The Books of Clash: Legendary Legends of Legendarious Achievery Vol. 1
The Books of Clash: Legendary Legends of Legendarious Achievery Vol. 1
Terry: So what you’re say’in is, Pim Pim and I gotta sneak into JazzyPickleton, uncover the secret of their secret weapon, then tell the Triumphica Hog Riders how to secretly use the secret to turn the secret weapon against itself?
Mother Witch: You used “secret” an awful lot of times in one sentence – but exactly! Then when your fellow riders use the secret you uncovered to completely devastate JazzyPickleton, you’ll have the respect you’re after!
Terry: Thank you, missus… I mean, Granny Pocus! Thank you!
Mother Witch (Granny Pocus): Don’t mention it. But do keep in mind, Terry, my lovely…
…some kinds of respect aren’t worth earning.
The Books of Clash: Legendary Legends of Legendarious Achievery, by Gene Luen Yang, is the first installment of eight graphic novels based on Supercell’s video game, Clash of Clans. In this initial volume of The Books of Clash, the protagonist Terrodicus, a Hog Rider of Triumphica, and his hog, Pim Pim, struggle to gain the respect of fellow Hog Riders of Triumphica. In order to prove their worthiness, Terrodicus and Pim Pim embark on a journey to demonstrate their bravery in hopes of earning the respect they deserve from their clan, Hog Riders of Triumphica. This expedition requires Terrodicus and Pim Pim to uncover the secret weapon of JazzyPickleton so that the Hog Riders of Triumphica can defeat JazzyPickleton the next time they attack. As Terrodicus uncovers JazzyPickleton’s secret weapon, he also discovers truths about himself that he has to overcome.
Yang’s opening book of The Books of Clash is humorous and engaging. Whether readers are a fan of Clash of Clans or not, the characters and storytelling will transport them into the world of Clash. Yang’s approach of having the readers dive right into the thick of the battles is an effective tactic to help them understand the world of Clash. The wordy and ridiculous dialogue between characters provides comical relief in this graphic novel.
Les McClaine and Alison Acton illustrated this graphic novel with a cartoon interpretation of the characters of the world of Clash. In each panel, the characters are drawn with great detail, from the expression of their eyes to the body language of each character, all of which enhances the dialogue and storytelling. There are only three chapters in this graphic novel, and each chapter consists of about 40+ colourful pages, but the plot is jam-packed with so much action that one doesn’t even notice how long each chapter is.
Overall, The Books of Clash: Legendary Legends of Legendarious Achievery is a comical and battling story stemming from the world of Clash, and surely old fans and new fans alike will enjoy reading this graphic novel.
Sheryl Lee, a teacher-librarian in the New Westminster School District, is a mother of two elementary aged children.