Double Review Day: Mouse Guard by David Petersen

Mouse Guard (Graphic Novel Series)

by David Petersen

Genre:

YA Graphic Novels

Awards:

Eisner Award for Best Publications for Kids (2008)

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Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

Published:

        May 30th 2007 by Archaia Entertainment

My Rating:

 ☆☆☆☆☆

SYNOPSIS:

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard's own ranks.

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Mouse Guard: Winter 1152

Published:

August 3rd 2009 by Archaia Studios Press

MyRating:

  ☆☆☆☆☆

SYNOPSIS:

In the Winter of 1152, the Guard face a food and supply shortage threatening the lives of many through a cold and icy season. Saxon, Kenzie, Lieam, and Sadie, led by Celanawe, traverse the snow-blanketed territories acting as diplomats to improve relations between the mouse cities and the Guard. This is a winter not every Guard may survive. Collects the second Eisner-Award winning Mouse Guard series with an all-new epilogue and bonus content.

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MY THOUGHTS

As an artist and a reader, I tend to like graphic novels more than comics or manga. (Let's not judge or argue about it, please. I just do.) When I saw 'Mouse Guard: Winter 1152' at my library I automatically fell in love with the cover art and checked it out. At home, I realized (via Goodreads) that it was the second book in the series so I put the first one on hold and waited impatiently for it to come through so I could pick it up. It's cover is just as gorgeous. But it's not just the covers that I loved since David Petersen both wrote the story and created the artwork. The insides of these books are absolutely amazing. Every single frame tells a little bit more of the story while enchanting the eyes with it's bold splashes of color. They are a beautifully realized world of their own and I am glad that the author took ten years to get this story down on paper and illustrate it. 

These are for the younger persuasion and can be found in the juvenile or young-adult graphic novel section of any library, but I believe that readers of all ages can enjoy these books as long as they love fantasy adventures and art. They greatly remind me of 'The Secrets of Nimh', the 'Redwall' series by Brian Jacques, and an old book I read as a kid called 'Battle For the Castle' which also had mice in it. If I had kids, these would be a must on their shelves.