Kyle Starks invites you to a KARATE PROM

Karate Prom

Writer and Artist: Kyle Starks
Colorist: Chris Schweizer with assists from Liz Trice Schweizer
Publisher: FirstSecond
Publication Date: May 2024

Karate Prom chronicles the budding relationship between karate rivals Don “TheDragonWilson” Jones and Sam Steadman as the couple must stand up against crappy exes, mercenaries, ninjas, and even an international crime family.

Kyle Starks delivers a story that is funny, action packed, and heartfelt. The comic bobs and weaves between moments of sincerity, such as quiet beats where Don and Sam talk about their lives, to moments of absurdity, such as an army of mercenaries descending on the prom bee cause of a jerk ex-boyfriend. The pacing in the comic is brisk and moves through each chapter swiftly as we see them go through the bumps of a nascent relationship. We see Don and Sam fall in love, struggle with trust, and even break up.

There is great attention paid to the characterization of the cast, and we are not talking only characters like Don and Sam, but even minor characters like Punchman—The mercenary that likes to punch and wants to graduate high school. Don is the primary protagonist of the story, and he gets the lion’s share of the emotional moments. His resilience and determination are inspiring. I found myself rooting for him from the onset from just his sheer passion and tenacity.

Sam gets her moments too as she is no damsel in distress as some books of this nature may attempt. She is very much her own character and has moments that will have you cheering.

Starks creates a cast that feels fully developed and well rounded. There are hints to past stories and events that felt so lived in, that I had to go check to see if there weren’t other books with these characters. It is impressive what Starks is able to do here.

Starks’ humor is top notch throughout the book mixing silly jokes, sight gags, and puns into one delightful concoction. The jokes play towards the target audience of young adults with wink and nods to more high school…experiences, but it never goes into the ribald. One of my favorite gags is when one of the primary mercenaries refuses to fight the heroes even though it will cost him the money he was going to use to take his wife on a beach resort vacation. Instead, she will have to settle for a Gatlinburg, Tennessee vacation. As a northeast Tennessean, that joke hit particularly hard and had me rolling.

Starks’ art is just as energetic as the writing. Starks uses a style that favors dynamic action over traditional anatomy. It is cartoony but don’t take that as a slight. It is through this style that Starks can express all the emotion and humor alongside the storytelling. The body language is clear and concise. It is through the simpler character designs that he can invoke so much emotion and comedic heft.

The action sequences are the centerpiece to Karate Prom, as one would imagine, and that’s where Starks’ kinetic style works wonders. The way he illustrates the brawls has the power of a grade school notebook. It looks rad as hell and just a delight to follow. 

The variety in fighting styles is nice to see here as well as we see the more trained fighting styles of Don and Sam but the more unconventional styles of other fighters such as Punchman. I know I keep coming back this big lug but he really is the star of the comic for me. He is just a dude that loves to punch things and his epilogue at the end of the comic was equally wonderful.

Chris Schweizer and Liz Trice Schweizer are frequent collaborators of Starks and it shows as they each complement each other so well. First example is the coloring technique.  I really enjoyed the cel-shaded technique that is used in this book.  With an art style that emphasizes simplicity and energy over detail, it is critical for the cel-shading to give the figure the form. Second example of the complementary nature of their work is the Schweizers’ color palate as it fits the tone of story moments as the book shifts to emotional tones. For example, the prom scene is draped in purple hues that is accented with pops of yellow to convey the action on the page. Additionally, subtle blushing and other visual cues can be found throughout in this book as the Schweizers work in unison with Starks writing and art.

Overall, I found Karate Prom to be a delightful graphic novel that is full of action and romance. It features a strong cast of characters that you will come to love by the end of the story. Starks is an immensely talented artist and craftsman. He is able to make the most ridiculous premise have some of the most heartfelt, tender moments. On top of all the emotional energy, Karate Prom looks great with the colors by the Schweizers to give this book a premium feel. I highly recommend checking out Karate Prom if you haven’t already. It is well worth the read.

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