I had a lot of fun reading this graphic novel. The illustrations are beautiful and really help move the story along. We see two beings from different worlds fall in love and are willing to fight to be together. Both of their worlds are in a senseless war and things only seem to be getting worse. But a bold move by these lovers might somehow finally end the fighting once and for all.

This was a completely wordless, colorfully illustrated, adorable comic. There is a war, there are star-crossed lovers of different races and planets, there is HEA. You don't need words to understand this.

'Big Alien Moon Crush' with story and art by Art Baltazar is a graphic novel about love blooming in a war zone.

Two alien species, on pink and one green, are at war. A green crashes and is taken hostage by the pinks and ends up falling in love with one of the pinks. What follows is the two of them trying to grow a relationship while the world is falling apart around them.

It's a mostly wordless story, but the message of hope during wartime is pretty clear and seems oddly timely as I write this review. The art is exactly what you expect from Art Baltazar and the story is fine for younger readers.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Action Lab Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The art was so-so and not unique, though it was appropriate to the style of the story. The storyline did not get my attention and seemed only mildly appealing for kids. With a limited budget I couldn't justify buying this for our library system.

Even though it is wartime this cartoon is showing us that love can win. I enjoyed the illustrations and my children too.
Thanks, NetGalley for this fun read.

Plot:

In space, two planets wage war against one another as sworn enemies, but two star-crossed lovers will do what it takes to come together and prove that love and peace are possible. As the war wages on, their forbidden love is discovered, with neither side willing to accept the bond that these two young beings have forged.

Together they escape the destruction of their planets, but when discovered by the survivors of both warring races, they must reveal the product of their love to try and start a new life for both races, a more peaceful life, together.

Story and Art:

As I’m sure you’ll have guessed, this is very much a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ type story, but Art Baltazar’s take on the tale is one far less tragic and far more suitable for younger readers. The humans have been replaced with adorable aliens who need not say any words to portray their emotions.

Baltazar’s cartoony and brightly coloured illustrations are a joy to look at, and with this book having no dialogue, only onomatopoeia, it’s a wonderous book full of life and love within each panel and page. A great book for younger audiences and one that would make any child smile. Heck, even I was grinning at the humour of it all because it’s hard to look at this book and not feel happy. It just brings back so much childhood glee that anyone can enjoy it.

Baltazar’s signature style is perfect for any children’s books as you may have seen before in his previous work with DC comics kids, such as the Tiny Titans series of comics, and Superman of Smallville. His colours are always bright and this book is no exception, with a strong pallet of greens, pinks, purples, and blues, throughout all pages.

Conclusion:

This book, with its bright images and lack of dialogue, makes it a perfect book for any parent to own for their young children. Be it a book you buy to get kids into comics, or simply a book to teach kids about the power of love, this book is so sweet and simple, you’d be a fool to miss out as it’s a great book with some simply delightful messages within its charming pages, including the message that it’s better to love one another instead of fight.

Big Alien Moon Crush will be available from the 15th February 2022 with pre-orders available online!

I gotta love how Art Baltazar makes these simplistic little romps for people to enjoy. This definitely feels like one of those kid friendlier takes on Saga or Romeo and Juliet. But unlike the complex nuances in those two, Big Alien Moon Crush keeps things simple, hence why there's no dialogue. It's pure expressive takes on characters and settings. Sure it has a few cliches like royal families and falling in love. Plus the non-linear storytelling might be a bit confusing unless it's all in one read. Fortunately the pace of everything ensures that's what the reader does.

Big Alien Moon Crush is a silly graphic novel with bright colors and goofy aliens from competing planets who eventually are inspired to get along. The premise of the book, two fighting cultures make nice when there is a baby produced by a cross-culture union, is a bit hackneyed, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. I found the illustrations cutely funny and think this would be a great book for emerging readers and High/Low graphic novel enthusiasts.

Dearests, this book asks - Why fight when you can make love? Then it tells you - Make love not war. Make friends not hate. ;) I am here for it.

