Review by Frank Plowright

At eight years old Tyler Page was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and prescribed ritalin to control his lapses. As detailed in Button Pusher, it worked in helping an intelligent child have a more normal school life, and that book took him to the age of leaving home.

Extra Large is not so much a sequel, as closer scrutiny of a period covered over a few pages in the previous book, as Page winds back to his younger self at thirteen. He’s aware he’s putting on weight, knows why it’s happening and is ashamed of the way his body looks. Teenage children are heartless and merciless critics, and the young Page lives in fear that attention will turn to him even as he joins in ridiculing other classmates. Younger readers at whom this is aimed ought to pick up on the subtlety of an example concerning a class bully and why they’re that way.

This is occasionally uncomfortable reading, but comes nowhere near plumbing the emotional depths of Button Pusher. This is because the violent eruptions of Page’s father were dealt with there, and for most of the time Page presents a contented family background with his father’s newfound enthusiasm for eating healthily less gripping. It means while there’s sympathy for Page, although sometimes limited by poor behaviour, his experiences and feelings as detailed in Extra Large are those found in numerous other graphic novels aimed at young adults.

The difference comes with Page’s efficient art. He once again uses an appealing cartoon style, good for adapting the moods of the cast while adding a slight comedy gloss appropriate in combination with his realisation that making people laugh gets positive attention. The Simpsons are referenced quite a few times, and their simplicity and bright colours are echoed in Page’s cartooning.

While one certainly wouldn’t wish for unpleasantness in any child’s life, the broad lack of it means there is no great pay-off to Extra Large. There’s an uncomfortable experience at school, Page becomes a little older, a little wiser and his friends change. Again, unlike Button Pusher, there’s little here to speak positively to children in the same situation other than advising them being mean to others can hurt feelings. Ultimately this is nicely drawn, but Page might have been better exploring a different subject.