THE BULLY BUG

The Monsterrific series goes Kafka in its final turn.

Bitten by mutant bugs that swarm out of a moldering cereal box, school bully Ludlow finds himself changing into an oversized insect—smelling with his arms, munching on raw leaves, drooling uncontrollably at the suddenly delicious odors coming from Dumpsters and garbage bins. There are scary physical changes, too. Unfortunately, the most logical allies Lud can enlist to understand and cope with his transformation are nerdy habitual victims Norman and Sebastian. Getting past years of bad experiences isn’t going to be easy for either side. Moreover, like the protagonists in preceding volumes, Lud also ultimately has to choose whether to stay a monster or not. Lubar paints a sympathetic portrait of Lud as a victim himself: of nature, nurture and the low expectations of others. But despite troubles in school, he displays throughout a hidden gift for jokes and wordplay that leads in the end to a well-earned talent-show triumph.

A light wash of horror over thought-provoking observations about “dumb” kids and the roots of bullying, with an admixture of comically gross bits. Illustrations not seen.