Mouse Guard, Volume 1: Fall 1152

by David Petersen, David Petersen (Illustrator)

Overview

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard’s own ranks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781932386578
Publisher:	Archaia
Publication date:	07/21/2009
Series:	Mouse Guard Series , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	154,362
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	11 - 13 Years

About the Author

David Petersen was born in 1977. His artistic career soon followed. A steady diet of cartoons, comics and tree climbing fed his imagination and is what still inspires his work today. David was the 2007 Russ Manning Award recipient for Most Promising Newcomer, and in 2008 won Eisner Awards for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 & Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album – Reprint (Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 Hardcover). He received his BFA in Printmaking from Eastern Michigan University where he met his wife Julia. They continue to reside in Michigan with their dog Autumn

Editorial Reviews

First-time graphic novelist Petersen scores right away with this anthropomorphic medieval fantasy. After the war with the weasels, the Mouse Guard, headquartered at the fortress of Lockhaven, turned their energies to protecting travelers from predators in between the mice's hidden villages. When three of the Guard-Lieam, Kenzie, and the brash, young Saxon-are sent to find a missing rice merchant, they uncover a plot to overthrow Lockhaven's mistress, Gwendolyn, and replace the aid and support she provides to the villages with tyranny. Worse, they discover that rebellion's leader is himself a Guard member. The key to victory or defeat for the Guard rests in the legend of an ancient mouse hero, the Black Axe. Petersen's characterizations could be more fleshed out, but his world-building is impressive. His greatest strength is his gritty, gorgeously colored renderings of local flora and the animals themselves, including a fearsome snake and attacking crabs. His mice can be considered cute, but they're fierce warriors. Some blood in the battle scenes will keep this out of the hands of the youngest children, but audiences ages ten to adult will likely be drawn in and eagerly await future volumes. Recommended for all collections.
—S.R.

Library Journal