Blindspot

by Kevin C. Pyle

Dean and his friends have created a fantasy world in the woods behind their suburban housing development. During one of their army fantasies, they have a run in with a homeless man.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Picture Books

96 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boys! Blindspot, a graphic novel by Kevin Pyle, captures the spirit, energy, confusion, and conflict of an adolescent boy. With pressures at home and school, Dean begins to get in trouble and lash out. How do we learn to move on and accept the changes and responsibility of growing up?

Our story comes to life with big, full pages of color and action. The jungle green, old-school looking army pages were my favorites to flip through. Action, motion, and color pulled me right into the pages! But the story and illustrations were unclear at times. I never felt attached or emotionally invested in the battles. The characters are never really established, identified, or connected to the action, so I often felt lost or adrift in the story. Who is Dean talking to? Where is he now?

Mr. Pyle depicts Dean’s coming of age with honesty and strength. Realism, color, life, and history fill the story. The pieces are all there! But for me, a book with the disobedience, dangers, distractions, and confusion of youth needs a clearer message at the end for me to recommend it for young readers.

I will be on the look out for more from Mr. Pyle though. If he clears up some of the fuzziness, his novels will be swimming in brilliance!

[Mike Reiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful to behold in Pyles layouts and indie artistry, with just enough of his memories and nostalgia to make this piece work.

[Jaclyn Giordano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blindspot by Kevin Pyle is a graphic novel that is intended for readers in grades three through six. However, it’s theme of growing up from a little boy to a young man could be especially engaging for boys through high school. I gave it four stars. The story follows Dean, a young boy who enters an imaginary world when he is playing with his friends: he engages in dangerous army missions with his friends, doing battles in the woods, engaging in hand to hand combat, and destroying and going beyond enemy lines. (In reality, he is playing near train tracks, stealing clothing off an old neighbor’s clothesline, and vandalizes a homeless man’s makeshift shelter.) Dean lives in this world of army and war, countering authority figures of adults and teachers. However, after destroying a homeless man’s home in battle and coming face to face with this enemy, Dean is snapped back into the real world, awakening to the real danger that combat and battles bring with it. He escapes, at the end, and is now living in every-day life, back to the reality of playing sports, drawing, and hanging out with friends. The themes of child versus adult, an imagined world versus reality, and danger versus safety can engage any young reader as they deal with finding their true place and identity within the real world. The illustrations, camouflage colors during army scenes and a tranquil blue during real life scenes, help the reader understand and feel the real feelings of Dean as he struggles with finding his place in life, which he learns is full of risk, danger, and misunderstandings but also full of compassion and understanding. The format of the graphic novel truly engages the reader, as we go on this journey with Dean through both text and images. As anyone growing up and searching for identity knows, there is a blurry and grayed line between what is real and what is not. It is up Dean, and to us, to decide where we want the story to go.

[Ozro Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told through a handful of short stories, this is a lovely, quick tale about a young kid coming to terms with getting a little bit older. It's nothing we've never seen before, but the beauty is in the presentation. Pyle's art and layouts are fantastic, with a lot of unique ideas presented in just a short amount of time. The standout moments are when he plays with imagination, completely shifting styles - down to the lettering - as the boys imagine themselves as soldiers in the battlefield.

Another great bargain bin find. My only real complaint is that it's not longer.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evocative graphic novel about a boy growing out of childhood. Using expressive panels in the green and brown tones of camouflage, writer-artist Pyle looks at a boy's fascination with war and adventure--and, like many boys, his ignorance of danger and consequences. In an instant, the boisterous fun becomes serious, and adult life intrudes on a boy's world.This perfectly captures a shining moment of boyhood

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like it was just too short (I read it in 20 minutes) and I needed more.

[Muhammed Sayed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story reminded me of the movie Stand By Me-- a tale about a group of boys coming of age, complete with trains and a life-altering traumatic incident. Dean and his friends play army in the woods near their houses, but as they grow older their antics evolve from stealing laundry off an old woman's line to destroying a homeless man's shack and sneaking into the garage to look at dad's pornography. The protagonist's encounter with the homeless man one Halloween night proves to be a transformative experience, and he learns the beginning of what it means to grow up. The art is quite nice; particularly poignant is a section where the protagonist is running from the homeless man-- it's colored in blue, white, and black and heavily inked, giving it an omionous feel. There's nothing explicit about the story, but I think the subject material is beyond the capacity of elementary-aged kids to fully grasp. I got it because it was on a list of kids' comics- it's actually been on the comics shelf for a couple of years- I only just now got around to reading it. But the fact that nobody's complained also probably means that it's not being properly exposed to its audience. I'll actually be moving it to the teen section. So if you also purchase teen graphic novels, I'd definitely recommend this.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dean's family moves to a new house, and in the woods nearby, he's introduced to a world of war-games and other activities by the group of boys he hangs around with. Meanwhile, he's resistant to anything he's asked to do at school, and only wants to draw, living in his imagination.

The book is described as a coming-of-age book because a frightening experience somehow leads Dean to suddenly "grow up" and turn things around. I rated the book down because that conversion process seemed awfully quick, easy, and fake to me. Also, although I understand the intention of the book is otherwise, to me the book seems somewhat to glorify the dangerous and malicious pranks the boys do early on (e.g., stealing the underwear of an old lady off the line, burning down the house of a tramp who lives nearby).

