A promising series kickoff full of off-kilter action and humor. Harrell mixes references to Nerf, Red Bull, and cell phones into his fairy tale setting, which is brought to life in b&w spot illustrations throughout. He follows his grandfather’s advice to use his inherent trollish anger to do good, breaking out of prison and then heading off with his friends, worrywart Kevin Littlepig and unfunny jester-in-training Chester, to try to save the king. After the king is captured by dreaded Snuffweasels and the useless Prince Roquefort (Zarf’s nemesis at school) is put in charge of the kingdom, Zarf quickly winds up in the dungeon. Trolls are already at the bottom of the social ladder, and Zarf’s temper isn’t doing him any favors. Zarf the troll, whose grandfather was famously fooled by the three “billy goats gruff,” narrates his hapless middle-school existence in the medieval-meets-modern town of Cotswin. I feel like Wink has been done for so long, but, in publishing, it’s an interminable wait to get the story in people’s hands.Harrell, who toyed with fantasy conventions in his graphic novel Monster on the Hill, plays around in the world of fairy tales in his entertainingly goofy middle-grade debut. With a comic strip, you write it and it’s in the paper two weeks later. In my wildest dreams, someday I’ll get to write some more. I felt like I had all the tools I needed, so I just jumped in with both feet. I had friends like Stephan Pastis doing Timmy Failure and Michael Fry doing the Odd Squad books and it looked like so much fun. I had always thought of myself as an artist who could write, but I started realizing that I liked the writing as much as the illustrating. It was so hard, and it took so long, but I realized that the part I enjoyed most was the writing. So, that’s why I did Monster on the Hill. I’d had five years of creating stories and punch lines and the art that goes with them, and I had been reading a lot of graphic novels. When we ended my comic strip, Big Top, I scrambled for what to do next. Harrell spoke with PW about the personal nature of his new book, his appreciation for editorial collaboration, and the cartoonists that inspire him.
Rob Harrell has turned to writing prose with Wink, the story of Ross Maloy, a boy navigating middle school and a rare form of eye cancer. Rob Harrell(Goodreads Author) 4.32 Rating details 4,269 ratings 761 reviews A hilarious and heartwrenching story about surviving middle school-and an unthinkable diagnosis-while embracing life's weirdness. Wink is released today, and Publishers Weekly interviews Rob on the occasion. Now, with Wink, Rob is going full on novelist, though he couldn’t resist throwing in a couple illustrations. Rob’s a graphic novelist ( Monster on the Hill) and creator of illustrated young adult books ( Life of Zarf). Rob Harrell began as a cartoonist ( Big Top) and he continues as one ( Adam Home).
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