Wallace the Brave, Snug Harbor Stories, and Wicked Epic Adventures by Will Henry

 

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

 

Wallace is a young boy with an adventurous spirit and a very active imagination.  Accompanied by his anxious best friend, Spud, and the new girl in town, Amelia, Wallace sets off throughout Snug Harbor in search of adventures, mysteries, and mischief.  Along the way, readers will meet his green-thumb wielding, surf-loving mom, his fisherman father, his half-feral younger brother, Sterling, and a whole cast of characters with quirks all their own.

I originally stumbled across Wallace the Brave online.  It was part of an ongoing serialized comic—in fact, author Will Henry continues to update the comic regularly at https://www.gocomics.com/wallace-the-brave/about—and, as I continued to prowl through the different comic strips, I quickly fell in love with Henry’s work.  Colorful, wacky, sweet, wholesome, and just plain funny—these comics are a mixture of humor and heart that reminds me strongly of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, but set in a tiny coastal town in Rhode Island.

So, of course, I had to go out and buy myself a copy of Wallace the Brave for my shelf—quickly followed by Snug Harbor Stories and Wicked Epic Adventures (because I’m a completionist and, also, because I just loved reading the comic strips).  I was so glad I had the chance to continue following Wallace’s adventures as he imagined new sea monsters with Spud, wandered through the woods with his friends, and, in general, spent his days being an energetic kid with an overactive imagination, a loving family, and an odd little brother.

 One of my favorite aspects of Wallace the Brave is actually the characters.  I enjoy the art and I enjoy the stories, but, most of all, I love the weird and wonderful characters that populate the entire town of Snug Harbor.  I like Wallace with his bountiful optimism and imagination—and his hatred of shoes; I like Amelia with her smart mouth and tendency to stir up trouble; I like Spud with his love of cheese, his hatred of vegetables, and his fear of monsters and catastrophes.  I particularly like Wallace’s parents:  Mrs. McClellan is an avid gardener, a lover of comic books, and a talented surfer; Mr. McClellan is a fisherman and a perennial jokester.

 Altogether, I just really enjoy the dynamic between the characters and I loved their individual personalities—how they meshed and, occasionally, conflicted to create weird situations, amazing adventures, and downright funny episodes.  It’s always such a fun trip with Wallace and his friends, and I can’t wait to read more by Will Henry.