Stop That Penguin HC Review

 

Writer: Annie Auerbach

Artist & Colorist: Kyle Beckett

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $14.99

Release Date: January 29, 2025

 

Considering a visit to the North Pole? Yanni the Yeti wants to show you what makes Santa's village great. You can't go wrong by booking a tour with Yanni. Or can you? Let's grab a thermos of hot cocoa, leap into Stop That Penguin HC, and find out!

 

Story

Yanni may be new to this tour guide lark. Still, he carries an official flag. What could be easier than showing off all the places that make Santa's community sparkle? Yanni dazzles his guests with a visit to Reindeer School. The children see young reindeer training in the athletic feats they must master to pull Santa's sleigh. Yanni can't remember Robbie, but he drops enough familiar names to remind children of the importance of physical education.

 

In Stop That Penguin HC, Yanni’s next stop is the Observatory. The Yeti leads his charges up steps inside a tower to join the elf at one of the telescopes. The astronomy elves track Santa so he doesn't get lost during his around-the-world jaunts. Another stop is Santa's workshop, where the elves oversee an automated assembly line. These elves have studied robotics. They programmed the toy-making robots to ensure everyone on Santa's Nice List gets a Tickle Me Elmo, Turbo Man action figure, or whatever hot new toy the good kiddies want.

 

While Annie Auerbach teaches children the importance of physical education and science, she throws her Yeti a curveball. Yanni doesn’t realize that penguins reside at the North Pole. One accompanies Yanni on the tour. But then the penguin gets impatient and captures Yanni's flag. The penguin leads the children to places Yanni would fear to tread, such as Santa's Study. Yanni discovers that more tuxedoed Happy Feet have immigrated from Antarctica to help the elves up north. In Stop The Penguin HC, Yanni realizes he has lost control. He must recapture the flag, or people will start booking penguin-guided tours instead!

 

Art

Kyle Beckett shows the elves putting young reindeer through their paces. The elves carry clipboards, move hurdles on the track, and struggle to ground a novice flyer. Giant radar dishes surround the towers rising from the snow while an elf at ground level studies a computer monitor. Then, Yanni leads the children to the Snowman Mountain Ice Hotel. Unlike Gustav Graves' ice palace in Die Another Day, drones bring steaming mugs of cocoa to the guests.

 

Amid the cats, dogs, birds, and elves at the North Pole, Yanni is the most appealing character in Stop The Penguin HC. His blue fur evokes a Christmas tree. His large eyes and expressions indicate how much Yanni enjoys leading tours and fears losing his job.

 

Kyle Beckett paints his whimsical characters and buildings with bright and attractive colors. The colorful faces suggest that everyone is welcome in Santa's country. Orange and yellow fill the sky over the immense red Cookie Factory. Perhaps it is the source of the Northern Lights? Cutaways reveal a blue interior filled with talented elves and penguin immigrants. Trains deliver cookies, biscuits, and milk to the workers.

 

Large, bold, lowercase black letters show Yanni's dialogue, while words swell and change color for intonation or volume. White or colored uppercase letters introduce each new location or building. The lettering appears in colored backgrounds or white space between vignettes. When Yanni finally makes his play, the Yeti speaks large uppercase red letters into a dialogue balloon. A yellow-and-pink effect helps us hear his desperate attempt to reclaim his flag. Thanks to Dynamite for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When Yanni leads a tour of the North Pole, a black-and-white miscreant takes over the Yeti's job. Stop That Penguin HC reveals the importance of school and sports and how immigration and diversity make the North Pole one of the most wondrous places on Earth.

 

Rating 9.4/10 

 

This review originally published at Comic Book Dispatch.