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Nnewts #2

The Rise of Herk

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Herk, the lovable Nnewt, is back, and his adventure is just beginning! In this exciting sequel to Escape from the Lizzarks , Herk is happy to have a new family and a new place to call home. But when the Lizzarks make an all-out assault on Amphibopolis using a giant monster, Herk must seek the help of the megasloth to save the city and his adopted family. Meanwhile, Sissy, Herk's sister, discovers the dark truth about their long-lost brother Zerk.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2016

71 people are currently reading
399 people want to read

About the author

Doug TenNapel

54 books504 followers
Doug TenNapel is the Eisner Award winning writer/artist of over sixteen graphic novels. He is published by Image Comics and Scholastic/Graphics.

He's been married for 27 years to the love of his life and has four book-loving kids.

Doug's favorite authors include G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He reads mostly philosophy but tends to get his fiction from audio-books.

His performs live art demonstrations on his Facebook page, and has animated using pixel art for clients like BlueSky software and Electronic Arts. He also regularly posts on his Youtube channel.

Doug tries to write and draw something every day as a discipline that also happens to be a career.

He currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa Chung.
950 reviews319 followers
November 12, 2016
Oh no!!! I thought this was a duology and there was a cliffhanger!!!

In Nnewts: The Rise of Herk, Herk is learning more about his destiny. His power as a magician is growing. On the other side of the "world" Sissy, Herk's sister is being brainwashed by the snake lord. Who should she trust?

Oh the ending!! Anthigar is on to something and is the city safe?!? I don't know and now I have to wait I don't know how long.
Profile Image for Max Aja.
3 reviews
Read
January 7, 2019
This graphic novel was written by Doug TenNapel and is in the fiction genre. This is the second book in the series and it follows Herk moments after he discovers the lost amphibian city. The Wwizark is still looking for him and has sent an army to retrieve him and destroy the city. Herk needs to defend the city with his new found abilities. This book feachers military advancements in armor and creatures on the Llizarks side. I really enjoyed this novel because of its artistic style and use of magic and fictional creatures. A good aspect this book and its sequels have is that it is easy to follow. In other words it doesn’t get to complicated to the point that you have to reread several pages to figure out what is going on. A negative aspect this book unfortunately has is its main character. Herk is the main character but it seems like he is too predictable and stubborn which can be good qualities but the predictability weighs him down. Despite that the book exceeded my expectations being full of action, fight scenes and some surprising plot twists. This was a fun book to read and I would recommend this to anyone that likes fiction.
Profile Image for Christopher.
636 reviews
July 23, 2022
All the great, Christian sensibilities I’ve come to expect from TenAppel, extended into a solid (if occasionally over-complicated), three-part hero’s journey my son loves. One interesting note is that TenNapel is clearly drawing on Christian theology directly (some have called it his “Narnia”); however, the analogy is not direct in some ways that are obvious. For example, his “God” stand-in is more like Zeus in that he is not all-powerful and can be injured. This means at several points, I can’t be sure if he is deviating from Christian theology intentionally or unintentionally. Regardless, this is good stuff and the fact that the analogy is not direct keeps it from being problematic.
Profile Image for Lizze Miller.
200 reviews7 followers
May 18, 2022
Caleb and I are excited to see what happens next.
Profile Image for Adelaide Metzger.
598 reviews16 followers
March 27, 2020
This review covers all three volumes in the trilogy.


Welcome to Doug TenNapel’s own Chronicles of Narnia!

Where Christian allegory is rich within the colorful pages of an epic, childrens’ graphic novel and Biblical references become literal in the sequential art of a genius creative.

This was such an amazing breath of fresh air! Come to think of it, I always feel that way after reading a Doug TenNapel book. From my sister's first discovery of his work with Ghostopolis to getting punched by all the incredible feels and allegory in Creature Tech, I feel satisfied and even enlightened when I finish one of his graphic novels. With beautiful art, unique character design, and a story to rival C.S. Lewis, Nnewts is no disappointment.



