PUMPKIN PATCH PANIC!

A duck and a donkey struggle to retrieve an invention from a criminal cat crew.

Ducky the Spy, clad in trench coat and trilby hat, is back on the beat, accompanied by the fabulously flatulent Donny Donkey. As the story begins, there’s no particular case to solve, but Ducky and Donny have no problem creating one. Easily irritated farm boss Mr. Pig, against his better judgment, asks the pair to keep an eye on his prize pumpkin in anticipation of its entry into the Big Veggie Contest. Donny gets too close, taking a huge bite out of the gigantic pumpkin, and Ducky must scramble to find a suitably humongous replacement before Mr. Pig discovers what’s happened. Gretta, a giant chicken (and Mr. Pig’s daughter), has an ideal invention primed to solve their problem: a Veg-big-inator Ray. Unfortunately, it’s been purloined by the meddling Cat Gang. And so Ducky and Donny’s mission begins, with plenty of donkey farts and suspicious glances from the fiendish felines, as well as a few delightfully destructive moments of dramatic action. Once more depicting a broadly sketched, offbeat cast and matching the previous volume in outlandish plot and jokey outbursts, this latest installment is in peak form and ideally suited for fans of Bad Guys or Dog Man. Strong use of paneling, pacing, and half-tone backgrounds adds a delightful air of comic strip–style lightness.

An energetic, enjoyably ridiculous romp.