137. Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity by Dave Roman

Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity by Dave Roman (Canada) - (US)
Astronaut Academy

Pages: 188
Ages: 8+
Finished: June 5, 2011
First Published: June 7, 2011
Publisher: First Second
Genre: graphic novel, children, humour
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:

Welcome now! The official promotional guide: To: Astronaut Academy.

Acquired: Received a review copy from First Second Books.

Reason for Reading: It sounded like a lot of fun.

This tells of the happenings of first semester at Astronaut Academy.  Opening with the official promotional guide the principal shows off the school and then we start off with the main character Hakata Soy arriving at the school a month late due to his former status as a space hero.  Then in a unique way, each short "chapter" starts off with "My name is ...." and is told from the point of view of various different classmates, the occasional teacher or surprise narrator.  Of course, nothing is as simple as it seems and Hakata's first semester is interrupted when a robot shows up with a mission to kill him.

I'll have to say this underwhelmed me.  It just wasn't my kind of humour.  It was silly, just not that funny.  Now, I won't say it wasn't entertaining, I'll give it that but I had expected more.  Kids who like school humour will probably enjoy this the most.  A caveat to parents who like to be aware of this type of content, there is a brief, 3 panel, episode involving a h*m*s*xual student.  Overall, fun but just OK in my opinion.