All Star, Chapter 1
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
As the summer of 1998 nears, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are racing each other to break the home-run record, Bill Clinton is being questioned about a certain Monica Lewinsky, Semisonic’s “Closing Time” is top of the charts, and Carl Carter is leading the Elizabeth Monarchs of rural Vermont to the state championship his senior year. The world is Carl’s oyster: a full scholarship to the University of Maine awaits, going pro after college isn’t out of the question, and he’s so good he can do whatever he wants—until, that is, he makes one very arrogant mistake. Acclaimed graphic novelist Jesse Lonergan offers readers a thought-provoking exploration of the fleeting highs of success in this engrossing book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In all sports stories, there are only two outcomes: the hero comes through in the ninth or he doesn't. But Lonergan (Flower & Fade, Joe & Azat) has found a twist on the tale of Carl Carter, a high school baseball phenom in tiny, rural Elizabeth, Vt. Set against the 1998 of flawed heroes Mark McGwire and Bill Clinton, Carl's arrogant demeanor and dissolute friendship with bad-side-of-the tracks pal Esden is cruising for a major takedown. Plenty of trite icebergs for Carl's ocean liner are foreshadowed on every page drinking and driving, diving into swimming holes but his big mistake comes is more difficult to anticipate. And his learning moment stems from his awareness of the special place of the athlete rather than his discovery of it. Lonergan's story hits all the right notes of smalltown life and athletic struggle, with loose, energetic, manga-inspired art. The only flaw is that the art is sometimes too loose characters are difficult to tell apart, and cartoony anatomy is sometimes jarring in a story that paints a realistic picture of youthful hubris and redemption.
