Review by Frank Plowright
Josh and Jordan (JB) Bell are twin basketball enthusiasts, but that’s about where the similarities end. They sport different looks, idolise different players and have different attitudes.
Crossover is labelled as a graphic novel on the cover, but while Dawud Anyabwile’s illustrations are plentiful, they accompany a story rather than tell it. There’s no panel to panel continuity, and hardly any word balloons, but plenty of portraits conveying emotion and attitude alongside Josh’s explanations and narrative. It’s attractive art conveying lively personalities, but borderline comics, with the sample spread as close as it comes.
On the other hand, anything else wouldn’t fit Kwame Alexander’s rhythmic writing style, which at times bashes out rhymes and at others plain doesn’t bother, as maintaining that style for the entire story would be a limitation. Alexander provides Josh with an authentic voice, and while the relationship between the brothers and their parents is delivered well, it’s their love of basketball that takes centre stage. There’s a story beyond that, but Crossover’s greatest appeal is going to be with kids also obsessed with basketball, as game specific terms are freely used without explanation.
A fair amount of background accumulates before the story kicks in a third of the way through. Back in the day Josh and JB’s father was a hotshot basketball player himself, a winner of a championship ring, but plagued with a condition that prevented his turning professional. Their mother is the high school principal, while JB really likes the new girl at the school, and she plays basketball as well.
The general direction is predictable, at least until the end, but the engaging writing and distinctive voice overcome that to make Crossover extremely readable. Every page is also graced with Anyabwile’s rich illustrations. The drawing is relatively simple, but the way the personalities come across displays an exceptional talent.
As a story Crossover is very good, but it’s only a graphic novel via a very literal understanding of the term. Comics it isn’t.
