Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick nails the all-age graphic novel tone

The audience, it’s all about the audience and finding to whom it’s speaking. I’m teaching an AP Language class now and that’s a key trait that we’re discussing about certain texts. In Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick the audience for this graphic novel entry is crystal clear. If you’re eight-years-old and like to read, this is your jam. If you’re eight years old or older and a reluctant reader, because reading isn’t cool and you’re parents are content to let your brain turn to Minecraft mush, then this is your jam. If you’re looking for an action-packed all-age graphic novel that screams with enthusiasm, runs with energy, and has humor for days, then this is your jam.

Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick is the third book in this graphic novel series. We absolutely loved the first one, didn’t read the second one because of some reason, and fell back in love with Barb 3. This is especially true for reluctant readers, and it’s quite the find when parents or educators find a book that is so infectious that it flies in the face of those kids.

Seemingly every aspect of this graphic novel is made to be enjoyed by those mid-elementary through middle school ages. It is also completely acceptable and normal if high school readers or adults that pick up Barb are entertained to ridiculous levels as well. The text is big, written at a level where an eight-year-old should be able to read it, and presented in a variety of sizes to ensure that kids are paying attention.

Also, don’t get too put off because Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick can be enjoyed by young audiences. It can be enjoyed by them, but there are countless jokes or personal expressions that those younger audiences won’t laugh at, but are legitimately funny. This is one of the great attributes of an all-age graphic novel. The older readers get things out of it that the younger ones don’t, but the younger ones are able to laugh, feel like big kids and learn to love to read.

Barb 3 starts off with her being captured by Witch Head. Witch Head is a mysterious purple and black figure that looks like an upside-down broom with roots coming out of its legs. It’s after the Shadow Blade, which will allow whoever wields it, the power to access the Shadow Army, a massive horde of armor-clad soldiers who will do their bidding.

You’re not the Middle Earth type of reader. Even when it comes to graphic novels, your middle Earth goes south, so you might be checking out the when you heard witches, magic powers or armies that are easily controlled. I get it. Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick has some areas of cross-over within that vein diagram. However, it’s so much more enjoyable than most packages that you’d associate with those characteristics.  

There is absolutely no way that you’ll mistake Barb and the Battle for Bailiwick as a serious tale about lost fiefdoms. The art by Dan & Jason (Abodo and Patterson) is the full-color, kinetic energy that uses every bold color under the rainbow, except for some neon hues. Barb 3 has movement and action like few all-age graphic novels that you’ve seen recently. Mid-elementary school ages can easily fall into the reluctant reader trap; and this is fun to read, as well as, fun to draw characters from, that they’ll easily accept. The illustrations by themselves are enjoyable to look at, without even factoring in the text.

Once you factor the text into the mix, Barb continues to increase its enjoyment. There are laughs when you look at the art, but the subtle jokes and context that the words add help compile another layer of fun. Once those young audiences realize that, they will willingly want to read, and read more. Those kids on the younger spectrum will be able to make out all of the onomatopoeias. They’ll laugh, and realize that they might not know the words next to it, but are having so much fun reading that they’ll give it a go.

The action from the illustrations feeds the text, and the humor from the text feeds the illustrations. It’s a symbiotic relationship that plays out perfectly in the all-age graphic novel. Barb 3 puts a period on this arc of the story, but there are so many threads that Dan & Jason could pull from in order to make more graphic novels of this sort that you hope they start grabbing.

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