"While Mildred struggles with her feelings for Lee, a bad boy she met in detention, Sonny is intrigued by the mysterious new girl in school, despite his reluctance to move fully into adolescence. Mildred's troubles are compounded by Lee's still-current girlfriend, from whom he is unable to break away, and by
Mildred's friends, Lottie and Shauna, who are full of unhelpful advice.
Meanwhile, the usual problems of school and family cause their own stresses for the teens. As in the other volumes of the popular webcomic series, Allison seamlessly blends realistic teenagers, full of both silliness and angst, and fantastic events, in this case, Sonny's crush, which has a strange connection to both a fur pelt Lottie found on the seashore and a weird, hairy man who has been seen in town. Allison's bright colors perfectly highlight his expressive art,
with each character having his or her distinct personality. The result is a charmingly odd story that will appeal to both teens and adults." -
Booklist
"Six classmates find themselves at odds over the football stadium in their town of Tackleford, England. The girls are worried about an old lady who is about to lose her home to the stadium upgrade, whereas the boys are more worried about the curse plaguing the owner. But those issues are hard to handle when the kids are also trying to navigate their way through their first year at grammar school. This volume kicks off Allison's popular webcomic, which is itself a spin-off from his older webcomic Scary Go Round. Likely owing to its serial origins and its prequel nature, the story can be choppy, switches abruptly between slice-of-life and story arc, and sometimes seems to leave things out.
But fans of the online strip and its predecessor, as well as teens and adults who like a bit of smart snark and sass, will appreciate Allison's unique humor and offbeat story as well as the Kate Beaton-like (though full-color) art." -
Snow Wildsmith, Booklist
"Allison's art conveys the energy of the story well, with very expressive characters and vibrant line work and colors that is effective in both the fun and serious aspects of the story. Suitable for middle school readers and above, The Case of the Fire Inside offers a fun, mythological mystery while aptly capturing the heady feeling for first love - and first heartbreak." -
Diamond Bookshelf
FOREWARD REVIEWS -- John Allison's acclaimed Bad Machinery series of graphic novels continues with The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor. The book follows Allison's six early-teen protagonists as they search for a new mystery to solve in their native town of Tackleford, England. The hoped-for mystery soon presents itself in the form of a "night creeper" who terrorizes Tackleford,
leaving his victims with a strange, absent smile on their faces. With suspicions cast on the new boyfriends of one character's mother and sister, the kids team up with a local reporter to discover the truth. The Case of the Unwelcome
Visitor offers a delicately balanced blend of the natural and supernatural, and
Allison keeps a light, refreshing tone via humor, even as the mystery deepens;
middle schoolers in particular will appreciate scenes like Charlotte convincing her mom she needs a girls' outing to go bra shopping, hiding Charlotte's true intention of meeting up with her fellow mystery solvers. The complex, intense emotions that accompany early adolescence are often handled playfully, but always sympathetically. There are no simple stereotypes, and Allison's writing and art benefit from a natural, easy flow, being the product of one mind that does both equally well. By spreading the focus across his large stable of characters, Allison has not only kept this sixth volume in the series from seizing up and stalling, he's got it running smoothly on all gears.
"In the conversation about young superheroes, John Allison should be right up in there with the very best writers and artists that comics has to offer. I
think I've recommended every volume of Bad Machinery as part of 'Best Comics
Ever' thus far, but there's a dashed good reason - it's a blinding good comic.
Six schoolchildren somehow fall into parts of a mystery in each volume,
bickerin' and banterin' it fierce before eventually somehow winding things up together and solving the problem - which sometimes turns out to have been
'ghosts'. In volume 4, we get to see a new boy come to school, who seems a bit lonely, a bit weird, but who one day becomes everybody's best friend. Only one of Allison's hexad see through this veil: Shauna, the one with the most common-sense and conscience in her head. But really, the mysteries in Bad
Machinery take a firm second place to the more interesting part of any Hardy
Boys or Nancy Drew-style story: the characters. These are such fun, recognisable characters, who feel like kids, act like kids, make mistakes like kids and then solve supernatural mysteries. Er... like kids. Give his site a look, and see how quickly the whole thing wins you over." - Comics Alliance
"In this third installment of the series, Allison brings the wit and charm of his British webcomics to fans in the U.S. Readers follow the group of young teens and their attempt to unravel mysteries in their town of Tackleford. Tire book trails various story lines, such as the boys trying to solve arson incidents and the girls endeavouring to "clean up" a troll they found under a bridge. Although the mysterysolving aspect isn't solid, what stands out in this work is the authentic dialogue, characters' constant questioning, and the protagonists' experiences as "new" teenagers. Allison addresses how they are coping with physical and emotional changes, balancing friendships, and romantic relationships in a humorous way. However, the relegation of conversations about love and romance conversations to the girls' narrative and the mystery-solving adventures to the boys' section makes this work in some instances feel too gendered. Tire comicstrip look and layout are solid and along with the vivid illustrations and bold colors enhance the appeal of the series. VERDICT A good,
humorous addition to school and public libraries' graphic novel collections." -
Sujei Lugo, Boston Public Library, MA, School Library Journal
