Herobear and the Kid: Inheritance #1
Written and Illustrated by Mike Kunkel
Herobear and the Kid: Inheritance is the story about a boy, Tyler, dealing with the loss of his grandfather, while having to make new friends at a new school. As the title suggest, Tyler receives an inheritance from his grandfather, a pocket watch and a stuffed bear. Both are items the average ten year old doesn’t want to get stuck being seen with. Tyler just wants to fit in and not get bullied at his new school, but when his sister brings the stuffed bear to school for him, things take a turn.
Kunkel has created an excellent introduction into the world of Herobear with an experience that many children and adults can relate to: the dreaded first day of school. Whether it’s a new school or just a new school year, there is always that feeling of anticipation and twisted nerves in your gut on the first day. With school starting up for so many children right now, the timing of Herobear‘s release could not come at a better time.
Herobear and the Kid transports us to a world of innocence with the charm and imagination only children know. In fact, Tyler’s imagination and daydreaming may end up getting the better of him. I remember daydreaming about holding hands with the pretty girl in class, and then not realizing the teacher is asking us to answer a question.
The style of art that Kunkel brings to the story helps to capture that style of Sunday funnies papers, and the sketches we did as children. The art is done entirely in pencils with no inks, but the final look is gorgeous. I found myself heading down to my parents basement to find some of my old sketches after reading Herobear for the first time.
Even though our emotions can be stirred to create those nostalgic feelings of yesteryears, Herobear and the Kid: Inheritance is a comic for grade school kids. Anyone can enjoy and appreciate it, but it speaks to kids on a direct level. They are the ones that can immediately relate and translate the problems Tyler is facing to their own lives. As an adult we can remember fawning over a classmate. For a child this can be an emotional rollercoaster, and can be quite terrifying. Tyler represents the everykid, and allows them to see their own trepidations and everyday life in him.
The Verdict
If you have a child that wants to get into comics then this is a series worth picking up. For adults looking for a nostalgic journey, this is something to check out. Herobear and the Kid: Inheritance is a reprint of the original run of the book, so if you already have those from years back, don’t feel the need to rush out and pick this up. There are however some additional pages at the end of each issue that will tie this series in with the Herobear and the Kid Special from a few months back and with a separate upcoming series.