For Everyone

Some things to consider for younger children. This trilogy was published through Scholstic’s children’s media publisher Graphix. The company labels these graphic novels for ages 8 - 12, and though there is no blood or gore, there is bloodless skewering and mild dismembering during the action scenes. Some characters like the Wizzark and Lurch after he transforms might be too scary for younger kids depending on their sensitivity level. This comic also doesn't shy away from the reality of death. Very early in volume 1 a character and their family dies--babies included. We see them reuniting in the afterlife. As an adult that caught me off guard and hit me pretty hard, but it's a good thing to talk with kids, and each other, about. As long as parents are aware of that I highly recommend everyone read this trilogy!

Despite how dark each volume gets, TenNapel always includes humor. Sometimes it's spontaneous and weird (little newt messengers breaking the flow of the plot by secretly performing can-can musical numbers beneath the city only to continue with the peril seconds later; an all-powerful evil snake lord stuck in a radish) and other times it's natural to the characters like camaraderie between siblings as they play a prank.

Speaking of characters, the Nnewts cast is full of TenNapel's exceptionally colorful designs and complex layers. Several times a character (main or in the background) will start out believing in either the side of light or the side of darkness and will question their belief. One scene in Volume 1 shows Herk (the Nnewt whose journey we follow) talking to a turtle about how no one is just strictly good or bad. About how sometimes people considered bad do good and those considered good do bad. That theme is carried through all three books seeing villains like the Wizzark giving a justified explanation to why he chooses to follow the Snake Lord and showing how he still wants the siblings he was separated from. From the villains to the background characters to the protagonist, every character feels real and I can't get enough of it.



Story and Allegory

I'm gonna go in really deep with the analysis here, so if you like literacy you can keep reading otherwise you can skip. Also, SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION.

On the surface this trilogy is an epic, good vs. evil, hero's journey following a young, crippled Nnewt named Herk and his battle to save the world. Going in that's all I really expected from this comic with a message on friendship, or something like that.

Dude. These volumes are PACKED to bursting with so much more than what any page description can attempt and I am diving in. This is just stuff I found, but I'm sure there is much more that I missed.

Some things are easy enough to see if one was raised in Sunday school: Herk and his brother being sent down the river is reminiscent of Moses in the book of Exodus, the Snake Lord obviously represents Satan, Orion represents the Holy Trinity, the metaphor of the Lizzark scales separating them from Orion and things that are good is reminiscent of Saul in Acts where he was blinded with scales until he turned his heart to God, and the dessert the Wizzark tells Sissy to eat could represent sin being that dessert tastes good but is bad for you.

Other things I really had to rack my brain to decipher as they aren't exactly explained in the books.


Singing and Beauty

There is a lot of use of singing as a weapon in this comic. Whenever some of the characters face off with an attack from the Snake Lord they sing and he, as well as the darkness that corrupted him, lose their power. One Christ-like figure, Anthigar, uses a type of magic simply described as "beauty" with his singing to help defeat the darkness. Apparently the Snake Lord and his corrupted armies have been threatening the followers of Orion for hundreds of years and it wasn't until Herk's dad--a magician--discovered the "beauty spell" to finally stop the darkness.

Beauty could be seen in many metaphysical ways and not only as a way to describe something pretty we see with our eyes. In this trilogy, I think beauty is the reason for wanting to continue existing. There is beauty in creation, beauty in nature, beauty in love of all variations, beauty in forgiveness, beauty in redemption. This comic asks: Can you see the beauty? Is it in your heart? Or has the ugliness of the world--anger, hatred, deception, mean-spiritedness, violence, selfishness--taken over your heart? Has it taken over your belief? After Anthigar goes into Herk's heart and defeats the corruption there he explains that they have to fight using beauty but it will have no effect "if we forget our beautiful songs, hide the beauty in our hearts out of cowardice before the ugly, then the whole world will fall under the influence of the ugly," (Anthigar, The Battle For Amphibopolis)

Much like worship and praise to God helps connect to the Holy Spirit in Christianity, I think the singing helps the Nnewts connect to the power of beauty. Through song they are able to use magic and defeat evil, returning a corrupted Herk back into a good-hearted Nnewt.


