MAGIC PICKLE

Different plot, different format, same cast: Running in parallel to published chapter-book episodes such as Magic Pickle and the Planet of the Grapes (2007), this scenario-setter introduces the bulked-up cuke superhero. Blasting out of a lab hidden beneath the floor of feisty everylass Jo Jo Wigman, he propels himself into battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Produce—in particular the quick and canny Romaine Gladiator. “Weapon Kosher” (his codename) comes through of course, dispensing “Dill Justice” to all villains while JoJo takes on class princess Lu Lu Deederly on the side. Portraying the nonstop action with an effervescent blend of discrete panels and insets, Morse depicts his flying pickled protagonist with muscular arms and a “tasteful yet mysteriously revealing” star above a pair of ferociously squinting eyes. Evidently to make up the page count, the author tacks on a short yet silly encounter between Pickle and a lottery-winning bazillionaire who’s been transformed into a coconut, then closes with basic advice for aspiring cartoonists. Diverting and dill-ectable. (Graphic novel. 8-10)