The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (Twilight Zone (Walker Paperback)) [Paperback]

Mark Kneece (Author), Rod Serling (Author), Rich Ellis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Twilight Zone (Walker Paperback) | Publication Date: December 23, 2008

Maple Street—late on a Saturday afternoon a mysterious flash of light results in a power outage. But this is no ordinary power failure, and the neighbors on Maple Street will soon find themselves in the dark with an enemy of their own creation . . . in the Twilight Zone.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7–The power is out on peaceful Maple Street, and no one knows why. As paranoia and fear rise, the neighbors turn on one another, looking for a culprit. In the end, readers see the street from the viewpoint of invading aliens, who blithely comment on how easy it is to sit back and let the earthlings destroy themselves. The illustrations and layout, while not remarkable, are clear and simple enough to move the story along briskly. A gripping horror tale with a deeper meaning, this is a quick read that should appeal to reluctant readers.–Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY END --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

It’s a tribute to Serling’s classic show that the tales hold up so well in a new form, and Walker is wise to alternate socialcommentary stories with the just plain weird (The Odyssey of Flight 33 will be released simultaneously). Here, we have the breakdown of society in the microcosm of small-town America, cautioning that we have more to fear from ourselves than any external forces. As with the previous titles (Walking Distance and The After Hours, both 2008), the art is unsophisticated, and the adaptation, with some action added by Kneece, is workmanlike, but the story itself remains resonant. Grades 7-12. --Jesse Karp --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080279713X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802797131
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARK KNEECE (adaptor) has written stories for numerous comics, including Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. He helped found the sequential art department at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and teaches comics writing as a professor of sequential art. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.RICH ELLIS (illustrator) received a B.F.A. in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He also illustrated The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A statement on how fragile civilization really is, August 14, 2010

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (Twilight Zone (Walker Paperback)) (Paperback)

I recently completed a month's long viewing of all episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and I was once again impressed by how Rod Serling was able to address many issues of the world of the late fifties and early sixties out of the reach of sensors. So much has been said of how "Star Trek" was such a trailblazing show in demonstrating diversity and challenging racial and social prejudices. For reasons that are unclear "The Twilight Zone" does not receive nearly as much credit for doing the same.
"The Monsters Are Due On Main Street" is clearly in my top five all-time favorite episodes of the series. It deals with the thin veneer of civilization and how quickly thinly veiled prejudices, insecurities and fears can turn longtime friends and neighbors into seeing each other as enemies. It begins with an unexplained problem where the power goes out and is followed by idle talk that turns into something more substantial. Normal individual differences are used to "identify" the culprits and it quickly becomes a case of "let the battering begin."
While human bodies are surprisingly resilient to physical punishment, their egos are not. Most people are bundles of insecurities wrapped in fears with a tendency to look at anyone that is different as a threat. It is an easy and destructive thing to do and Serling created a superlative apocalyptic tale about how a band of humans could easily be defeated.
In this book that story is re-told in cartoon form, the artwork is suitably colorless to better reflect the dark nature of the story and almost everything is depicted as being in shadows. Horror has many forms, yet the best is what humans can create when there is the appearance of uncertainty when something major goes wrong.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twilight Zone comic, May 7, 2009

By 

R. Hernandez (Glendale, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (Twilight Zone (Walker Paperback)) (Paperback)

Pretty cool comic that features incredible artwork and the storyline is word for word from the classic episode. Loved it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 11, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (Twilight Zone (Walker Paperback)) (Paperback)

Maple Street is quiet on a lazy, Saturday afternoon. Neighbors are chatting, mowing lawns, and watching their children play in the street. It is almost like the calm before the storm.

A brilliant flash of light startles the unsuspecting group. Many believe it to be a meteor falling from the heavens. The residents stop what they are doing, and watch as it trails across the sky. Seconds later, every electronic device goes dark. The people find that their cars won't start and all phones have lost a dial tone. Worry and fear take hold of these people.

Tommy, a neighborhood kid, explains that the monsters are coming for them. They cut the power to make sure that no one will leave. The residents of Maple Street begin to wonder who "they" really are. Accusations begin to fly, and, inevitably, mob mentality takes over.

What is extremely eerie about the Maple Street script is that it is not as far-fetched as other Twilight Zone ideas. It is prejudice that invades this small community and ultimately destroys it. I think that this graphic novel may hit home with many teens because of the content. This scenario is very real, and that makes it even more frightening.

Another great Twilight Zone adaptation by Mark Kneece!

Reviewed by: LadyJay