Graphic Novel Review: The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook

It’s hard to find books that will entertain and enlighten, but “The Secret Science Alliance” does both very well. First of all, of course, it’s an engaging read, with idiosyncratic artwork the equal of any YA or Juvenile graphic novel available today–and not because of gore or bathroom humor, either, but because the bright, detailed images create a world worth spending time exploring.

Entire rooms get a sort of Rube-Goldberg-type treatment, with numbered legends that allow the reader to understand in depth the multiplicity of wonders available to them. At the same time, anyone who doesn’t want to interrupt the flow of the story can glance at these detailed panels, gather the message they’re meant to convey (that this world is rich with detail, or that we’re dealing with teen geniuses, for example), and move on at the pace of the story.

The story does makes for satisfying reading, with the main characters fully fleshed out (for the most part) and the minor characters getting memorable cameos. While Julian Calendar (a stereotypical nerd) takes some warming up to (perhaps by intention), the other two members of the Alliance–a rebel and a jock playing geniuses against character–appeal to the reader at once. The moral issues are, of course, presented as black-and-white battles of good against evil (it’s a YA graphic novel, and a funny one, after all), but nevertheless the book conveys a complex–and for some kids maybe surprising–message: that science requires a certain sort of heroism–the willingness to risk failure, the courage to approach problems in novel ways–and that science confers its own unique rewards–the thrill of discovery, the satisfaction that comes through hard work, and (most importantly) the opportunity it presents everyone to pursue excellence on a level playing field.