Quincredible vol 1 by Rodney Barnes

Vol 1: Quest to be the best, illustrated by Selina Espiritu, Kelly Fitzpatrick

Quin is a sophomore trying to stay out of trouble in New Orleans.  After some of the horrific events of his life, including living through Hurricane Katrina ravage his city, Quin just wants to build the ultimate security system to keep his family safe from as many harms as he can think of. His crush is involved in community activism, and he becomes inspired to help his community. He’s also trying to dodge bullies, mostly so they don’t find out his secret - a meteor shower that ravaged the city after the hurricane gave Quin and many others super powers. Quin is indestructible, at least as far as he knows. A recent spike in crime has Quin working with the other enhanced heroes he’s only ever read about. Quin acts fast to save his neighborhood and his family from the evil machinations of a criminal mastermind.

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Quin is a really sweet kid trying to do what's right by himself, his family, and his community.  He's also still trying to figure out what he truly cares about and who he's willing to stick his neck out for.   The ending of this volume was incredibly rushed. There was such a good amount of time spent building Quin and his interaction with his family, then the storyline wrapped up within three pages. There is definitely things left open for more volumes, so I'll be interested to see where Barnes takes Quin's adventures after this origin story. 

This story is part of a larger event called Catalyst Prime from Oni Press.  There are stories about some of the other enhanced heroes Quin works with, but reading all of those is not pivotal to understanding or enjoying this story.  

Quincredible is rated for grades 7 and up, which seems appropriate.  There is a little bit of violence when the bullies are going after Quin, but the rest of the story is just superhero violence, which includes them using their powers against the bad guys.  There are some deeper themes of social justice, police violence against minorities, and the government's response for Katrina Victims that may fly over the heads of some disconnected readers.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-10

Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Superheroes, Family, Race Relations, CSLA 2021