Book Review: The Lost Carnival
Have you ever been curious about what Robin did before he met Batman? Then I’ve got great news for you, you can find out in The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel by: Michael Moreci and illustrated by: Sas Milledge.
Okay, first off: THAT COVER. This is by far one of the most stunning book covers I have ever laid my eyes on. The illustrations, the colour choices, the Art Deco references. I am completely biased here because the Art Deco movement is one my favourite artistic movements of all time so I’m naturally drawn to anything with an Art Deco reference. I’ll be honest, I 100% requested an ARC of this book because of the cover. (I don’t think I’ll ever get over this cover but I’ll stop talking about it now to save you any further reading about me gushing over it.)
It wasn’t until after I received an e-arc that I realized what the graphic novel was about and then I got even more excited. We always here about Batman but we don;t get as much Robin content. I’m partial to a side character, there’s something so fascinating about them and it’s probably because they’re not the main character. Also, I always thought Robin was just cooler than Batman.
So, what is The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel? Well, simply put it’s the story of young Dick Grayson who is a trapeze artist travelling with the circus and his famous trapeze parents. One day a carnival posts up next to the circus and Dick, being the curious and rebellious teenager he is, goes and checks it out. While there he falls for a young magician and stumbles upon a mystery surrounding the carnival.
I’ll be honest, I had some trouble getting into the story at first. I’d say it took me about 20 or so pages before I started to feel invested. But while the beginning of the story may have been slow the rest of it was anything but. Once things started to pick I was hooked and I read it through in one shot. I think the mystery element was great, there was a plot twist I didn’t see coming, and I adored the romance that developed in the story. Dick Grayson is such a wholesome character. He’s flawed, funny, and solid friend and I really appreciated him not being perfect.
The art style in this graphic novel is one of my favourites that I’ve encountered, and you can see some sample pages down below. The idea to keep the graphic novel in monochromes and to switch between cool and warm tones was fantastic! It made differentiating between the circus and the carnival really simple and I think it really added to the overall effect of giving this graphic novel and old time feel.
Overall, I gave this graphic novel 4 stars. I think it was a really good introductory story into Dick Grayson’s life before he becomes Robin. I’m really intrigued to see where this series goes in the future and I want more!
The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel comes out May 5, 2020
xoxo Juju
Again, a big thank you to NetGalley and DC Entertainment for providing me a digital ARC of "Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel" in exchange for an honest review.
