Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2019 The gang’s all here in this crossover comic, blending the stories so far started in Hatke’s Zita the Space Girl and Mighty Jack series. Jack’s pleased to have another superhuman kid like Zita around, and her companions get along great with Jack’s friends (though it’s starting to get tricky to feed everyone). Lily, on the other hand, is not convinced that Zita’s all she’s cracked up to be. But once giants start trying to break their way through a portal to Earth, the kid heroes will have to decide whether they can mend their friendships in time to save the world. Hatke offers up a hit parade of characters both human and otherwise, with plenty of fearsome creatures in his classic style. Bat-eared goblins, rattling skeletons, cute robots, weird aliens, serpentine dragons—just about every fantastical figure makes an appearance. The action moves quickly, and readers will be better off if they’re familiar with both the Mighty Jack and the Zita series, but those fans are sure to be delighted by Hatke’s pages that are full to bursting with familiar faces. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 09/01/2019 Gr 4–7—In this epic crossover event, the stars of two of Hatke's previous series, Jack and Zita the Spacegirl, join forces. The book conveniently starts with a recap of their adventures thus far. With an army of angry giants bent on taking over Earth, the stakes are high. It's up to Jack, Zita, and their pals to put an end to the invasion. One of the villains says it best: "There are other human heroes at large in the scattered worlds and a spacegirl who must be stopped." The melding of the two groups of friends is entertaining, and there's realistic tension between Zita and Jack's friend Lilly, who have very different styles of tackling problems. The adults still get to play their part, albeit back on Earth. Old friends, cameos, and inside jokes make this a great volume for fans of previous installments, but even new readers will be able to follow along and will want to read the backlog once they're finished. Hatke's artwork, as usual, does a lot of the character work—he skillfully uses wordless panels where other writers might be tempted to add dialogue. The story is a bit chaotic at times since there's so much going on, but the plot is tightly constructed and keeps things moving forward. The ending is fairly emotional and leaves open the possibility of further stories. VERDICT Jack and Zita make a stunning team in this high-stakes adventure—a must for fans of both series.—Gretchen Hardin, Bee Cave Public Library, TX - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.