Super Sons: The Polarshield Project – Ridley Pearson

Thank you to the publisher who gifted me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Polar ice caps are almost all melted which is causing devastation to coastal cities. Deadly weather forces everyone to move inland which is tearing families apart. Earth is facing its greatest crisis and Superman and Batman are nowhere to be found! In come Jon Kent and Ian Wayne who are completely opposites in every way expect for one, they are the sons of the world’s greatest superheros, Superman and Batman! In order to uncover a global conspiracy, the unlikely duo have to learn to trust each other and work together to save the Earth. But, who is the mysterious Candace and what secrets does she hold that could be the key to everything!

It is very safe to say that I am a big fan when it comes to graphic novels and superheros. When the two mix together I am always interested. I went into this middle grade graphic novel knowing very little about the general plot, the author or the design style.

This book is certainly aimed at those who are younger that 12 but I still enjoyed the fun, fast-paced storytelling. As I knew nothing about this book, Super Sons or other books telling the Super Sons stories I was slightly confused. I feel this graphic novel has a few gaps in the story which I had to look into whilst reading to understand it a little more. I’m sure this is something that younger readers are unlikely to notice and it won’t affect their enjoyment of the book. If you are an older reader, this book will hold very little in terms of an in-depth introduction into the Super Sons as it is very surface level. This is due to the target audience’s attention span though.

I enjoyed the colourful artwork throughout the novel. Although it is not the style I would usually be drawn towards, I feel that it would appeal to a younger audience and I enjoyed it for the tone of the story.

One thing I wasn’t a fan of what how little time was spent introducing the character Candace. I certainly hadn’t heard of her before reading this. She certainly has the potential to be a fan favourite amongst readers. There is already pre-existing knowledge when it comes to Superman and Batman and their Super Sons, but there isn’t with Candace. So, I feel a little more background story for her would have been useful to maintain my interest in her addition to the story.

I enjoyed this graphic novel, it was a fast-paced, fun, superhero story that I will be recommending to anyone after a graphic novel for younger readers. I also think I will be buying the second in the series to continue with the story and see what happens!