Gladstones School For World Conquerors #1: REVIEW
Gladstone’s School For World Conquerors #1
Written by: Mark Andrew Smith
Artwork by: Armand Villavert, Carlos Carrasco
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: May 04, 2011
List Price: $2.99
Rating: 
Gladstone’s School For World Conquerors #1
A simple and fun concept like a training school for future villains can usually be played as a case study in youth gone wrong and depravity. However, in the case of Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors this premise is spun into an all ages affair that not only is fun for the young ones but a satisfying read for the more jaded comic reader who is long in the tooth.
Writer Mark Andrew Smith crafts a lively and energetic story that is both entertaining and refreshingly self aware. This is a comic that is well aware of its nature. Therefore, in gags and references to comic book tropes abound. While many of the laughs come from sources that are certainly not new to the world of comics, with a plentiful helping of early teenage animation thrown in the mix, they are packaged so well that they are undoubtedly amusing despite the occasional flare up of redundancy in some characters’ dialogue.
However, this concept seems to have some depth to it in terms of the interactions between superheroes and their villainous analogues. Smith may be crafting a story that is more than meets the eyes. Perhaps this self referential comic is far more meta fictional upon reflection than is gleaned the first time around.
The art by Armand Villavert invokes a real Saturday morning cartoon vibe in the way he crafts scenes and designs his characters. This is further reinforced by the colorist Carlos Carrasco vibrant palette who douses everything in a rich hue that is reminiscent of the crispness and clarity of an animation cell.
This book is certainly a strong first attempt that hooks in the read and satisfies on multiple levels. Highly recommended for readers both young and seasoned.
