Captain Absolutely

It's another book review! We've received many books already this year, and since literature is the foundation of our schooling, we are always pleased to read new material. The kids are required to spend a large portion of our school day reading, and while they do have some say in what they read, there are some things that I do not allow. For instance, they can read comic books, but it would be considered extra reading and not count toward the quota for the day. So, imagine their surprise when I handed them a typical super hero comic book and told them it was school reading!   


Captain Absolutely was originally written and illustrated for the  Focus On The Family Clubhouse Magazine. The strip, a spin-off from Adventures in Odyssey and written by Wooten Bassett, was written to explain how values, priorities, and perspective can alter one's worldview. As Christians, our worldview is based on the Absolute Truth found in God's Word. Captain Absolutely helps kids to recognize the things that might take our focus off of Christ and what they can do to combat the lies.

My 11-year-old was the first to snatch the book when we received it. He immediately sat down to read it. An hour an a half later after completing the whole thing, he said, "Are there more of these? That was awesome!" He wrote the following description of the story for me:

A man named Josiah King works for a library. One day, his friend Darren Gray drops a sunflower seed on a computer, causing it to explodes. The blast throws Josiah into a room full of Bibles, so he starts reading and discovers Truth. A leek in the city's radioactive core started filling the room with toxic fumes, giving Josiah super powers. He decides to use his powers for good and becomes Captain Absolutely.

The first villain he meets becomes his arch-nemesis, Dr. Relative. Captain Absolutely catches him stealing computers. Spraying his Neutralizer that makes you forget absolute truth by reminding you of all the wrong things you've done, Dr. Relative is able to trap him in the Shackles of Selfishness. He explains his plan to release Lirus (lies) that will spread through Tvs, phones, and computers. Captain Absolutely realizes that his arch-nemesis was his old friend Darren Gray (who was thrown from the explosion into the philosophy section of the library and discovered Relative Truth). After a bit of a struggle, Captain Absolutely is able to disable Lirus, return the stolen computers, and lock his former friend in jail.

Captain Absolutely started cleaning up the garbage in Metropolitanville and learned about the robotic Vile Ants (violence) that have mind-altering rays that were making everyone angry. Farmer Vile's plan was to fill everyone with rage so he could steal the best farmland for himself. He and his formidable Formicidae were no match for Captain Absolutely, and he too ended up in jail.

As a super hero, he continued fighting other bad guys like Cap'n Crastin (procrastination), Fear Chemist (fear), Baron Von Confuser (confusion), the Unifier, Sloppy Joe, the Pajama Bandits, and Mrs. Grudge. He saves children, gains a sidekick, build his Fortress of Solid Truth, and defeats the evil in the city.

My 9-year-old daughter was the next one to read it. She, too, read it start-to-finish in the same amount of time. Then, she read it a second time by the next morning. My 7-year-old was finally able to claim it by the next day. He read it 3 times in a row before he let his older brother have it back again. In other words, my kids absolutely (see what I did there?) love this book. Sure, they love super heroes and appreciate a good comic, but more than that, they are drawn to the truths that are in the story.

The book is definitely more appealing to the younger crowd and is a bit cheesy in a cute sort of way. It has jokes and comments from Wooten throughout it along with some Scripture references (not KJV like we use, but various other versions). Of course, it also has the typical Splat! Pow! Crash! Thud! Fwing! Squish! Glop! Kaboom! and various other sound words all over, like every good super hero comic strip should have. 

Here's what my kids had to say about it:

"I loved it. I like that it has super heroes and that it's a comic book and not just words." 

"It was an awesome book! I like that Captain Absolutely fights bad guys for the 

sake of God. I like that he quotes Bible all the time." 

"It was awesome! I like that he loves the Bible."

Captain Absolutely is a hit with my super-hero-loving, comic-book-reading, Bible-truth-seeking kiddos. And any book that teaches the Truth, draws my little ones to God's Word, and makes them want to read extra is a hit with me, too.  

My favorite quote from my daughter, as she was starting the book for the third time, really is the best review I can give it. "The last time I read this, it made me want to read my Bible more."


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You can read more reviews of this book on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.