Hocus & Pocus: The Legend of Grimm's Woods: The Comic Book You Can Play (Comic Quests Series #1)

by Manuro, Gorobei (Illustrator)

Overview

This middle grade graphic novel series features an interactive pick-a-path storyline, full of puzzles, treasures, fantasy creatures, and gameplay you can enjoy again and again!

Cast spells, solve puzzles, rack up sparkling stars, and train your own magical pet in this graphic novel that you can play just like a role-playing game. Enter a world inspired by favorite fairy tales, complete with gingerbread houses and a girl dressed in red. Readers can play as Hocus (a boy) or Pocus (a girl), choose a magic animal companion, and enter a colorful forest of brain-teasing riddles, magical objects, and unusual characters. Each panel has multiple paths to follow, and a handy tracking sheet helps you keep track of your victories and hard-won possessions, bringing together the classic analog adventure of a tabletop game and the fresh format of a comic book for hours of replayable fun. 

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY: 
• Select your character and magical pet and begin your quest.
• Numbers are hidden in every panel. Decide where you want to go next, and then flip to the panel with the matching number.
• Solve puzzles, collect supplies, and win stars in your quest for success. The more good deeds you do, the more stars you will find. 
• You can play the book again and again, making different choices every time.

Remember, this is no ordinary comic book—what happens next is up to you!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683690573
Publisher:	Quirk Publishing
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Series:	Comic Quests Series , #1
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Manuro (aka Emmanuel Quaireau) is a writer and illustrator based in France. He is the author of five interactive game books and series.

Gorobei (aka Emmanuel Martin) is a comic book artist based in France.

Editorial Reviews

07/16/2018
Like Choose Your Own Adventure before it, this new series, Comic Quests, allows readers to make decisions that send the protagonists on a variety of narrative threads. Hocus and Pocus excel in class, where they learn to befriend magical creatures and protect their environment. For their final, they must help two parents locate their two children, John and Margaret, who have disappeared into the Grimm Woods. Now comes the real plot twist: the reader must choose to be either Hocus or Pocus and follow their chosen character’s story, making decisions on that character’s behalf. Among other adventures, readers can accompany Pocus into a den of wolves or choose to follow Hocus into battle with a giant rat. As they follow the bright, colorful panels and emotive characters, readers can collect artifacts along the way, fill out character sheets, and flip back and forth to enjoy the possible iterations. This series opener takes a simple but enjoyable form, mixing literary autonomy with the traditional role-playing video game—the resultant gaming comic promises to delight young decision-makers. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Kid approved”—The Dice Tower

“If you love reading, gaming, and magical animals, you’re going fall head over heels for this brand new graphic novel series.”—YAYOMG! 

“An interactive series that will appeal to reluctant readers and anyone who enjoys making a fun story.”—School Library Journal 

“An innovative twist on a familiar format and fairy tale.”—Booklist

“This series opener takes a simple but enjoyable form, mixing literary autonomy with the traditional role-playing video game—the resultant gaming comic promises to delight young decision-makers.”—Publishers Weekly

“An immersive reading experience full of adventure and fun. The book series really can be enjoyed by all ages since its beautiful storytelling manages to capture its audience young & old alike.”—BioGamer Girl

“If you value opportunities for your kids to use their imagination and their creativity, [Comic Quests] will provide that spark.”—Dad Suggests

“Fun for kids of all ages.”—Really Into This

From the Publisher

2018-07-24

A seemingly innocent red-cloaked girl and her evil grandma aren't the only hazards awaiting visitors to a magic wood in this graphic "choose your path" adventure.

Eager to undertake their "Masters of the magical creatures" exam, sibs Hocus and Pocus trot off into Grimm's Woods in search of two vanished children—then proceed to go their separate ways to encounters with wolves, witches, and other familiar, if sometimes tweaked, residents. The intertwined storylines are played as a game: Readers choose either Hocus or Pocus as avatars; select one of three magical helpers; and then flip back or forth from one numbered panel of cleanly drawn cartoon art to another as options and narrative instructions direct. Challenges added to the plotted hazards include simple number and math puzzles to solve, mazes to run, phrases with missing letters, mini board games requiring coins and dice, and other tests. Game sheets (6 provided, further copies available as a download) are required to keep track of used supplies and accumulated rewards. Players with short attention spans may find all the record-keeping onerous, and too many of the panels are only transitional filler. Still, there are a fair number of cliffhangers, the level of explicit violence is low, and ultimately "you" as either Hocus or Pocus get to shove the witch into a bubbling pot and rescue the children. Hocus, Pocus, and the other human and humanoid characters for the most part present white.

Saddled with lots of rules and constraints but some brainwork—and no batteries—required. (Graphic game fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews