Do you remember having adventures on the playground where you had magical powers and possibly fought off an enemy or two? What if that really happened to you, and all you had to do was eat a piece of orange broccoli?
Playground: Attack of the Gurgle Bots brings back fond memories of childhood excitement and imagination. School recess has an all new meaning in Attack of the Gurgle Bots, as students must navigate the rules of Principal Strict, especially if they want to live to see another break period. Writer Adam Rose has Felix Tremendez introduced to Strict early in the story. Felix is the new kid at school, and the Principal calls him into the office on his first day of class. Who wouldn’t be nervous?
Rose provides fun lingo early on, such as “starving like Marvin,” to establish its all-ages reach, while clearly showing who’s the good guy and who is definitely the bad guy – as a hint, he’s the one with the thick and curly mustache. Charles Toefield illustrates the fun images in Playground, with characters transforming into creatures, licorice used as a weapon, and closeups of intense facial expressions. Artist Shauna Klebesadel uses a variety of colors in the artwork which helps this story draw on that genuine, youthful vibe.
In addition to the graphic novel, there are several illustrated shorts, character sketches, and a place for you or your kids to write your own game and draw an emblem to associate with it. The beginning of Attack of the Gurgle Bots includes emblems and descriptions for all of the games Felix has at his disposal, so this is a very fun feature to this book.
Playground: Attack of the Gurgle Bots is a fun and quick adventure story, with an evil principal who uses robots and ice cream headaches to subdue his students, while Felix defends his friends with kids’ games that give him special abilities. Playground reads as if you were reliving your own childhood memories, with a scary school official as the nemesis and nifty super powers available after eating your vegetables – a small price to pay to enjoy playtime!
Playground: Attack of the Gurgle Bots is currently available in print and digital form.
Creative Team: Adam Rose (Writer), Charles Toefield (Illustrator and cover art), Shauna Klebesadel (Colorist and Letterer)
Additional stories included work by: Shauna Klebesadel for Hobby Squad (Illustrator, Colorist, and Letterer); David Pentland for Playground additional short (Illustrator, Colorist, and Letterer); Trevor A. Smith for Checkmate (Illustrator, Colorist, and Letterer)
Publisher: Markosia
Available in digital and paperback.
