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Growing Up Enchanted is one of the cute kid fantasy comics that I occasionally find myself reviewing. The only problem with this is... I really don't like kids. At all. Not in person. Not in movies. Not in books. Not in comic books. It's bad enough when they play the role of "cute sidekick", but when they take center stage, it makes me want to spork my eyeballs out.
As such, despite the fact that GUE (as I will henceforth abbreviate it) was co-written and co-drawn by Alex Szewczuk of Sleeping Dragons fame, I really didn't enjoy the comic. It doesn't help that the dialog is pretty bad. Because this comic is clearly geared towards kids, a lot of the dialog between the adults seems dumbed down and unnatural. In some ways, GUE reads like a cross between a family sitcom and a Saturday morning cartoon.
The artwork is still up to par, however. Fans of Szewczuk's work may want to hunt down these issues (it bears noting that the issues I have are from 2002, and the website inside the cover is no longer up, so I don't know if this comic is still being published). The art is a little more cartoonish than in Sleeping Dragons, but not by much. And Bena, the mother in this story, looks an awful lot like Becca from Sleeping Dragons.
This seems like an ideal comic for kids caught up in the current trend towards Young Adult fantasy novels. Because the main characters are all adults or grade-school aged, teenagers probably won't enjoy it much. However, the first story arc deals with issues like making friends with the outcast kids at school, dealing with bullies, and other things that concern younger kids. Like I said, a lot like a cross between a sitcom and a cartoon.
Unfortunately, while some comics can appeal to kids and adults, this one seems to be strictly for the kids. The humor is largely slapstick and potty humor. The dialog, as mentioned before, is pretty bad, and the story isn't that complicated. And the family dog is named Dog, for heaven's sake.
GUE isn't a bad comic, it just really failed to dazzle. Perhaps those less curmudgeonly than myself will enjoy it. At the very least, aside from the fart jokes, it's entirely inoffensive and safe for your kids.
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