Title:  Bratz: Super-Bratz

Written by: Christine Peymani

Art by: Anthony Tan

Publisher: Tokyopop

ISBN: 9781427807892

May Contain Spoilers

Since I have developed a new appreciation for fashion dolls, I was a little more interested in this book than I previously would have been.  About three months ago I would have laughed at it, but since I have been brain-washed into thinking that dolls are incredibly awesome and that they are the best thing next to sliced bread, I sat down and read it with a moderate amount of attention.  It was still as fluffy and mindless as I expected, but it wasn’t a bad way to waste time as I waited for my significant other to get ready so we could hit the park this afternoon.

Sasha, Yasmin, Cloe, and Jade are best buds - they’re all popular and better yet, they have the best wardrobe in school.  When they start exhibiting strange super-powers, they think that they might just be super-heroes in the making!  Journey with them as they travel to the Center for Extraordinary Abilities to discover the secret to controlling their super-skills, and put a halt to a little crime caper at the same time.

This is a book that will be a hard sell outside of the Bratz crowd - there’s not a lot of appeal for anyone else.  If you don’t like girls with over-sized heads sporting fashionable attire, look away and save yourself some irritation.  There’s not much of a plot here, and what is here is simple and not very imaginative.  The story is so compressed as it rushes by that it isn’t very engaging, either.  In the span of less than 96 pages, the girls discover their super powers, enroll in a new school, and stop super-villains from stealing the brainwave machine so they can take over the world.  Nothing is complicated, and heaven forbid if you are expecting some character development - everyone is pretty generic, and all of the Bratz are interchangeable - they have no defining personality traits outside of their super powers.  They look alike, they dress alike, they talk alike, and that makes them pretty boring.

The art is cartoony and fun, possessing a lot of energy and enthusiasm.  It was disappointing that the girls didn’t have multiple costume changes - they’re fashion dolls, for goodness sake!  No, instead they move through panel after panel in the same tired clothing.  Without color to add some zing to the outfits, even their attire began to look unappealing.

Bratz: Super-Bratz is definitely for the younger set, and will only provide a moment’s diversion for anyone else.  And darn it, I wanted to see more fashions!

Grade:  C

Rated for All Ages

Review copy provided by Tokyopop