Paul Pope is quite the name in comics. As a relative newcomer myself, Battling Boy was the first I had heard of him, but I know his reputation for high-quality comic storytelling.

In this graphic novel for kids, the first in a projected series, Pope first introduces us to Haggard West, hero of the town of Arcopolis. He’s fighting one of the monsters that have been taking over the town, and he seems to be winning, as he always does…until he’s not. In fact, the monster kills him. Haggard West is dead.

The town is distraught. Who will hold back the tide of monstrous creatures? West’s daughter, still a child, thinks she’s the natural successor.

Meanwhile, the godlike Battling Boy is living in his home above the clouds, with his godlike father and his godlike friends. His father announces that it’s time for Battling Boy to go rambling, a rite of passage for their culture. This means Battling Boy is sent to a part of the mortal world where he will test himself against whatever plagues the people – and he’s sent to Arcopolis.

Things start out rough for Battling Boy, and they don’t get any better in his first battle. Except…a series of events fools the citizens into thinking he is a full-fledged hero with the power of gods, when really, he’s only a hero in training, and not a great one at that. He tries to keep up appearances with the help of a set of t-shirts with images of animals on them, which give him powers based on the animals’ strengths. Will Battling Boy be able to save the town, even though he’s basically an impostor hero? (Hint: you don’t actually find out in this volume.)

This title has been getting a huge marketing push from First Second, and it’s getting a lot of early critical acclaim as well. I felt pretty tepid toward it, though. Mostly, I was frustrated there was so much beginning here. It never seemed to advance beyond exposition, despite the frenetic action. There’s a certain plot point near the end that I felt could have happened much earlier and propelled the story further along in this first volume.

I thought the mythology was a bit muddled as well, but I’ve always been more interested than most in backstory. Without more details about Battling Boy and his cultural background, it seems quite generic, perhaps a bit too much like Asgard.

I would have liked to see more of Haggard West’s daughter. She seems interesting; I genuinely want to know more about what it was like to grow up with a superhero (without any supernatural powers) as a father. We get snippets of that upbringing, but she doesn’t get to do much except go to her classes, which include advanced science as well as fighting. Her story doesn’t meet up with Battling Boy’s (though I expect it will in future volumes).

But those are mostly personal complaints. Kids who like the serial nature of comics and are used to waiting several volumes to progress beyond chapter one probably won’t mind that nothing is resolved here. The t-shirt concept is very modern; I can picture kids throwing on their own graphic tees and imagining themselves with super powers based on the images. The art, also done by Pope, fits right in with the traditional comic book aesthetic. It’s actually a bit better than most, I think, with vivid colors and a vibrancy that complements all the action. Kids who love comics will be thrilled with this new superhero and Pope’s modern take on it.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Battling Boy will be available October 8.