The Dark Side of Magic (Orange Series)

Themes: Hi-Lo, Good vs. evil, comic format, graphic novel. The first six titles in the Dark Man series are 36-page books designed for young adult struggling readers and even nonreaders who probably have never successfully managed to read a book. The second six titles are 48-page books with a slight degree of progression over the first six and offering a more challenging read. Our six newest 48-page titles (Yellow Series) continue the Dark Man's quest to destroy the evil Shadow Masters. The story text is short and simple but not patronizing. Stories are gritty, full of tension and mystery. The language is terse. The Dark Man is a serious comic Hero with his own methodology. Each book is a self-contained story, but each story is a part of a greater whole. Although each novel reveals a little more about Dark Man, the twelve books can be read in any order: no one story depends on having read another first. The first six stories (Orange) range from 220-420 words. The Green and Yellow Series are 1000 words each. The Dark Man follows a girl and watches her freeze time and steal from people. She helps the Old Man against the Shadow Masters. "They cannot control me," she says.