Review by Frank Plowright

On the world featuring in Buzz, only official spelling contests are legal, and much money is won or lost in back alley competitions. It might not sound a great idea, but run with it. As drawn by Tess Stone these contests pack the vitality of a Jack Kirby action sequence, all strong poses, flying letters and with mere bombast as understatement.

Our way into this world is via the studious Webster – his sister is called Merriam – who’s on his way to high school when a completely different experience opens up to him. He’s smart, but naturally timid and spends his first day at school scared he’ll be apprehended for events on the way there. That’s as nothing, though, compared to the threat of the Spelluminati.

Buzz is absurdism given a deadly serious gloss and Ananth Hirsh manages to maintain the straight face all the way through, viably creating a world where the National Spelling Bee Final has the national attention and devotion of the Super Bowl, and training is deep and physical. The ongoing events are interrupted by fact file sequences about individual superstars, and beyond Webster attempting to subvert the fixed annual showcase, he’s unaware of the family history.

Stone ensures the participants have all the presence of costumed wrestlers, each with a distinctive visual appearance suited to their circumstances. The initial rogue spelling competition is energetic, but tame compared to what comes later.

This is a colour edition of a graphic novel originally published in black, white and yellow, but the colour is flat, limited, and doesn’t add much. However if it’s a viable means of re-promoting a story that deserved wider attention the first time round, all well and good. Despite the ridiculous premise you’ll be caught up in the competition and feel for the competitors, appreciate the mystery subplot, and along the way unless you’re a Merriam or Webster yourself you’re going to improve your own vocabulary.