Ultimately, this European import is clumsy and uninteresting.
Set in London, England, two monster mysteries in graphic-novel format.
Kyle, who blogs his passion for ghosts and monsters, is actively on the lookout for a mystery to solve. In “Wild Werewolves,” the first of the two stories, a stranger named Lon Chaney approaches Kyle and his friend Zoey at the library. He believes that a few nights ago he turned into a werewolf, and he asks them to find a solution. Kyle and Zoe team up with Ashley and Tyler, two more friends, to work out why werewolves have suddenly appeared in the city. In “Mummy Mischief,” the four friends read an online news article about a mummy on the subway (the text has been Americanized) and go to the British Museum’s mummy exhibit to get more clues. Both stories are reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, and Robert’s bright illustrations offer a lot of potential. However, the stories lack conviction, and although the book tries (very hard!) to be funny, the wordplay is clunky and the jokes often fall flat. (For instance, the answer to the question “Why would a mummy travel on the subway?” is “Because taxis don’t give rides to mummies!”) Most importantly, perhaps, the allegedly teenage characters read like 8-year-olds. Zoey is the only character of color, but her identity does not come into play at all during the course of the stories.
Ultimately, this European import is clumsy and uninteresting. (Graphic mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-52848-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Earnest and thoughtful.
In this follow-up to Garlic and the Vampire (2021), vegetable helpers become human.
In Paulsen’s first foray into this world, Garlic and her vegetable friends showed up fully formed. The second installment explains how they were harvested when melancholy, light-skinned Witch Agnes decided to grow herself some helpers, making her world a brighter place. She’s still working on a blood substitute for her vampire friend, Count, and sends Garlic and Count to a far-off market to retrieve some bloodroot. Garlic, meanwhile, is worried about sprouting a fifth finger, not having been told that she and her vegetable friends would eventually become human. There are a few sticky storytelling moments—it’s hard to believe that it would take the witch so long to remember that a plant called bloodroot might be helpful in synthesizing blood, and it’s unclear for quite a while that Garlic’s concerns revolve around her number of fingers. The cheerful art, rendered in an autumnal palette, and relatable characters remain the series’ main draws, though this story veers a bit more toward cloying sentimentality than the first, with many overt conversations about being yourself and embracing change even though it’s scary. Still, though, when the vegetables turn into a multiracial group of humans, readers will close the book feeling good.
Earnest and thoughtful. (Graphic novel. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-299512-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Plenty of silly hijinks to keep the pages turning; readers will find this a gas.
After all the kittens in the world are abducted, it’s domesticated animal superheroes to the rescue!
Reluctantly recruited into the eXpets after driving two would-be burglars into nauseated submission with superpowered blasts of doggy gas from both ends, peaceable Bosco finds himself renamed Stanky Dog. Soon, he’s headed on a rescue mission to the moon with tiny but fierce Ginormous Gerbil, Wonder Guppy, and like stars of the S&SCU, or Simon & Schuster Comics Universe (not to be confused with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if you please). With the innuendo extending even into chapter heads (“Doggie Don’t or Doggie Do?”), Tatulli’s loudly hued panes fill up with frenetic action and rapid-fire repartee as the heroes struggle to prevent archnemesis the Skunk and his tentacled minion, Captain Calamari, from digging up the ancient Collar of Power that would force all humans to become pets and vice versa. Can the furry fighters save the day—not to mention an ocean of wide-eyed, intensely cute kitties who were kidnapped to do lunar excavation? (“It’s actually a giant ball of kitty litter! And who knows more about digging through kitty litter than—kitties?”) Cue the slogan—“eXpets exceed expectations!”—on the way to a triumphant finish featuring a round of parties and parades back on Earth, plus a twist or two to set up future episodes.
Plenty of silly hijinks to keep the pages turning; readers will find this a gas. (Graphic adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781665914871
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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