Meteor Men

by Jeff Parker, Sandy Jarell, and Kevin Volo

Alden is an ordinary teenager; despite the loss of his family, he leads a normal life. Until a meteor shower rains down some mysterious, hollow meteorites. Soon, Alden realizes that the meteorites were not hollow after all, and his connection to the alien he meets in the woods changes his life, forever. How can Alden save his planet and race from the seemingly friendly alien race that has fallen from the sky? And even if Alden gets the chance, should he?

Themes of friendship, responsibility, fear, compromising, and understanding are explored within the 129 pages of the novel. The art style is very realistic, despite the presence of fantasy subject matter, and the abilities, movements, and reactions of the alien fit well into the realism of the rest of the novel. Meteor Men is a beautifully illustrated novel, with the scenes of space and action sequences that truly set it apart from other graphic novels. The ending was my favorite part of the novel, I loved the feeling I was left with after I put the book down. Some key words I associate with Meteor Men are moving, sweet, action-filled, suspenseful, and intelligent. I would say the book can be read by a wide age range of readers and I think it can spur important dialogue within the classroom, so I would love to share this with my future students.