If, however, you are at all familiar with the DCU magical heroes, you’ll recognize teenage Johnny “Kid” Constantine, here sucking a lollipop rather than one of his trademark cigarettes.
Portrayed herein as almost a Harry Potter type, Kid is shunted off to school in America after running afoul of some ghosts in his native UK.
On arrival, he finds his powers have lessened and he has to deal with real world issues like growing up, not fitting in, bullies, and, yes, a mean teacher.
Luckily there’s a girl who, like Johnny, doesn’t fit in, and she knows a little magic, too! If you’re like me, you’ll immediately recognize her for who she really is, but that doesn’t really matter much because here she’s not the same person I’ve known most of my life.
The writing is great fun, with well-defined characters who are easy for kids to relate to in spite of their dealing with demons and witches. There’s a Jack Kirby character thrown in unexpectedly about halfway through and he’s probably written better than anyone in the book, both fierce, and with humor. He’s a good fit.
The art is yet another variation on the simplified art style so prevalent in children’s graphic novels in the past decade or so but the character designs, panel designs, and usage of color all help it rise above lesser examples for this age.
Even at more than 150 pages, The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher never feels as though it’s padded. Everything seems paced perfectly to keep the reader interested and intrigued. The anti-climactic reveal at the end might confuse most readers but I liked seeing I was right. And there’s a teaser for possibly more to come!
Booksteve recommends.
