Monty Python meets Captain Underpants in a prose/cartoon hybrid from Down Under featuring Sir Glame, a puffed-up, borderline psychopath in armor, and his sarcastic equine sidekick Bill. The plot, insofar as there is one, involves a hunt for the author of Saucy McRascal’s Book of Fun!, a collection of smarmy verse (quoted at length) deemed entirely unsuitable for young readers. In a mix of cartoon panels and paragraphs liberally strewn with line drawings, the questing duo encounter a host of adversaries along the way, from motherly rival Hero Mrs. Honeychurch and her feathered sidekick Sir Quacksalot, to a space-alien cooking-show host, a literally downsized giant, and an Evil Giant Killer Robot From Hell. By the end, the pernicious poet is unmasked, but the bickering between Sir Glame and Bill escalates into an all-out battle that leaves the town of Sausagopolis in ruins. Wright blithely brings dead characters back to life, frequently veers off into irrelevant side episodes, and ratchets up the sarcasm along with the violence: so what’s not to like/offend—particularly for young readers who consider the Captain’s outings so third grade? (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-86508-785-8
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
Taking child spoilage to a whole new level, six-year-old King Ethelbert performs some world-class acting out in these 12 graphic-format misadventures. With no parents around to say him nay, Ethelbert takes great delight in watching all of the grownups scrambling to deliver whatever he demands, from an elephant-sized sundae to having all of the children in the kingdom replaced with robot replicas of him. Not only, though, do his notions rarely turn out quite as planned, but those grownups are smart enough to outmaneuver him at need—and even deliver a few counter-pranks of their own. Though the small pictures and truly tiny typeface will challenge all but the most acute eyes, the retro ’60s-style art perfectly conveys the slapstick action and sly tone of this import. Calvin and Hobbes fans will be particularly delighted. (Graphic fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59643-094-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: First Second/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
In this mixed-format series opener, straight text switches to comic-strip panels whenever the young narrator and his twin leave their suburban neighborhood to visit an alternate Earth that features zombies, mini–T. Rex’s and a general practice of wearing tighty-whities as overgarments. Sucked through the interdimensional doorway of a mysterious house with his goody-goody twin sister Stephanie and best bud Hector, Zeke meets a band of rebel Undies who greet him as a long lost prince, then later returns home to keep the UnderLord—who has come in the guise of squat, truly clueless rap star “Beefy D” (get it?) to conquer the Earth—from recovering his stolen (porcelain) Throne. This being a setup episode, Hale leaves plot and subplots unresolved, but tucks in enough wacky characters, wisecracking and alimentary humor to satisfy even jaded Captain Underpants fans. Not quite another Chet Gecko (as yet), but still, well, a gas. (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-085124-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
