Report Card Pickup! (Tiny Titans, 3)

Born in Chicago, Art Baltazar found his way early to comic book art and has been cartooning ever since he can recall. With a frenetic, hip hop style, Baltazar began self-publishing in 1994 with such titles as The Cray-Baby Adventures, Gyro-Man, Captain Camel & the Space Chicken, Jimmy Dydo, Lunar Lizard, Meteor Mite and the famous Patrick the Wolf Boy. Art has also drawn coloring books for Warner Bros. Art recently finished work on SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES, and is now co-writing the new series THE GREEN TEAM: TEEN TRILLIONAIRES. Art lives outside of Chicago with his wife, Rose, and children Sonny, Gordon, and Audrey.

Bronx, New York-born writer and artist Franco Aureliani has been drawing comics since he could hold a crayon. Currently residing in upstate New York with his wife, Ivette and son, Nicolas, he spends most of his days in his Batcave-like studio where he works on comics projects. In 1995, Franco founded Blindwolf Studios, an independent art studio where he and fellow creators can create children’s comics. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Weirdsville, L’il Creeps, and Eagle All Star, as well as the co-creator and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy. Franco recently finished work on SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES, and is now co-writing the new series THE GREEN TEAM: TEEN TRILLIONAIRES. When he’s not writing and drawing, Franco also teaches high school art.

Elementary-school versions of DC’s normally teenage heroes tackle familiar problems with a twist, such as parent-teacher conferences with the likes of Superman and Batman and a birthday party in which Robin must contend with a clown who is a Joker lookalike. One- to four-page vignettes are packed with rapid-fire jokes for kids and their more comics-savvy grown-ups, as well as cartoon-inspired, wacky, brightly colored art. Though DC’s trade paperbacks collect several issues and Capstone’s contain only one, these hardcovers are library-friendly, and younger readers might be more comfortable with the shorter doses. Also features visual questions and prompts. Grades 1-3. --Jesse Karp