Alison Dare

Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures by J Torres and J Bone (Oni Press)

Imagine Indiana Jones as a twelve-year-old girl and you’ve got Alison Dare in a nutshell. Allison’s mother is an archaeologist and her dad is a librarian who moonlights as an Egyptian superhero, so there are plenty of ways for Alison and her friends Wendy and Dot to get into trouble. Crafty genies, Egyptian curses and mummies, evil Nazis with ridiculous German accents, ninja nuns, and the heart of Joan of Arc – what’s not to like? There’s a wonderfully old-fashioned feel to this book, nicely offset by a modern girl heroine with a vivid imagination and lot of pluck. Pluck? See, I told you it had an old-fashioned feel. The appeal of these books isn’t limited to girls – there’s plenty of action and humor for boys as well. Written by J Torres (Teen Titans Go!) and drawn by J Bone, this is a really fun book for kids who read fairly well – some of the vocabulary is a bit advanced (and that’s a good thing). If you have any place in your heart for Indiana Jones and good old-fashioned adventure, you’ll like this, too.

Sarah says: Alison Dare is perfect for kids and adults who like adventure comics. They always make sense because one of the characters explains all of it. There are lots of different stories – most of them are about five pages. Sometimes they go together. I like the pictures because they’re simple and not simple at the same time. You can always tell what’s going on because the art, the words, and everything else works good together. Allison gets in trouble a lot but she always gets away from the villains even though she gets in trouble with her parents and teachers.

Shelby says: Alison Dare is about this girl whose parents are divorced and her dad is a superhero who can never die and her mom runs a museum and has lots of adventures. The stories are good because they are entertaining and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. In one, Allison finds a genie and she is the master but her wishes kept going wrong. She has two friends and they end up somehow in her adventures with her. Some kids who have a hard time understanding things might not get it because it’s kind of complicated. The art is simple but it’s got a lot of detail and it’s black and white with no gray. Allison and her friends are about my age and it’s good to see that once in a while. Boys would probably like the action, too.