Like an episode of Mr. Wizard and an issue of Fraction and Allred’s “FF” rolled into one, “Howtoons” makes a triumphant return with a miniseries that mixes science and history with step-by-step projects and a strong plot to weave it all together. Read our spoiler-free review below for more on why “Howtoons” is a must-buy for the young ones in your life.
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Tom FowlerThe awe-inspiring, adventureloving, science-doing series co-created by EAST OF WEST’s NICK DRAGOTTA returns with an all-new story from superstar creators FRED VAN LENTE, TOM FOWLER, and JORDIE BELLAIRE! Tuck and Celine’s parents put their family in suspended animation to ride out the ecological apocalypse but when the kids wake up to find Mom & Dad are gone, they have to make their way across a brave and terrifying new world to find the ‘rents…using only their Howtoons projects to survive!
It’s entirely fitting that “Howtoons: (Re)Ignition” begins with a scientific description of the concept of “energy” transference. After all, not only is the mission statement of “Howtoons” to educate its readers young and old about these types of things, but it’s also committed to energetic comic book storytelling and kinetic cartooning. Issue #1 distills the complex history of our industrial world into a few bite-sized ideas that pop off the page and explain just how we got to this point – both in reality and in the comic book. You see, “Howtoons” does a magnificent job of visually explaining the basic rules that make up our world, even while furthering a fictional narrative within the comic book itself.
It’s not just a “how-to” book. It’s not just a vessel for fun facts and projects strung together by some vestigial plot line. “Howtoons: (Re)Ignition” has an honest-to-goodness compelling story that drives everything.
The trick is that “Howtoons” is pretty much seen through the unseasoned eyes of its young central protagonists, Celine and Tucker. They’re smart kids, but they goof around as any young kids should, and that’s where “Howtoons” gets the humor and energy that readers are going to latch on to. They are also victims of a world where adults make the decisions and those decisions are sometimes morally difficult, complicated, and don’t really make sense to the idealistic mind of a child. Or maybe that’s just the better way to live?
“Howtoons” belongs in a long line of wonderful children’s fiction that – through the eyes of youth – challenges the world we’ve been told to accept as we grow older, even when the alternative seems to be an unrealistic, pollyannaish notion. The world we live in can be cold and harsh, even for those that live generally comfortable lives. In this particular edition of “Howtoons”, climate change is used to show how the world faces global problems that require intellectual curiosity and investment on the part of everyone who shares the burden. “Howtoons” is the type of thing that could help grow intellectual curiosity – or at the very least spark imagination and creativity in the reader.
It helps that the visual approach to “Howtoons” is so brilliant in its deceptive simplicity and clarity. No matter the experiment (a couple of these could have been complicated, if not optimally rendered), Tom Fowler comes up with an elegant, crystal clear way to depict the step-by-step projects within the story. The plot takes a break to give the reader a 4th wall breaking description of how to make whatever project the kids in the story needed, which is the only time that the plot is treated in a cursory manner. Fowler is sure to depict these projects in large, simple fashion so that young kids can follow along easily and do most of the steps themselves with a little supervision. It feels a little strange to talk about safety precautions and interactivity when it comes to comic books, but that’s what makes “Howtoons” special and that’s why this is unlike anything else on the stands. Fowler, particularly, takes his skill set for the medium we love so much and applies them to something unexpected, inclusive, and fun.
Fowler employs layouts that move from one concept to the next, breaking them down simply and showing us how each one affects the next. In the aforementioned sequence on “energy”, Fowler takes us through a basic history lesson over a few pages, using gorgeous images of science and nature in action paired with elegant, minimalist iconography for what it means for the life cycle of our planet. By the end, thanks to Fowler and Van Lente’s economic presentation, anyone should be able to spit back the basic concepts of the piece.
Continued belowNot to mention Jordie Bellaire’s colors, which always class up the joint whenever they show up. Bellaire has a way of emboldening whatever she colors so that it pops off the page. Elegant energy is the name of the game with “Howtoons” and Bellaire’s colors were the perfect choice for that. When aren’t they a great choice?
“Howtoons” biggest asset is the way that the creative team visually fills out the book apart from the “gimmick” at the center. The pages with the projects look great and are easy to use, but the rest of the issue is packed with imagination and invention too – just the kind of invention that’s far too impossible for young minds to re-create. Perhaps someday “Howtoons” will be able to teach you kids how to MacGuyver a robotic toothbrusher, but for now it’s just another wildly fun part of a bigger story.
“Howtoons: (Re)Ignition #1 is the perfect way to sneak tidbits of education and do-it-yourselfitude into madcap entertainment. For that reason, you’ll definitely want to introduce it to the young people in your life. It’s got enough imagination and action to carry itself, but the projects are the irresistible cherry on top. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll help sneak more physical comic books into the hands, hearts, and minds of kids again.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – “Howtoons” is a no-brainer for anyone that wants to share the world of science and comic books with their young ones in their lives.
