Donut the Destroyer by Sarah Graley and Stef Purenins
Scholastics Graphix, 2020, 192 pages
About the Creator: “Stef Purenins is a comic writer, letterer, designer, and color assistant who lives in Birmingham, UK, with four cats and his partner Sarah! He co-writes Our Super Adventure, and he also letters and color assists some of her other comics too!” (Bio is taken from novel’s back cover.)
About the Creator: “Sarah Graley is a cartoonist who lives in Birmingham UK, with four cats and her partner Stef! She’s the creator of books like Glitch, Kim Reaper, and her long-running diary comic Our Super Adventure. She was the Artist on the first official Minecraft graphic novel, and the writer and artist on the Diamond Gem Award-nominated Rick and Morty comics miniseries Lil’ Poopy Superstar.” (Bio is taken from novel’s back cover.)
Instagram: @sarahgraley
Website: https://www.sarahgraley.com/
Donut the Destroyer follows the story of a teen who has super strength and wants to be a hero in a world populated by people with powers. Donut’s parents, who also have powers, were villains who use their powers to cause havoc and destruction. Between her parent’s past and her old friend Ivy, Donut has to struggle to prove herself a hero at Lionheart School for Heroes.
Donut the Destroyer is a delightful book jammed packed with clever characters and delightful set pieces. The art in Donut the Destroyer is fun and bright with little details sure to give everyone a smile. Donut signs her name with a donut in lieu of the “o” and it’s the small concepts such as these that bring the book character. .Then you have her friend’s Artie and Martha who bring enjoyment and fun to the book like when Artie freaks out when meeting Donut’s parents and Martha’s tension-filled facial expression while invisibly messing with things simply create dynamic and expressive characters that graphic novels thrive on. Donut’s parents are just as charming but in an antagonistic kind of way. They know Donut wants to be a hero and tease her with their mild-evil acts like summoning demons and playfully messing with her friends. While it’s ambiguous in the beginning by the end of the story we know how much Donut’s parents love her and respect her decisions, even if they wanted her to follow them in the path of Villainy. The conflict between these worlds and the growth that comes from it for Donut and the rest of the cast leave you with a really entertaining story and I would definitely recommend reading it as soon as possible!
PRR Writer, Jon Kresal