Sometimes there is a story that hits just right and is so enjoyable you have a hard time putting it down. This is exactly what 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank is, a coming of age heist tale told by Matthew Rosenberg and illustrated by Tyler Boss.
A darkly comedic story of four burgeoning child criminals and their elaborate plans. When a group of bumbling criminals show up in her father’s life looking to pull one last job, young Paige has two choices – let her father get caught up in their criminal hijinks or enlist her three best friends to do the job first. Paige picks the bad one.
Originally I missed the boat on this release, not jumping into reading this story until 2026, a good six years following its debut. However, I felt like coming into this series after reading What’s the Furthest Place from Here? gave me a different view on how amazing of a job Rosenberg crafts stories about pre-teens and teenagers.
Somehow Rosenberg is able to craft coming of age stories that suck you right into them and don’t let go. There’s a smooth mixture of dealing with life as a teenager while accomplishing something much bigger than you while also tossing in some truly humorous moments. It’s a style of story I never knew I would enjoy so much. The blend of adult themes tossed onto the younger generation makes for such a great story that I had a hard time putting it down.
One of the best parts of this story is how the introduced each chapter, a discussion between friends but overlayed on some sort of game or theme. You get caught off guard a bit a little what the hell is happening, only to realize that its a way to kick off each chapter before going into the story at hand.
The other thing Rosenberg does so well is working with Boss. There creative minds work so well together. Boss has a unique illustration style that works so wonderfully with this type of story.
4 Kids Walk Into a Bank is a funny, unique, and amazing coming of age heist story. Matthew Rosenberg crafts a tale that is every bit of interesting while Tyler Boss illustrates it in his unique and wonderful style. Now it will be interesting to see how 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank translates to the big screen come April 2026.
The collected edition of 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank is available at bookstores everywhere from Black Mask Studios.
4 Kids Walk Into a Bank Preview
