As ever, Dog Man and friends demonstrate that the power of friendship truly can change the world.
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Dog Man cedes the limelight to Li’l Petey, the crime-fighting kitten, in this hilarious new adventure.
Fetch-22, which does bear a passing thematic resemblance to its namesake, follows the familiar Dog Man formula: an introduction by George and Harold, who attempt and (happily) fail to throw out all things childish; several pages of recap, serving to inform the reader of Dog Man’s origin, Li’l Petey’s shared-custody situation, and the incarceration of the elder Petey’s treacherous father; finally, a headfirst dive into the action. This action splits itself among three main threads: The Fair Fairy, a deranged television star, gets fired and vows to exact her revenge on the whole city; Li’l Petey discovers a nefarious chemical compound that produces “psychokinetic brain powers” and “supa anger”; and Grampa breaks out of jail by disguising himself as his son. These threads take a while to converge, making space for both heartwarming moments and Pilkey’s characteristically wacky humor. The pace of the story amps up wonderfully when the Scooby Doo–esque final battle begins, although some of the morals espoused may come off as slightly heavy-handed. The simply colored backgrounds beautifully highlight the characters’ lively expressions, and impressive action sequences abound. The unexplained animation of a tree via psychokinesis comes as an especial (and especially strange) delight. Extensive backmatter includes “news” articles, drawing tutorials, and song lyrics; human characters are diverse.
As ever, Dog Man and friends demonstrate that the power of friendship truly can change the world. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32321-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2019
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS
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SEEN & HEARD
Silly and inventive fast-paced fun
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A zippy graphic-novel series opener featuring two comically bumbling reptile detectives.
As agents of SUIT (Special Undercover Investigation Team) with customized VESTs (Very Exciting Spy Technology) boasting the latest gadgetry, the bright green InvestiGators Mango and Brash receive their newest assignment. The reptilian duo must go undercover at the Batter Down bakery to find missing mustachioed Chef Gustavo and his secret recipes. Before long, the pair find themselves embroiled in a strange and busy plot with a scientist chicken, a rabid were-helicopter, an escape-artist dinosaur, and radioactive cracker dough. Despite the great number of disparate threads, Green manages to tie up most neatly, leaving just enough intrigue for subsequent adventures. Nearly every panel has a joke, including puns (“gator done!”), poop jokes, and pop-culture references (eagle-eyed older readers will certainly pick up on the 1980s song references), promising to make even the most stone-faced readers dissolve into giggles. Green’s art is as vibrant as an overturned box of crayons and as highly spirited as a Saturday-morning cartoon. Fast pacing and imaginative plotting (smattered with an explosion here, a dance number there) propel the action through a whimsical world in which a diverse cast of humans live alongside anthropomorphized reptiles and dinosaurs. With its rampant good-natured goofiness and its unrelenting fizz and pep, this feels like a sugar rush manifested as a graphic novel.
Silly and inventive fast-paced fun . (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21995-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS
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The ubiquitous rodent journalist returns in a new iteration.
Geronimo Stilton, publisher extraordinaire of the Rodent’s Gazette, has a new story to investigate: New Mouse City is plagued by a deeply malodorous stink. As the stench intensifies, the residents flee, selling their homes. Stilton, flanked by his banana-loving friend Hercule Poirat, forays into the sewers to locate the fount of the funk. There, the duo encounters rat queen Trashfur Sparkles XIII and her Grand Council. Trashfur, the mastermind behind the nefariously noxious plan, has set her sights on wedding Hercule and marrying Geronimo off to one of her council members; how will Geronimo escape this time? This new graphic-novel series published by Graphix/Scholastic (not to be confused with Papercutz’s ongoing Geronimo Stilton, Reporter graphic-novel series) and illustrated by Angleberger (of Origami Yoda fame) utilizes a decidedly more cartoonish style than the Papercutz version, more along the Dav Pilkey aesthetic. Funny and fast-paced, this offering is infused with a generous amount of over-the-top silliness, with occasional breaks to explain jokes to readers (explaining that gorgonzola is a type of cheese, for example). With easy-to-read and varied typefaces and oversized, full-color panels, this should effortlessly appeal to the younger set, making it an obvious choice for those deciding what to read next after Dog Man.
A crowd pleaser in an otherwise crowded oeuvre. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-58730-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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