Bad Island



Bad Island is a Young Adult graphic novel by Doug Ten Napel that was published in 2011 by Scholastic.

It tells of a group of people who are given the opportunity to overcome their personal flaws after they're marooned on a remote, uncharted island. This isn't just any island, either. This is an island populated with strange creatures, increasingly bizarre phenomena, enigmatic architecture, hostile natives, and a mystery that extends back into the far reaches of the distant past...and there are all these flashbacks too.

Beat

Okay, that admittedly sounds like very familiar territory. But while this comic and its better-known predecessor do share the same basic elements, Bad Island plays these elements out in an entirely different way.

In the case of Bad Island, the castaways are a quirky, semi-dysfunctional family of four (and their pet snake) who end up on the island as the result of an ill-fated boating trip. Soon after their arrival, they learn that the island is home not only to ferocious beasts not seen anywhere else on the planet, but also to a very ancient and powerful secret, a secret that someone (or something) would kill to keep hidden...oh, and there's a subplot with giant sentient robots (hey, it's a TenNapel comic; that sort of thing is a given).

Also, unlike Lost, Whether that approach is actually better or worse than what Lost did will - naturally - vary from person-to-person (hence the YMMV tab, folks).


 * The Ace: Reese becomes this to the group this very early on, which only heightens Lyle's sense of inadequacy as the head of the household.
 * Action Survivor: All 4 family members qualify as this.
 * Adult Fear: Being completely helpless when your child's life is in danger.
 * Aliens Speaking English: Averted. The dialogue in the flashbacks are in English, but just for the reader's convenience. With the exception of an instance of telepathy, none of the sentient creatures encountered speak English in the main plot.
 * And I Must Scream:
 * Animate Dead
 * Anti-Hero: Lyle is a Type I . Reese is a Type II.
 * Apocalyptic Log: One is found early on by Lyle
 * Badass in Distress:.
 * Big Bad:
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * The Island itself, which
 * Butt Monkey: Lyle.
 * Character Development: Over the course of the story, the family members learn how to work together as a team, not just in contributing toward a common goal but also in learning to trust each other more.
 * Chekhov's Gunman:.
 * Coming of Age Story: Reese's arc is basically this.
 * Cool Pet: Janie's pet snake, Pickles.
 * Curb Stomp Battle:.
 * Daddy's Girl: Janie.
 * Deadpan Snarker: The entire family, other than Janie, seems adept at this, but Karen stands out the most.
 * Dem Bones
 * Damsel in Distress: Karen.
 * Dude in Distress: Lyle.
 * The Dreaded: Johnny's Mom.
 * Flash Back
 * Genki Girl: Janie
 * Hearing Voices
 * Hidden Villain
 * Humongous Mecha: Sentient ones exist in the Flashbacks. They protect and rule over a race of smaller creatures that act as the pilots..
 * I Lied:.
 * Indy Ploy: Karen distracting the tribe and buying time.
 * Killer Rabbit: Johnny.
 * Mama Bear: One of the monsters after Reese mistreats its baby.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
 * No Name Given: Most of the non-Earthlings, regardless of how important some of them wind up being to the plot. The only one who actually gets a name is Johnny, and that's technically just what Janie calls him.
 * Our Monsters Are Weird
 * Posthumous Character: G.K. Higgenbothan
 * Pride: The very notion of pride is brutally deconstructed with.
 * Sealed Good in a Can / Sealed Badass in a Can:.
 * The Smart Gal: Karen.
 * Space Opera: The flashbacks are essentially this.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting
 * With My Hands Tied
 * X Meets Y: Lost meets Ray Harryhausen meets
 * With My Hands Tied
 * X Meets Y: Lost meets Ray Harryhausen meets