Genre 6: Fiction, Fantasy, & YA: CALAMITY JACK-Graphic Novel

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Bibliographic data:

Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2010. ill. Nathan Hale. Calamity Jack. New York: Bloomsbury. isbn-10:1-59990-373-3 (paperback)

Summary:

In this graphic novel’s interpretation of “Jack and the Bean Stalk,” Jack climbs a magical beanstalk in order to save Shyport and help his hardworking mother. Jack bites more than he can handle and has to leave town before a pack of angry giants get a hold of him. Jack returns with his friend Rapunzel (and her handy dandy braids) and together with a pixie FRIEND and a man from the future, they plot and plan to outsmart the band of giants and save shyport from total destruction.

Critical analysis:

The reader is able to identify with the main character(s) in Calamity Jack , feels a kinship with the protagonist, and cares about what happens to the character(s). “I think of myself as a criminal mastermind…with an unfortunate amount of bad luck. I was born to scheme.”(pp. 4-5) “I mostly tried to keep my shenanigans from my momma.”(p.10) ^[1]

The plot in the story is original and creative to keep reader’s interest. Jack has to overcome obstacles and vanquish villains. “I’d climbed past the beast and gained the floating penthouse. Luck was mine (p. 29)…And so I had to hop from rooftop to rooftop, hunting down the goose I’d only just stolen. All night long. No rest for the wicked, Momma would say.” (p.31) ^[1]

The vivid and colorful illustrations in the graphic novel provide enough description and detail to help the reader visualize the surroundings. The setting is especially important to fantasy and the setting details are an integral part of the story. “The darkest, seediest, most unsavory quarter of Shyport…Troll’s Crany.”(p. 87) ^[1]

The theme in Calamity Jack transcends time and place such as good is more powerful than evil, love is more important than power, and is satisfying, because after arduous tasks which require sacrifice, there is hope and victory. “Blunderboar was the kind of mark you find once in a lifetime—wealthy, evil, and due a long crawl in a deep latrine.” “But my mother had not one else. And Rapunzel expected me to succeed. It would be my greatest scheme ever or a fatal failure.” (p. 86) ^[1]

The style in which the story is written and illustrated encourages the reader to believe in the fantasy world. The author’s voice creates a distinctive framework for the story and is consistent and distinct language for each character or group. “OI! DIS ‘ERE’S DA COMMODORE’S TURF, YE WEE WADDLEPUPPIES.” “Bad guys sure are bad aren’t they?” “Bad is bad, that’s darn tootin’.” (p.87) ^[1]

Review excerpt(s): ^[2]

School Library Journal, 01/01/2010

Gr 4-9 –The Hales follow up Rapunzel’ s Revenge (Bloomsbury, 2008) with this fast-moving story focusing on Jack. It begins in the city of Shyport with his birth. Even as a child, Jack tends toward scheming, conning, and thievery with various accomplices, including Pru, a hat-fancying pixie. One scheme involving magical beans and the wealthy and corrupt giant Blunderboar goes awry, leaving Jack’s tenement and his mother’s bakery destroyed. Jack’s mother orders him to go, and go he does with a certain goose under his arm. After the events recounted in Rapunzel’s Revenge , Jack and Rapunzel head back to Shyport to set things right. They arrive to find that Jack’s mother is being held prisoner by Blunderboar, who is virtually running the city. They team up with Pru and Freddie Sparksmith, a young journalist, to save Jack’s mom and the day. Nathan Hale’s artwork again places the action in a fairy-tale version of the American West, now with the city as backdrop. His character sketches are delightfully expressive, and the book has the same rich palette as the previous story. It should satisfy readers who enjoy adventure, fairy tales, and anyone who loves a rogue. Some fans of Bill Willingham’s “Jack of Fables” series (Vertigo) may also enjoy this take on the “Jack” stories for a younger audience.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI School Library Journal, A Reed Business Information Publication

Connections: ^[3]

Access study guide: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/CalJack_TG.pdf

Storyboarding an Action Scene

Reinforce understanding of setting and character by having students

rechoreograph one of the book’s many exciting action sequences.

Have them use the identical starting situation (e.g., pages 72, 90, and

125) and objective, and then figure out an alternate way of achieving

it by creating the sequenced sketches common to filmmaking.

Analyzing Plot and Character

After students have read all of Calamity Jack, reproduce and distribute the activity sheeton page 3 of this guide. You can use it as a formal assessment  or to support recall prior to discussion, even allowing students to work on it as an open-book exercise. You can also use it to springboard instruction related to plot and point of view by having students share their work with the group.

awards: ^[3]

→A Junior Library Guild Selection

→A 2011 YALSA Great Graphic Novel

→A Texas Maverick Graphic Novel

→Nominated for a Cybils Award

→An SLJ Best Comic for Kids 2011

Bibliographies:

Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2010. ill. Nathan Hale. Calamity Jack. New York: Bloomsbury.

Hale, Shannon, Dean, 1972- Hale, and Nathan, 1976- Hale. 2010. Calamity Jack. Bloomsbury, 2010.   Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed August 8, 2011).

Squeetus.com. Official Site of Shannon Hale. http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_jack.html

(accessed August 8, 2011).

Citations:

[1] Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2010. ill. Nathan Hale. Calamity Jack. New York: Bloomsbury.

[2] Hale, Shannon, Dean, 1972- Hale, and Nathan, 1976- Hale. 2010. Calamity Jack. Bloomsbury, 2010. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed August 8, 2011).

[3] Squeetus.com. Official Site of Shannon Hale. http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_jack.html (accessed August 8, 2011).