The home for everything Smash!
To celebrate our longtime love for our favorite holiday, we decided to set the prologue of Book One: Trial by Fire on Halloween night!
In this excerpt, Andrew (dressed in a homemade Defender costume he would later wear as Smash) discovers it isn’t easy being a hero.
We hope you all have a much more successful night of trick-or-treating than Smash!
Order SMASH Book One: Trial by Fire online:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound
Powell’s
Have you saved YOUR dad from imminent danger lately?
(From Smash: Trial by Fire, written by Chris A. Bolton with art by Kyle Bolton.)
We don't want to make judgements about the gaggle of bad guys you'll find in SMASH 2: FEARLESS (need we mention—on sale now!). We think they're all pretty nasty and great in their own way. But frankly, in terms of sheer size and strength, there's no comparison—BRUTE is the biggest and baddest!
First glimpsed in the background of Book One: TRIAL BY FIRE, Brute is the enormous assistant of the villainous scientist, DR. COBB, who specializes in crafting super-suits for crooks who want to move up in the criminal food chain. (He also, on occasion, builds giant machines that can absorb the powers of a superhero like Smash.)
Silent but deadly, Brute is fiercely loyal. When Dr. Cobb gives him an assignment, he moves mountains—or buildings, or streets, or entire cities—until the task is complete. Even with all his super-strength, Smash will definitely have his hands full with this one!
To see how this epic battles winds up, grab a copy of SMASH 2: FEARLESS—on sale everywhere!
Order your copy here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound
Powells.com
To make sure you get your copy of SMASH 2: FEARLESS, here's an easy way to do it. Just print out this flyer, bring it to your favorite local comic shop, and let them know which version you'd like to buy—paperback or hardcover.
The Diamond ordering codes are listed right on the flyer for easy ordering!
If you preorder now, you'll be sure to receive Book 2 when it's published on May 9th! And don't forget: Book One: Trial by Fire is coming out in trade paperback on the same date.
We just have to share a wonderful email that we received from a woman named Dianne, about a young reader's experience with our first book, SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE.
Mason is nine, in my daughter's 4th grade class, and carpools with our family to school in the mornings. We practice spelling words and math flash cards in the kitchen before the carpool as a way to get the kids ready for their school day. Mason had no problems with flash cards, but struggled mightily with spelling words. We practice the week's assigned vocabulary every morning to prep for Friday spelling tests, but when he gets his tests back, his scores are often 10/20, 12/20, maybe 13/20. But Mason said that he wasn't bothered by his low spelling grades because he didn't really like to read anyway.
Well, I was on my way to the library to pick up some books I had on hold and I resolved to find something that Mason would like to read. In the graphic novels section I picked up some Marvel books, a retelling of Tom Sawyer, and Smash. Now here's what I like about Smash, for a boy like Mason, who says he doesn't care about reading, and struggles with 1st-grade vocabulary: The protagonist is his age, the premise of small kid as super hero is immediately sympathetic, the dialog text is easily legible, the vocabulary is easy to grasp through context but not dumbed down.
From the moment I showed Mason your book and he began to understand the characters and story, he was hooked. Even though a single page spread could take him 15 minutes to read, he was committed to learning every word. We used his enthusiasm to encourage his vocabulary list practice: if he would spell five words from his list correctly, he could read Smash until the carpool left for school. He did this for the entire month, and I'm proud to say that this morning he finished the entire book. He was so proud of his accomplishment. My husband made a list of the new words he learned as he encountered them in Smash and read them on his own.
In addition to finding that he really does like to read, Mason has also dramatically improved his spelling performance. Last Friday was the second Friday in a row that he achieved a spelling test score of 20/20. It's amazing to see the transformation in his results, but more importantly in his recognition of what he can accomplish.
Thank you for writing such an amazing book and for providing the catalyst that is changing this kid's educational direction.
Thank YOU, Dianne! In our eyes, Mason is a champion and what he achieved is on a par with anything Smash can do. Your email made our day, our week, maybe even our year. It's always gratifying to know the hard work we put into a passion project like Smash pays off in dividends with young readers.
If you want to send us your story or ask us a question (we'll answer 'em!), email us at smashcomic@gmail.com. Replies guaranteed!
Smash is ready to battle any book!
We're incredibly honored that our graphic novel, SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE, is featured in this year's Battle of the Books by the Tacoma, Washington, school district! Click here to find out more about it.
Surprise!!
You'll find lots of surprises in store for little Smash in the latest page of our webcomic, "Monstrous." Click here to read it all!
This week's entry in our continuing Smash webcomic invites you to ponder what delicious schemes YOU would finance if you had a giant robot monster at your disposal!
Famous last words...
The newest page is up for our weekly webcomic, "Monstrous!"
Each week we present a new page and they're all free to read! (Although, if you want to help us make more comics, your support on Patreon is always appreciated.)
We recently heard from a fan who worried that reading "Monstrous" would spoil Book 2. Not to worry! The webcomic is all-new, online-only material that will NOT be in Book 2 and doesn't spoil a single surprise -- we promise! So, feel free to read "Monstrous" as you please.
Back in print... and it feels so good!
After selling out the first print run of our all-ages graphic novel, SMASH: Trial by Fire, we're pleased to announce that the second printing is available now! You can buy it at your favorite independent bookstore or order it online here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound
Powell’s
And iust a reminder of how critics feel about the book:
[A]n action-packed crowd-pleaser….The full-color artwork is full of kinetic energy....Smash pays homage to the genre while adding tweaks that make it all feel fresh. This is sure to be a draw for superhero fans and reluctant readers alike.
Mixing humor with action makes for a winning combination; a vivid palette and classic comic book-style greatly enhance the graphic novel package.
2014 Children’s Choice Book Awards:
The comic book art and fast-paced story hooks readers in the first of a new series.
Kids and adults can enjoy this superhero title that’s filled with humor, action, and art that makes it a fun ride for everyone.
There’s no shortage of superhero graphic novels, but Smash: Trial by Fire is more well done than most….[I]t’s full of drama, humor, and seriously thrilling action sequences. To summarize: kids are going to love it.