Rover and Speck: This Planet Rocks!

In this junior graphic novel written and illustrated by Jonathan Roth, a space rover robot, aptly named Rover, is jettisoned from a ship onto a foreign planet to scan for new discoveries. On its way down, however, Rover’s parachute is ripped and its antenna broken, effectively stranding it on the planet. Nonetheless, Rover eagerly jumps into action, beginning its mission of seeing, studying and understanding “all sorts of amazing things in the galaxy”. While scanning for solid mineral material, Rover uncovers another kind of rover trapped under rocks and without power as its solar panels are blocked by the debris. Rover frees the second rover, and it is able to power up though it has lost all memory of who and what it is. Checking the side of the second rover’s body, Rover finds writing designating the robot as a “Special Planet Explorer Class K”, and so the rover happily identifies itself as Speck.

Speck enthusiastically offers its tools to fix Rover’s broken pieces, but the pair quickly realize Speck’s tools are completely unhelpful for the task, and Rover decides to continue his mission regardless, with Speck tagging along cheerfully. The source of Speck’s previous battery drainage is made obvious as Speck blasts his “exploring music” which Rover finds distracting and irritating. Speck confesses that the music keeps it from being scared of rocks as the planet is littered with rock forms. However, a giant shadow comes over the pair, and Speck realizes that what they’re actually scared of is the giant rock person descending on them. The two hide in a cave but quickly discover it is the rock peoples’ home and again run away in terror. On the run, the two notice that the rock people are actually interested in Speck’s exploring music and begin dancing joyously. One rock person lifts the two onto a high cliff so Speck’s battery is quickly fully charged even while playing music for the rock people. Despite Rover’s less than helpful translator app, the three are able to communicate on a basic level, and Rocky (the rock person’s simple nickname) shows the rovers his various forms of rock art as well as his cave paintings done using charcoal, art which his fellow rock companions do not appreciate.

While examining the art, the rovers realize that the cave provides the perfect acoustics for Speck’s music and could provide an efficient enticement to lure the other rock people back to Rocky’s art. Though the cave people are brought halfway back to the cave by Speck’s music, suddenly a playfully tossed rock disables Speck’s sound system, and the two rovers quickly improvise music made by clanking rocks together and whirring their mechanical rotors. The rock people happily join in with rocks of their own and continue following the rovers back to Rocky’s cave where Rocky sings in the cave’s perfect echo chamber.

In a brainwave triggered by Speck, Rover realizes they can use ignitable mineral masses (i.e. charcoal) gathered by the newly united rock people into an SOS configuration to signal to Rover’s ship in space. The signal is quickly spotted, and the ship returns, and both Rover and new friend Speck climb aboard, leaving Rocky and his people to their homemade music. Despite the inefficiency of two rovers exploring the same areas as a pair, Rover proposes to Speck that they explore new worlds together as friends.

Roth’s passion for science and space are on clear display throughout the graphic novel, with occasional half page inserts sharing various fun science facts relevant to the elements of the story and a postscript mini-story about famous rovers in history. The unlikely buddy dynamic between straight-laced logical Rover and the more scatterbrained Speck keeps the story moving, with Speck serving as an everyman that Rover can explain his more technical issues to in simple terms. The comic misunderstandings between both rovers and the rock people add a welcome dose of humour, making a story of being stranded on a foreign planet light and fun enough for child readers to engage with. Roth’s illustrations and coloring by Paulina Suarez enhance the friendly atmosphere of Rover and Speck: This Planet Rocks!, particularly the depiction of music and movement.