IDW Publishing 2019
Written by Denton J. Tipton & Matthew Dow Smith
Illustrated by Chris Fenoglio
Coloured by Valentina Pinto
Lettered by Christa Miesner
Rosie thought it was bad enough having a witch as a neighbour, but now the witch is trying to take over the whole town! As their parents fall under the witch’s dark spell, it’s up to Rosie and her friends to try and save the day. And they thought algebra was hard…
I have no idea what’s happening here but I will say this somehow IDW has made me a fan of Goosebumps. I didn’t have the books when I was a kid, they didn’t exist yet, and my favourites were always the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. While this is more in line with mild horror, or age appropriate horror it is still an incredibly fun book with plenty of great moments. There are also some very well placed a tad more subtle moments that the boys have included here that make this all-ages offering something that everyone should be reading.
One of the ways I gauge how good a book is, is just how well what is being said in it can resonate with a broad range audience. This one has the perfect aspects so that it doesn’t matter what age you are you really ought to be reading this. Adults should read this and remember what it’s like to be a kid again, outsider, jock, nerds it doesn’t matter then share it, let kids of all ages read this and it’s a perfect conversation starter. This is something that can be discussed at the dinner table or the backyard while grilling, it is summer after all, doesn’t matter where really but there really are a lot of different types of characters here that can be related to.
I think there’s a little bit of Rosie in all of us and I have to say it is kind of fun to see here trying to find herself and grow before our eyes. The characterisation here is sensational and I love that we see these kids for who they are so quickly. Worried about what their friends will think of the company they keep and yet still wanting to branch out and talk to each other if that’s cool or not. I really do appreciate how these kids are being treated.
The interiors are great. I love that the linework is so strong and that we see the varying weights utilised so effectively to create some delightful attention to detail. Unlike most all-ages books I really am enjoying seeing the way backgrounds are being utilised here, they really do expand the moments and bring us a better sense of size and scope to the book. The creativity and imagination that’s on display here is gorgeous to see and that it’s done with such shall we say mundane objects it’s so gosh darn spectacular. Oh and the Gargoyle reminds of the cartoon. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid and strong eye for storytelling. I like the colour work too it is bold and there isn’t really much if any gradation but there is some nice shading and utilisation of light sources.
I am still waiting for that Dummy to show up and the anticipation in waiting for that is both excruciating and delightful. Meanwhile I do very much appreciate how we see the story & plot development with it’s pacing and character development keep unfolding before out eyes. Add into that these interiors and I am not afraid to say that this is what all-ages books should be like, heck all books should be like this.