Biblical References

Anthigar's speech , above, about hiding the beauty out of fear harkens to
Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NIV)

In Volume 1 it’s revealed that the Snake Lord stole Herk and his brother’s legs before they were born, taking their gift to keep them from their purposes.
John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (NIV)

Urch, a loyal friend to Herk’s family, is corrupted and transformed into a Lizzark. This allows him to speak to the Snake Lord through his hands. When Herk uses his power to accidentally turn one of Urch’s hands back to normal, Urch is in a constant fluctuation of inner conflict about what is right and what is wrong. He can’t decide between listening to his Lizzark hand or his Nnewt hand.
Matthew 5:30: “...If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that of your whole body.” (ESV)
Even though Jesus was speaking about the church body, TenNapel uses the metaphor in a literal sense. This also encourages the theme of being morally grey and that it is near impossible to avoid sin when born in a sinful world.

TenNapel dedicates a whole chapter in Volume 2 to the idea of temptation and choosing to do what is right even when it is difficult. An elderly Nnewt debates stealing a casserole dish when he finds out a general ordered the same dish and is considered more important than he is. He chooses not to and is blessed for his decision.
1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”(NIV)

Characters also are able to activate magic by saying Anthgiar’s name. When Herk, and others, are in the Nnewts version of Hell they call on Anthigar’s name and are teleported back to safety. At one point, Herk is fully transforming into a snake and Anthigar tells him, “Speak my name and I will fight for you.”
Philipians 2:9-11: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (NIV)


Conclusion

You don’t have to know all of the references or even be a Chrisitan to enjoy this graphic novel trilogy. It has important everyday values anyone can learn from, incredibly crafted, epic fight scenes, laugh out loud moments that help break up the seriousness, and addictively designed characters that my eyes can’t get enough of (I especially love the character design of General Mander, a blue salamander general in armor with the square jaw and serious, half-lidded eyes of a hero).

Ever since I fell in love with the allegory of TenNapel’s Creature Tech I am willing to read anything this man produces from that incredibile brain of his. I mentioned Chronicles of Narnia earlier for a good reason. TenNapel has openly stated his beliefs on social media and his blog, unafraid to let that light shine. He wrote a tear-jerker of a post about his view on death and a commenter on his website compared TenNapel’s statement to C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. As soon as I finished Nnewts I couldn’t agree more. Read Nnewts, read TenNapel’s other works. I promise you will laugh and cry and have an awesome time doing so.


Blog post reference: https://tennapel.wordpress.com/2014/0...

Profile Image for Paula.
825 reviews6 followers
April 5, 2016
This second title of the Nnewts series picks up where “Escape from the Lizzarks” left off. Herk and his sister Sissy are now living in Amphibopolis and think they are safe. But the calm doesn’t last long as Herk must deal with a previously unknown twin brother, Zerk, who may or may not be aligned with the Lizzarks. Then the Lizzarks attack Amphibopolis. Herk enlists the help of the Megasloth and his new friends to repel this latest invasion. This graphic novel is action-and-monster-packed and filled with bold illustrations to keep even reluctant readers engaged and entertained. Of course, it ends on a cliffhanger that will have fans eager for the next installment. A major drawback with this book is that readers really should read Book 1 before attempting this one. The plot and characters will have little meaning and this complicated episode will be hard to follow. Otherwise, it is an excellent addition to graphic collections at all levels.
Profile Image for Nancy Kotkin.
1,405 reviews30 followers
May 22, 2017
Story: 3 stars
Art: 4 stars

This is the second installment of the Nnewts graphic novel series for children, and the sequel to Escape from the Lizzarks. This book is somewhat easier to follow, after reading the first one, but still a bit hazy at times. Ends on one of the worst cliffhangers ever. Full-color art is above average. Not the caliber of Doug TenNapel's other graphic novels, but still an enjoyable read for young graphic novel enthusiasts and action/adventure lovers.
Profile Image for William Stanger.
257 reviews8 followers
January 17, 2018
I read the first book in this graphic novel series a few weeks ago, then discovered this one (book 2) at our library. I needed to know what happened next, so I checked it out. Now I'll need to try and find book 3, which is the final instalment as this one finished on a bit of a cliffhanger too!

