Reality Check, Book 1 (Paperback)

~ (Author), Tavicat (Author), Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons (Author), Tavisha Simons (Author) "GOT A PACKAGE FOR YA..." (more)
Key Phrases: Real Time, Transport Booth

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few domestic cartoons have been as successful as Reality Check at attempting American manga-styled adventures. This series draws its setup from familiar elements: 10th-grader Collin Meeks escapes his humdrum life by putting on his TVR (True Virtual Reality) helmet and roaming the VIS (Virtual Internet System). However, giving proof to the adage "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog," Collin's cat, Catreece, gets into the act, putting on the helmet and surfing the VIS while Collin's at school. Once she's wearing the helmet, she becomes an irresistibly cute teenager. As readers might expect, hijinks of all kinds ensue: Catreece turns Collin's font database into a musical number, changes the outcome of an interactive TV show and embarrasses her owner to no end. Of course, she also becomes more popular than him in the virtual world, too. The Simonses elevate this work from mere pastiche by adding a sense of fun and imaginative details (e.g., in the scene called "Around the World in 80 Megabytes," Collin and Catreece take a virtual trip around the world while battling a virus composed of puffy cats and fighting Loopy, a firewalled superheroine of the computer world who looks like a pint-sized harlequin). Wolfgarth-Simons's art is notable, using elements of Disney, manga and other classic animation to create Catreece, a character with immense appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591822149
• ISBN-13: 978-1591822141
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,487,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!!!, July 8, 2004

By	Doughnuts (Waco, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great read. It takes your standard, boring, overthinking guy, and makes him deal with a high-tech world that everyone, even cats, can deal with better. It is hilarious seeing him deal with situations that he and his cat, Catreece, stumble into.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Internet Hijinks At It's Best!, March 15, 2005

By	Nicole Maronn (Enfield, CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reality Check comes from Rikki and Tavisha Simons, the creative team behind their latest series Shutterbox. While Shutterbox is a Goth Romance series, Reality Check is a much more light and cheerful comic. In volume 1, we are introduced to 10th grader Collen Meeks, a geek who longs to access the Virtual Internet System (VIS) in the year 2012. After receiving his True Virtual Reality Helmet (TVR), Collen finally manages to access the VIS...until his cat Catreece also logs on as well. In Real Time, Catreece is a small, cute, annoying cat...on the VIS, she's like the annoying sibling you wish you didn't have! Thus, all sorts of crazy adventures (and misadventures) occur for our computer nerd and his bubbly, ditzy cat.

One thing that stands out when you dive into Reality Check is the wonderful art. Orginally, RC was published in color (the color edition has long been out of print, but you can still find new/used copies at certain stores). TokyoPop has decided to publish RC in their standered B&W format, but it still doesn't take away the amazing detail that Tavisha has done! All the characters (major and minor), backgrounds, ect. are full of life and personality. You can help turning the page to see what they are up to next!

I also like the story that the Simons have written. It creates a fun enviroment that possible might happen in the next several years. The story line never lets you down! It makes you keep on reading to find out how Collen and Catreece will get out of thier scraps on the VIS. Also, all the characters don't have 2D personality, so they are easily likeable and charming!

Plus, as an added bonus, this volume includes are nice gallery of the Simons concept art for the RC series, a treat for fans and newbies alike!

So if you enjoied Shutterbox, give Reality Check a try...it's just a fascinating and great as SB. For anyone wanting to see what American-based manga is all about, the Simons are the perfect team to go to!

3.0 out of 5 stars manga wannabe, October 27, 2008

By	Sandor Swartz (Chatham, IL US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hmpf. After waiting so long for my books to be forwarded to me after using the wrong address, I have to say, it wasn't worth the wait.

Released by Tokyopop and classified as manga, it's actually not the least bit Japanese; written by an Anglo-speaking non-Japanese husband and wife team it seems, who themselves are anime/manga otakus. Which is ok. I'm one myself. But there's something lacking in all (that I've seen that is, admittedly the only other one being the cartoon "Martin Mystery") the American/Canadian attempts at making something like manga/anime compared to Japanese manga/anime that's actually been written in Japan by Japanese people and then translated to English by a scanlation group or company like Tokyopop. It's kind of just.. wrong. Like I don't know, an aluminum violin that's been painted to look like it's made out of wood. And that's not saying that every wooden violin is good or even that an aluminum one is necessarily bad - but if you try to make an aluminum one look wood it will just come out looking really tacky. Maybe a master could truly make any observer think it's really made of wood and maybe even work the metal in such a way that it even sounds like it's made of wood, but to complete the simile, the authors of this aren't such masters. The drawing style alone, if I hadn't just read it and you put this with 9 actual Japanese mangas, I'd have no trouble picking out the one counterfeit of the ten. Even if some of the Japanese ones were really, really bad. I swear Catreece the catgirl looks like Minerva Mink from Animaniacs. And then the schoolkids' personalities... I feel like I'm watching a cartoon on Saturday morning on PBS. Yes, PBS!

It's not a bad premise - as far as I know, I've never heard of it before and so it is completely original, and heavens knows, the Japanese use every excuse they can to throw catgirls into their stories. It's like there's some kind of union among anime character, they all go on strike if the series doesn't contain a catgirl. But still, I'm disappointed. Leave the anime and manga to the Japanese. They're the only ones qualified to make it, I say.

I give it 3 stars because it's not really bad. Not the super-awesome thing I was expecting, but they did really hit the nail on the head with the cat's personality at least. And the "these are a few of my favorite fonts" scene was kind of funny. So if I gave it 1, that would take away meaning from the REAL stinkers which deserve negative 37-billion but I'm forced to give 1's to because that's the lowest possible rating. But there are - how should I put it - a lot of better things you could spend your 10 bucks on instead of this.