Nothing exceptional. There are some interesting ideas and characterizations, but there just isn't enough time to develop them or really understand and empathize with the characters. I totally understand Teddy's desire to be a superhero, and even can see the leap of logic he makes to infuse Plutona's blood, but it was just really suddenly dropped in there and left. At the end it starts to maybe be interesting (Plutona mentions that her powers make her lose her temper, and Teddy starts to become angrier and irrational) but there's no further exploration. The relationships between the characters is very real and true-to-life but that only goes so far, and they are a little cliche. The art and coloring are very well done (I want all of Mie's clothes). The ending hits hard but left me unsatisfied also, visually, I don't understand how Teddy ended up getting stabbed, and I wish I'd gotten a panel of his dad's reaction. ( )

Arrgh. Disappointing. I think this would've been much better as an actual graphic novel for kids, dialing down the mean spirited-ness and bleakness and upped the heart. Lemire is a great storyteller but he's off his game with this one. ( )

I was really enjoying this until the end when it just up and ended. It just cuts off and boom it’s over, and it leaves such an unsatisfied feeling.

The story is very character driven but it moves at such a quick pace that you can’t really fully connect with any one of the kids, there is so much that could have been explored that wasn’t. The plot around Plutona was very bland and because it never really fully develops it just makes it seem boring. The final chapter was super good, it was dark and started getting intense and really pulled me in, and then, it was over.

The end left me with more questions and yearnings then anything and it just feels incomplete and unfinished, which bothers the heck out of me. ( )

okay this was kinda messed up ( )

In a world where superheroes exist and have become the talk of gossipy tabloids, five children stumble upon the corpse of Plutona, a beloved and powerful superhero who has apparently been defeated by her nemesis, White Wasp. Teddy, the superhero obsessed outcast, is crestfallen at the death of his hero. The others are more confused on what to do with the body of a superhero who was the only person standing between them and the city's destruction by supervillains. When Teddy hatches a plan, it can lead to a tragic conclusion for the group.

Plutona is a character-driven story; it's no coincidence that many of the scenes take place while they're at home. Teddy is a lonely boy whose attention has turned to "cape-spotting", where he blogs about the sightings of superheroes throughout the city. His father tries to help his son as best he can, but the implication is that he is a single father who does not always have the time to dedicate to his son; in one scene, the picture of a woman holding a smiling baby Teddy contrasts with the bleak silence of father and son eating together. His desperation to be something more than a bullied, quiet boy who feels insignificant is palpable and relatable.

Ray is the stereotypical eighties tough guy: living with an alcoholic, and implied abusive, dad, who turns his anger on the others around him. He mercilessly taunts Teddy, calling him by his rude nickname "Tugger", and calls Diane "chubs". He has a soft spot for Mie, and occasionally his scenes show him genuinely upset by the dead body they discover.

Diane is also lonely, teased because of her weight, but desperate to be cool and friendly. Mie and she have a tense relationship, with Mie pulling away from Diane at the chance of becoming closer to Ray, and Mike is the silent shadow that follows them all.

As a coming-of-age story, Plutona works very well. Despite what the book's summary says, this group of five are not friends. They are thrown into an unbelievable situation together and, again in the spirit of eighties movies, come together because they share this secret. The depiction of give-and-take of friendship, of not-quite-friends, but not-quite-enemies either, and the shocked desperation of their actions is crystal perfect, in a way that so few adult writers can pull off.

And yet.

The story felt incomplete. The beginning and middle were pitch-perfect, evoking childhood nostalgia and a grim mystery at the same time, but the conclusion had all the marks of being resolved, with none of the satisfaction. In recent years, it seems to have become more popular to ignore the denouement of a story, instead focusing on the climax and perhaps having an artistic, cryptic scene before fading to black. And yet, the denouement is what gives the story the closure it needs, not the climax.

We certainly have a surprising, tragic climax, and we definitely have the artsy, cryptic scene, but I was left with questions: what happened next? Ending on an ambiguous note can work, but only if the reader doesn't feel cheated, which was unfortunately not the case with Plutona.

Adding to the rushed feeling were several inconsistencies that cast a sloppy pall over the work. In one scene, Teddy angrily tells Ray to stop calling him Tugger, a crude reference to an unfortunate indiscretion, and that he hasn't been called that since "sixth grade", but later, Ray says that the event which the nickname came from happened in "seventh grade". In earlier panes, the nemesis of Plutona is identified - twice - as Killer Wasp, but the ending has them using White Wasp exclusively.

The world-building is superb. I love the idea of superheroes becoming celebrities and being tabloid fodder. The casual way they throw in references, without overdoing the exposition, is brilliant. The artwork is also beautiful, the color palette moving slowly from bright yellows to harsh blues toward the end. Unfortunately, with a plot that had so much potential, the ending just felt flat. Worth a look, maybe, but not a keeper. ( )