This one picks up from where the first one left off and the hero of the story, Herk, who is a Nnewt finds himself far from home, thinking he has found a safe haven. This turns out not to be so and he finds himself in the middle of a battle to save his new home. He also discovers more about his family and finds some hidden magic he never knew he had. Just when it was getting good and looked like it was heading somewhere, it ended!

It's a quick, but exciting read and is well drawn and written. I'm looking forward to finding and reading the concluding book in this series.
Profile Image for Debra.
1,731 reviews
July 8, 2022
Nnewts is a true series since the books end at cliffhangers and it will really be a good plan to read them in order. This is book #2 and is focused on Herk, the adorable Newt from the first story, Escape from the Lizzarks. Herk loves his new family and home in Amphibopolis. He leaves his sister and mother and goes on an adventure to learn about his brother and while away meets a new friend and witnesses a full on attach from the Lizzarks! Herc is responsible, loyal, and very smart and it is impossible to not fall for this character. I was fascinated by how smoothly the speech bubbles and illustrations work together and draw in the reader. I am not a graphic novel fan often, but this is a very good story and I will be adding this series to my two elementary school collections. I believe my upper elementary readers will love it!
1,010 reviews
April 23, 2025
Kids really enjoy this MG graphic novel series (and I suppose it's pretty fun too). Excellent, colorful art. Tons of action and violence with some interesting twists to the plot. Other reviewers have likened this to Narnia, but it's been awhile since I've read it/it must be not immediately analogous so I didn't pick up on it. There is definitely a pretty ultimate Godzilla-like battle in this one though!
Profile Image for Kay.
1,865 reviews14 followers
June 12, 2017
Oh boy. I'm gonna give this a 3 stars (2.5 really), because The Rise of Herk is doing its job as a bridge book by pushing the story forward (and the colors continue to be out of this world), but I really don't understand this world TenNapel has built. No answers yet regarding the convenient magic & no understanding of the world rules.

Moving on quickly to #3.
Profile Image for Justin.
382 reviews
September 7, 2017
I know I'm not the target audience for this book so some of the little joke things were pretty lame and unnecessary. They didn't support the story. It seemed like the author was trying too hard. But regardless I enjoyed the story.
13 reviews1 follower
March 12, 2019
This book was about a little made up village and something came in but they don't know what. Then through the book, they investigate and get in a big fight it resolves and they go back on to there normal lives.
15 reviews1 follower
Read
December 2, 2019
This book was amazing It was just as amazing as the first one. I love the fact that the main villa is actually herks twin brother and Herks Twin brother Zerk just wants his family to be whole again. I would defantly recomed this book if you love fantisys.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
966 reviews2 followers
December 20, 2024
The first quarter of the book had me extremely confused as to who everyone was. (And I had recently read Book 1.) It made the first half seem pretty much pointless.

MPA ratings:
PG-13 for violence
PG for rude humor
Profile Image for Daniel Cooksey.
390 reviews3 followers
September 16, 2017
The revelations of volume 2 deepen this story and it finally has a sense of what it is about and where it is going. Still loud and chaotic but worth mining.
Profile Image for Jack.
332 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2019
The story continues. Very imaginative...
14 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2020
A really good read for a person that loves animal adventures.
1 review
April 18, 2020
this is a great book infant it is a great series please start from book 1 and read till the end it will be fun this is one of my favorite book series i would give it a 100/100.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
March 22, 2021
So fun
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews

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