Publisher: Books Fluent
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 92
Publishing: June 6th, 2023
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
When the owners of Zen and Out erect a wooden security seahawk on their boardwalk eatery, all the gulls of Shoretown become scared. The Gullfather, Birdsy Seagull and his crew are called upon to remove the creepy display. Joey "One-Wing" Grella and Sammy "Vinny" Gullian set off a fireworks display, only to be birdnapped by the Zen and Out owners. Soon Birdsy and his crew are putting on disguises to break out their friends.
The Gullfather is the debut graphic novel for Jeff Sikaitis and Jake Wheeler. It's been described as "The Sopranos for seven-year-olds" and it really does have a sort of wiseguys vibe, with Birdsy as the crime boss of Shoretown and his oddball family who rob the humans on the beach. Their a pretty tight knight crew who do squabble from time to time, but it's all in good fun. I found the story both entertaining and the action fast paced. Truthfully, it was really hard not to read this in the voice of Tony Soprano, especially with lines like "ok, but don't breathe a word of this to any bird, Capisce? The illustrations by Geman Torres are done well and highlight the action and silliness of the characters, and the lovely boardwalk setting, just imagine seagulls swooping down and swiping a bag of chips. Then in a future panel enjoying the spoils of their heist. The facial expressions of Birdsy and his crew were another highlight and loved how they complemented the language of a mobster boss and his dysfunctional crew. Lastly, I find that the humor will appeal to kids and adults alike and this would make for a fun family read together.
This sounds really fun, almost like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. I love the ides of exploring alternate stories-within-a-story. Very meta!
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