Gunnerkrigg Court by Thomas Siddell

Title: Gunnerkrigg Court: Volumes 1 &2: Orientation and Research
Author: Thomas Siddell
ISBN(s): (1) 9781932386349; (2) 9781932386776
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Page #s: (1) 292; (2) 252
Source: From my public library

Summary: (#1)
"Antimony Carver is a precocious and preternaturally self-possessed young girl starting her first year of school at gloomy GunnerKrigg Court, a very British boarding school that has robots running around along side body-snatching demons, forest gods, and the odd mythical creature.

The opening volume in the series follows Antimony through her orientation year: the people she meets, the strange things that happen, and the things she causes to happen as she and her new friend, Kat, unravel the mysteries of the Court and deal with the every day adventures of growing up.

Tom Siddell's popular and award-winning webcomic (www.gunnerkrigg.com) is here collected in print for the first time."
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First Lines:

"Gunnerkrigg Court does not look much like a school at all. It closer resembles a large industrial complex than a place of learning. Within the first week of my attendance, I began noticing a number of strange occurences. The most prevalent of these oddities being the fact that I seemed to have obtained a second shadow."
Page 2
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Summary: (#2)
(same first paragraph as summary #1)

"Finding a secret tomb of ancient robots beneath Kat's workshop leads the two friends to question how they are linked to the mysterious ghost that attacked Annie the year before. And as a new Medium In Training, Annie is able to visit the powerful trickster god Coyote in Gillitie Forest, a visit that reveals more than she ever imagined possible. Parts of Annie's past are revealed, as well as mysteries hat tie back to the origins of the Court itself, in this sequel to Gunnerkrigg Court: Orientation, Gold Medal winner of FoWord Magazine's 2008 Graphic Novel of the Year Award."
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First Lines:

"Throught the summer I realised the similarities between Gunnerkrigg Court and Good Hope, the hospital in which I used to live."
Page 2
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Review:

So.... I loved these books. The reason I picked them up is because of the art as I flipped through. I've read so many graphic novels that either use very little color or even just black and white. While these are just fine for many books, I was completely drawn in to the bright, vivid colors in this book.

I'm so glad I picked them up too, because the story was just as fun as the colors. I honestly didn't have any ideas about what the story would be like, so that it turned out to be a sci-fi/fantasy/mythological wonderfulness... well, that was just lucky. Completely in my wheelhouse. It's a fun story about a girl starting at a boarding school where things are not as they always seem.

I didn't realize it was a webcomic until I had finished the first book and looked into the second. Luckily, I had already checked that one out. But if you want to read the whole thing online, you can! The url is listed above in the summary, but here's a link for you just in case :). There's more beyond the second book that hasn't made it into a book yet. I know these were published a year or two ago... so I'm not sure if it's still being updated. I sure hope so, though. It's wonderful!

If you're into comics, I'd love to hear your opinion on this one. I really loved it and I think others will too. The writing is very clear and you get pulled into the mystery of Annie's story. Little by little, the story unravels and you learn more about her character. It's well done and I can't wait to read the rest of these online.

It was a little silly at times, but I thought it was really cool how they pulled in characters from mythology and ancient stories. It gave this book some depth that I wasn't expecting. But it was a welcome change. Figuring out how the main characters fit in with all of the history at the Court is really interesting.

It's got a little bit of magic, a lot of science, some really fun robots, and more. I think this one will be loved by anyone who gets their hands on it. There really was no point in the story where I felt lost or anything. I loved looking at all of the different landscapes in this little world that was created. I thought it was very interesting how they pulled in new characters throughout the story. Just really clever and fun.
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