Broken Frontier

Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys have long learned to work together but what happens when a stranger arrives?

BOOM! Studios’ line of kids’ comics adds a new title to the roster with Toy Story. Disney/Pixar’s decision to give a license to the up-and-rapidly-coming publisher is turning out to be a smart move as BOOM! proves once again that they have a great respect for the original source material and can produce a comic book that so echoes the tone and ideas of that source that it feels like a new branch grown organically off the tree rather than something artificial grafted on.

There is a new toy in Andy’s room – a strange, space-age looking egg. When the egg fails to respond to initial overtures of friendship, Rex the toy tyrannosaurus begins to get nervous about his own status as a favored toy and decides to take drastic action!

People often complain about kids not reading comic books anymore but one of the secrets is to find out what the kids are interested in then find a comic book that appeals to that interest and put it in their hands. With the box office success of the two Toy Story movies, their continued DVD sales and a third movie due out in theatres next year, there are obviously a lot of kids who have fallen in love with these imaginative characters. Writer Dan Jolley so perfectly captures the tone of all of the characters that you can actually hear the original voice actors reading the lines in your head as you go along. The story is breezy and funny and has a nice touch of action and perfectly pitched dramatic tension for the tale being told. In addition to all of that, it stands perfectly as a "done-in-one" story which is terrific for kids who may not have the patience to deal with months long story arcs. It also imparts several morals all without being heavy handed or clumsy about it. This comic also comes across as a great way to help youngsters both learn to read and also polish their reading skills. The dialogue is straightforward without being simplistic and at no point does either it or the story "dumb down" for the audience.

Artist Chris Moreno also does an excellent job at translating the rather realistic CGI character designs into more cartoony comic book forms. Best of all, he perfectly renders the world from a toy’s eye view – with beds, floors, and stairs becoming detailed backdrops and parts of the story rather than forgotten background material. Combined with colorist Veronica Gandini he also gives the characters a faintly plastic sheen – touching back to the toy look created by the original CGI animation.

For parents looking for something to give their kids to read as well as for those who decry the lack of interest kids have in comic books or the dearth of comics to choose from for their kids, BOOM! Studios has provided the answer. This new addition to the BOOM! Kids line is more than welcome as it expands the field of choices in a way that is smart and fun.