Brian and his best friend Paul are deeply into comic books. Not just fans, they are serious comic book collectors, who look up things in a guide that tells the value of every book in existence. Brian knows that his dad's 1939 Superman #1 comic book was worth more than a new house --- $130,000 to be exact. But Brian destroyed that Superman #1 when he was seven years old, five years before this novel starts, and now he's convinced that his dad hates him because of it. How can he get his father's love back?

The answer comes when the old man at the general store, Mr. Somerset, gives Brian a blank comic book. The situation gets weirder and weirder; Brian and Paul discover that it's a TIMEQUEST comic book, with magical powers. The boys can push a button and travel to any time period they want. There are certain restrictions, of course, very important rules, as the boys find out when they try to use the TIMEQUEST to go back to 1939 in hopes of buying another copy of Superman #1.

The adventures that Brian and Paul experience could fill a book, as the saying goes. As a matter of fact, they fill the blank comic book. Magically. Whenever the boys do something, they read about it later in the comic, with pictures and words bubbled over their heads. But it's safe to say that this comic book is one they'd rather read than actually live through. Now, if they could just go back to 1939 and grab a copy of Superman #1. How could anything go wrong with that? You'll want to read all about it in THE COMIC BOOK KID.

   --- Reviewed by Tamara Penny