Cory Thomas

On the whole, this is a pretty sweet book -- about not being a jerk, about letting bullying roll off of you, about being a positive force in order to achieve the things you are interested in doing. I don't exactly know what bothers me about it -- the crap behavior of the adults? The way everyone kind of treats Terry as though he is inherently special because he tells them he is? I mean, it's kind of a cool superpower, but it's also a weirdly unresolved thing that he goes to the expensive school and his brother does not. And he talks his way out of trouble in a way that others aren't successful at -- it's kind of like a mini-cult of celebrity and that is weirdly 100% the opposite of what the book says it's about -- it says it's about finding your friends. Eh, I can't really put my finger on it, but the book on the whole is good.… (lisätietoja)

When a book reviews itself: "Sheesh, do you hear yourself? You should write a book of corny inspirational quotes." (p. 154)

Aimed very much at children, Terry's Crew is a simplistic story about pursuing your dreams in the face of bullies, racism, and negative words from teachers and parents using only one's unshakable optimism and inspirational declarations. The stakes of the drama are low -- gotta get in that talent show! -- and the ending is pretty pat. It might hold a middle-schooler's attention, but not mine.

Foremost, it was impossible for me to connect giant Terry Crews to his short and scrawny comic book alter ego. That's on me, but a little on Crews for looking like the freaking Hulk.

I found it weird that certain heavy topics -- racism, potential sexual grooming, drug dealing -- are sort of introduced but not fully explored or addressed. In a story aimed at kids, it is really off-putting to have a cool and admired drug dealer hanging out and offering advice. And the comeuppance for an evil guidance counselor is a barely there splash of weak sauce. I appreciate the ambition to cover so much ground, but the resulting balance doesn't work for me.… (lisätietoja)

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S TERRY'S CREW ABOUT?
Our protagonist, Terry, is a bright, energetic (very energetic) kid with big dreams. Huge dreams. He even has a name for them, and when he speaks, you can hear the capitalization—Big Dream Plan.* He is basically the living embodiment of joie de vivre. We meet him the day before he starts a new Middle School on the other side of town—he's qualified for a scholarship and his parents are hoping this is his ticket to a better life.

* Yes, this is a graphic novel, so you can literally see the capitals, but those around him hear the capitals.

Not that there's anything wrong with the life he has—demanding, strict, but caring and supportive parents. An older brother who always has his back (although he's human and stumbles), who has the same hopes for Terry that he does. He even has a small-time criminal from the neighborhood looking out for him. It's a good life, but his parents still hope that his talents and ambitions can give him a better (read: financially secure and in a better neighborhood).

Okay, that's more space than I thought the introduction was going to take, let's get moving. His new school is dazzling—there's clearly money being spent on all levels here. And most of the students come from it, too. It seems to take Terry a while to figure that out, and when he does, it doesn't seem to phase him.

Terry has a hard time making friends at first but is given a chance to get in with the "in crowd" (I'm sure no one says that anymore, but I'm not going to try to pretend I know what people say), by bullying a kid. It goes well enough, but he feels horrible about it and tries to make things right the next day. This leads to Terry landing a small group of potential friends (including the kid he bullied) and puts him firmly in the "out-crowd."

An extra-curricular group activity proves the perfect outlet for Terry's creativity (which needs a large outlet, the kid cannot stop creating), but it seems to be damaging his grades. His mother puts an end to that—which causes some family tension and forces Terry to be even more creative in his approach to the extra-curricular activity.

Things go on from there—basically, this is about Terry getting his feet wet in a new world of opportunity, learning how to navigate it, making some real friends, and learning to appreciate the support and direction of his parents.

THE TONE OF THE BOOK
Terry's pretty naïve—or at least he comes across that way. He's so caught up in his dreams and the possibilities of the future that he really doesn't seem to notice or understand the harsher realities around him. His big brother does a good job of helping him navigate through this without opening his eyes.

This gives the whole book a similarly hopeful and almost starry-eyed tone and feel. But the art is thoughtfully used to make sure the reader sees the reality—the looks on the faces of characters around him, the changes in the economic status of his environments, the run-down nature of his neighborhood's buildings, and so on. Terry's eyes are on the bright future, but he's living in a very real now, and the art serves well to show that both of these things are true.

It feels like I've already transitioned out of this section into the next, let's make it official:

A WORD ABOUT THE ART
Cory Thomas is a huge part of what makes this graphic novel work. From his capturing the dual worlds that Terry lives into his character designs and the sense of energy conveyed on the page, Thomas really brought this to life.

As usual, I struggle to describe the artwork, so forgive me if any of the positive things I'm trying to say here don't sound positive.

Thomas's artwork isn't polished and full of fine detail—these aren't beautiful panels like you'd get from George Pérez or someone in his school. The penciling and inking are rough, the lines are jagged—they convey an energy, a youth, and a vitality more like Bill Watterson (and the more I think of it, the more I like my floundering here landed on Watterson as a comparison).

The expressions on the character's faces alone make me want to commend his artwork here, from Terry's almost ever-present smile (in various wattages) to the doubt or cynicism depicted on others, these characters pop off the page.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT TERRY'S CREW?… (lisätietoja)