The artist employs an interesting technique to help the reader keep track of what's happening. Imagined scenes (e.g., during the war games) are in full color; what's happening in Dean's life in the real world is drawn in monotones -- a single color in addition to black and white. That lends emphasis to the fact that Dean finds the "real" world monotonous, and wants only to escape from it.

[Madison Johnson]

This is a story about a group of boys coming of age. Dean and his friends have created an entire world in the woods behind their suburban housing development. The story follows Dean, a young boy who enters an imaginary world when he is playing with his friends: he engages in dangerous army missions, doing battles in the woods, engaging in hand to hand combat, and destroying and going beyond enemy lines. In reality he is playing near train tracks, vandalizing things, and stealing. Dean is not listening to his parents and authority figures. Dean is snapped back into reality and has brought back with him the real danger that combat and battles bring. The illustrations, camouflage colors during army scenes and a tranquil blue during real life scenes, help the reader understand and feel the real feelings of Dean as he struggles with finding his place in life, which he learns is full of risk, danger, and misunderstandings but also full of compassion and understanding.

[Cooper Mccay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that Blindspot was a very strange novel. The art style was very abstract with little, if any meaning. The plot was alright for being about a boy imagining that he was a soldier in the army. The book never tells you much about the characters, I'd guess the boy would be approximately ten years old. He and his friends would play pretend and patrol their neighborhood with bb guns,shooting at anything that they felt like. Eventually this comes back to bite them because they wreck the house of a homeless person who then goes after the main character. I wonder if the boy learned from this enounter? This is a good book for anyone who likes to read alot of dialogue rather than looking at pictures. If you liked the writing style of The Rabbi's Cat, then you may like this book. I however, do not care for it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it possible to know something but not see what it is yet? I feel like it must be. That's why I'm writing everything down now--to see how it fits together. To see what it looks like.

Dean knows he's had a significant experience that's going to change him, but he doesn't really understand the experience yet or know how he's changing. This is his graphic--not particularly overwhelming, but highly effective illustrations--reflection on it. He loved playing soldier in the woods behind his house with his three friends. He knew every inch of those woods, and his soldier fantasies were more important than school or any other aspect of life. But reality keeps trying to intrude, most significantly in the form of the homeless man they encounter living in a shack in the woods.

[Karyn The Pirate · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this graphic novel left something to be desired. It may appeal to boys a little more than girls due to the subject matter - a young boy playing war games - but I found the storyline did not keep my attention. I also did not enjoy this type of artwork, which was almost monochromatic. I would recommend this to boys who like playing war, but only if they were junior high or older. And hopefully by then they are out of the playing war stage.

[Erin Forson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dean has a real attitude problem in Blindspot by Kevin Pyle. He'd rather draw and play war in the woods with his friends than attend school and be home on time. Dean and his friends take a lot of dangerous chances until one day reality takes Dean by surprise and he's forced to grow up. Wonderful graphics with coloring that reflects the changing tone of each chapter, Blindspot is a graphic novel you'll enjoy reading--and one that will make you think.

[sweet pea · Rating 1 out of 5]

i really didn't like this book. the drawings are crude and out of perspective, especially the faces. the story is a type that has been told before and better. there's a happy ending. ick. the author switching to old-timey-war-comic style is the most interesting thing about this book. but, it's not enough to save it.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter illustrations beautifully illustrated (Math Problems), nice transition from duotone to army combat colors between life and daydreams.

"Is it possible to know something but not see what it is yet? I feel like it must be. That's why I'm writing everything down now--to see how it fits together. To see what it looks like."

Amen.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all have to go from being children to young adults, and this graphic novel follows one boy's transition. The story is told in alternating "reality" and "fantasy" formats, and the illustrations change to reflect it. As someone who played "Army" growing up, I could relate to the main character, as will many boys.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming of age story about boys who have a lot of space in the woods to play "army" who encounter a homeless guy and this changes the game a bit... sort of aimless, as kids sort of drift toward adulthood, no big revelations, but I liked how it provoked me to recall my days of running around Dickinson street and the field behind our houses, making tree houses, playing football, baseball, etc.

[Lars Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up, finding your own identity, dealing with learning differences, boys' delight in playing army games, the pleasure of war comics, and recognizing the humanity in others are just some of the matters covered in this slim little graphic novel.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A graphic novel about a boy that has switched schools and doesn't seem to fit in; All he wants to do is play army, but he learns a lesson in the end. I thought the illustrations were interesting, but the story was lacking a little bit of substance.

[Francis S. Poesy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the overall concept was good and I liked the idea of moving from the reality view of boys playing Army to the fantasy view of "real" soldiers, but the overall execution, both artwork and story, left a lot to be desired.

[Micah Siegmund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty straightforward coming of age story, about a boy who loves playing army games in the woods with his friends and doesn't apply himself in school. The "ah-ha" moment lacks impact though. Still a fairly enjoyable read.

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

2007 Cybils Nominee

[LibraryLaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this graphic novel is too old for our Mitten audience.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple coming-of-age slice-of-life sort of graphic tale. I was waiting for something creepy to happen but it didn't which was just as well.

[Amanda Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustration. Boys play army in the woods. Has a nice little parable.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wrapped up in a fantasy world of drawing army comics and playing war in the woods, Dean runs into someone on the fringe of society in his small town.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coming of age graphic novel about kids experiencing something very real and adult and interpreting it in the only way kids know how.

[Max]

it was ok

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best art, but the story was a nice recounting of the author's childhood.