Official title: Big Alien Moon Crush
My title: Make Love, Not War
Author: Art Baltazar
Publisher: Action Lab Entertainment
Aew, Yes Comics
Fav character: Progeny
Readability: Easy
Type: Graphic Novel
4.3/5

🌱THE EXCELLENT
- I love the art style (I know I keep saying this, but the uniqueness of art really makes me happy)
- There is a very hopeful tone to unfolding events that easily pulls you in
- The story illustrates in a fun way how war is a waste of resources and lives and that there are things that can be done to bring us together

Two alien species have been fighting each other for Universe knows why. Their warriors are relentless in their focus and their weapons and ships cause loud noises and chaos across both planets. One day a green citizen will find themselves captured by the pinks and the reasons behind the war will become clear as a delicate and hopeful love story unfolds.

A quick easy read for children and adults.

✨Give it a read.

🌱THE MEH
- There were a few moments were I was lost and had to connect some floating dots, but I had a few rewarding aha! moments, so it wasn’t too bad
- War is such a waste of resources and people :(
- I wish it had been longer somewhere through the middle

Quick read and easy to understand the story even without using words. Catchy illustrations. I recommend this for young readers.

E-arc from Netgalley and Action Lab Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.

I received an electronic ARC from Diamond Book Distributors through NetGalley.
Baltazar tells the entire story through artwork. Readers see the two sides in constant battle as the background for two aliens who meet and connect to form their own family. The character expressions tell much of this story for upper elementary level readers. The plot is not new but these characters offer a fresh look at what happens when two peoples prefer to focus on destroying each other rather than meeting and learning about each other.

A colorful, bold vision of children's lit in visual form! I enjoy Art Baltzar's work and am already thinking about reading and writing steps with this mostly-wordless comics experience.

I am a huge fan of Art Baltazar so I had to check this out. This comic doesn't have many words, making it easy for younger readers to understand. The story is pretty cool and the art was amazing as always. BUt I'll admit, I was confused. I don't know if sequences were suppose to be out of order or what, but things mak no sense as they were not chronilogical.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Big Alien Moon Crush by Art Baltazar is an incredibly fun children's graphic novel with top-notch art. I have been a fan of Art Baltazar since I first read the Tiny Titans series many years ago. In fact, Tiny Titans was the first comic series (and only comic series) that I begged my parents to get a subscription for. Getting that series in the mail every month was like the highlight of the month. In his new series, Big Alien Moon Crush, the galaxy is in trouble, and planets are at war. A forbidden love between two aliens from rival planets is the only glimmer of hope in the midst of destruction. Nix and Vera love each other, but their fathers will do anything to stop their love. It's a tale of forbidden love similar to Romeo and Juliet, but definitely more kid-friendly.

Overall, Big Alien Moon Crush is an absolutely adorable alien love story that is perfect for the kids in your life. One highlight of this book is the art. As I mentioned before, I've been a fan of Art Baltazar's artwork for a long time. He brings his A-level chops to the drawings and colors here. Every page is like an explosion of color and cartoonish characters. Another highlight of this book is the story, which surprisingly does not use any words. Even without words, I have no trouble understanding and enjoying the story. It reminded me of the Owly children's graphic novel series in that regard. If you're intrigued by the description or if you're a fan of children's graphic novels, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in February!

Unfortunately this book didn't really work for me, but that's mostly because my expectations were all wrong. I hadn't realized that the story was told solely in pictures with no text at all (other than sound effects).

The drawings were cute though, so between that and the fact that I don't want to 'punish' it for my faulty expectations, I'll still give it a 3-star rating.

ARC Copy...I admit, a lighter intergalactic take on Romeo and Juliet might split readers but I thought it was cute and I liked the wordless aspect of the narrative, which highlight the comedy and body language cues.

The download would not work for me but I don't want that to bring down the rating. This book is a really creative and fun idea with a great cover!

This book was very weird. I respect that it exists, but it was just something and I don't think it really serves a purpose that other books haven't met. Only thing I liked was the alien romance concept.

Never stand in the path of the course of true love. In a Galaxy at war, two disparate aliens discover each other, and consequently fall in love, despite that their respective species remain diligently at war.


No text, just cartoons, and happy inspiration.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know if I can say that I “read” it…It had 0 words, only sounds and pictures…😂
Basically it was a simplified Saga with a happy ending where the characters were green and purple blobs who had a war going on. And in the middle of it all a forbidden love story. It’s impossible to say anything overly bad or good about it, there just was so little of it…It was quirky and had simple cutesy pictures, good for very young children! 😊