Joe and Max

Joe and Max
Michael Davis
Urban Ministries Incorporated
ISBN: (none available)
Fiction, Graphic Novel, Comic Book
Reviewed by John R. Clark

Ask any librarian what the hottest genre for teens and young adults and you will probably get 'graphic novels' as one of the top answers. These easy to read books allow well-read teens to have some eye candy, while giving their peers who struggle with reading a way to jump on the literacy bandwagon.
Michael Davis and Urban Ministries Incorporated are entering the graphic novel market with a new line of themed comics. Joe and Max is the first in the series and is intended to get a spiritual message across to black kids. However, I think the series may have a lot of crossover appeal to teens of any race seeking answers to questions about God, good and evil as well as teens who like graphic novels. Why? Because the story line is smooth and readable without being excessively preachy and the art work is pretty darn good.
The story takes place in an urban setting and features Joe, a typical teen as the main character. When he hurries home to catch his favorite TV show Moshpit Max, he blithely ignores the cautions expressed by his best friend and her mother, namely take the elevator instead of the unlit stairwell. Does Joe listen? If he did would we have a story? Young Joe finds himself on top of the apartment building in a conversation with Stephen Dark billionaire real estate developer who is really the major bad guy in
disguise. It seems Mr. Dark can see into the future and Joe is going to present some big problems unless he is co-opted now. I won't give away the rest of the plot, you will have to read it for yourself.
This GN holds its own with other examples I have in my library collection and will get interest from my YA patrons. I look forward to seeing more in the series.