Graphic Novel Review: Cosmic Cadets: Contact by Ben Crane and Mimi Alves

Posted on July 6, 2023 at 6:30 am by Gene Ambaum

Cosmic Cadets: Contact by Ben Crane and Mimi Alves. Top Shelf, 2023. 9781603095204.

Jimmil’s mom is the Captain of the Khonsu, a starship on a diplomatic mission to establish contact with alien races, and she’s training him to be a hero. But while their ship is resupplying on an uninhabited planet, Jimmil is more excited about studying the local flora with his class than in training with his mom. After he discovers evidence there may be intelligent life on the planet that everyone else has missed, he convinces a few of his friends to head back to the surface to find the aliens and impress his mother. Jimmil is not quite the pilot he believes himself to be, but at least the aliens are more friendly than they initially appear. As he and his friends try to convince his mother and the rest of the adults that that’s true, the book has a lot to say about friendship, friendliness, and good intentions.

This book has a nice indy-comics feel, and I particularly liked Priscilla Tramontano’s bright colors for the alien flora and fauna. Older elementary school and middle school students in particular will enjoy this one.