I Can Count To Ten Review

 

I Can Count To Ten Review

Writer, Artist, Colorist, Letterer & Cover Artist: Roman Dirge

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $19.99

Release Date: October 9, 2024

 

Math ranks among the most essential skills a child can learn. Yet even into our teen years and adulthood, many struggle with basic math. Thankfully, we are never too old to learn! Would you like to learn to count to ten? Can the tiny Boofles help us master this essential skill? Let’s grab our slide rules, leap into I Can Count To Ten, and find out!

 

Story

One by one, the Boofles take the stage. The Boofles are friendly, kind, and eager to help you learn. The problem creeps into the pages with the fourth entrant. He is not a Boofle. Worse, he's a hairy, four-eyed purple Boofle-eater. (And no, I'm not suggesting he wears glasses. He has four eyes!). The monster isn't necessarily evil, but he is hungry. And with no fruits or vegetables in sight, he chooses the Boofles to sate his appetite. Once the killing begins, the Boofles’ sense of camaraderie diminishes amid the fight to survive. Thankfully, their battle does not go unobserved.

 

As Roman Dirge showcases the Boofles' encounter with the monster, he devotes equal time to the numbers. They introduce each Boofle, or at least they try to. The numbers may not have the starring roles in I Can Count To Ten, but they take the stage like somewhat noteworthy people announcing the contestants at an awards show. The procession breaks down when the monster starts slaughtering Boofles. Number Four makes an emergency call. Number Five tells his family he must stay longer at work. Like the Boofles, the numbers have their own lives. At least, they do for now, provided the police arrive quickly.

 

As Roman Dirge announces in his introduction, I Can Count To Ten is not a children’s book. It’s the arithmetic-based picture book Monty Python never published, with ample doses of Sci-fi horror and humor. (It does feature a rabbit, but not an unladen swallow). If your chief concern is mastering essential math skills, you should probably opt for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels instead. But if you are hungry for wacky fun with references to violence, adult situations, and gore, check out I Can Count To Ten.

 

And please, don't eat the Boofles.

 

Art

The numbers are purple with lavender outlines. Their yellow eyes shine, and they smile as animals gather near them. But the puppy runs away when the monster starts eating the bean-shaped Boofles. The numbers frown and grimace as the hairy four-eyed monster with batwings for ears grabs the lively legumes with little feet and devours them. (And no, I'm not saying the monster wears glasses.) Scarlet covers the monster's fangs and spills from the partially devoured Boofles in the foreground while a pink haze fills the white background in I Can Count To Ten. At least until the alien baby appears and yellow smoke fills the air. Still, the police arrive by then. The officer is the Number 5 "oh" and is determined to book the evildoer, even if his name isn’t Danno.

 

Amid the murder and mayhem, Roman Dirge fills white dialogue balloons with generous-sized black letters. The numbers and the Boofles’ conversations draw you in, while the hairy, four-eyed purple monster’s silence conjures an air of mystery. (And no, I'm not saying the monster wears glasses. Did I mention that before?) Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

People battle bureaucratic systems, alcoholism, and the right to bear arms against the monsters that threaten them in the humorous, violent, and not-safe-for-children book I Can Count To Ten.

 

Rating 10/10

 

To preview interior art, see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.