THE LOST CITY

After sealing off The Night Door (2018) in his first adventure, young Edison Beaker and his plucky little sister, Tesla, think their monster-hunting days may be over.

But then their cherished great-grandma Gigi falls ill and, from her nursing-home bed, warns Edison and Tesla they must return to the Underwhere to find both the lost city of Pharos and the Spark, then relight its snuffed torch. She gives Tesla a monster-detecting bracelet called the Creature Beeper and tells Edison to look for her Underwhere journal at her old home. Once at Gigi’s house, the siblings discover it teeming with Underlings, monsters usually only found in the Underwhere. Luckily, they are saved by their friend Knox and transported back to the Underwhere on the back of a giant, snarky, vegetarian cat named Alexander. Once there, the race is on to find Pharos and the Spark before evil Baron Umbra can defeat them. Cammuso’s graphic offering should easily delight young readers with its zippy pacing, generous humor, and approachable characters. Although it’s a lively and exciting portal fantasy of otherworlds and monster fighting, themes of bullying, acceptance, and family are explored, giving this a solid layer of depth alongside the fun. This series only builds momentum with each volume, so expect a monstrous demand for subsequent adventures. Edison, Tesla, and Gigi present white; Knox is purple.

A series to watch.