LIFE REALLY SOCKS

Where do socks go when they get lost in the wash? Open this graphic novel and find out.

Freddy may be stinky, but he loves life with his partner, Peter, on their active boy’s feet. But when he’s whirled through the spin cycle, he finds himself in a laundry-themed land of pairless peers called the “Sock-Verse”—specifically, in the city of “Washingtown.” If you think that’s a feeble pun, just wait for the “temple of loom,” “a feeling in my gusset,” “a needle in a hay sock,” and “lost soles.” While Freddy meets several amiable socks, he just wants to go home and reunite with Peter. His ensuing quest feels as though it’s been through the rinse/repeat cycle so many times that it’s lost its luster. The shapeless story wanders as Freddy deciphers symbols on an “ancient scroll” (a laundry tag) in order to find the wise gatekeeper, who may be able to help him return “foot-side.” Just when the narrative seems stretched to its limit, it meanders on, blending genres like a threadbare mixture of fibers. It’s a buddy story about “mismatched” friends, a search for a lost brother, and a satire about mystics vs. skeptics (which will go over readers’ heads). The cartoon art exploits every moment of action, adding plenty of onomatopoeia, but it’s not enough to save this one.

Will have readers hoping the protagonist puts a sock in it.