This ham is sweet enough for readers to want seconds.
Peter Porker is hamming it up in Hollywood.
Spider-Ham, an alternate version of Spider-Man from a universe where anthropomorphic animals are the norm, sets his sights on Hollywood when he learns that the lovely Mary Jane Waterbuffalo is starring in a movie by proclaimed director Alfred Peacock. Oddly though, Spider-Ham seems be the antagonist in this cinematic outing. Traveling to Los Angelfish and finding a way into the studio, Spider-Ham uncovers treachery in the form of the Swinester Six: Mysteriape, Raven the Hunter, Buzzard (who’s actually an Opossum), Sandmanatee, Eelectro, and Doctor Octopussy Cat. With help from Mary Jane, Porker is able to save the day and stop the Swinester Six. Along the way, readers who love the Marvel characters will giggle at the various animal-themed cameos of popular characters and Peter Porker’s general bumbling. It’s an amusing graphic novel for younger or reluctant readers and one that should have a lot of popular appeal on school or library shelves. The artwork is bright and inviting, and even readers who aren’t that familiar with all the Marvel references will still be able to enjoy the story. Adults will appreciate that Mary Jane plays a more proactive role than just “damsel in distress” and has a big role in ultimately saving Spider-Ham from the baddies.
This ham is sweet enough for readers to want seconds. (Graphic novel. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80669-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A winning exhortation, earnest in its underpinnings at least, to be the change.
A toy robot from the past wages peace in a dystopian future.
If ever an AI “programmed to spread kindness, friendship, and good vibes” faced a tough challenge it would be the Zones—a barren, Mad Max–style landscape dotted with rocks and ruins, where feuding overlords Lord Bonkers and Papa Mayhem are gearing up for war while scattered “dirt-folk” struggle for survival. But Fred turns out to be tougher than his generic child’s body and blandly cheery expression would suggest. In fact, from the moment he crawls out of the rubble of a former toy store, he begins working changes on everyone he encounters: “Wow! I really like your helmet! It’s super neat!” Teaching others how to do high-fives and rolling out upbeat stickers from a fingertip dispenser as he goes, Fred weathers scorn, slime, and worse to make friends, reunite long-separated siblings, and show even fierce rivals a way to peace and forgiveness (“Sorry I bonked you.” “Eh, it happens”) before, in the cartoon-style illustrations, literally striding off into the sunset in search of others who need to hear his message. For readers who do get it, Rex closes with a savvy six-step plan for making new friends. Beneath his dorky eyeglasses and tuft of blue hair, Fred’s moon face is light skinned; the heavily armored supporting cast sports a variety of hues from light brown to bluish gray.
A winning exhortation, earnest in its underpinnings at least, to be the change. (Graphic science fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-20632-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
An uninspired installment in an equally uninteresting graphic-fantasy series.
A kid and his purple friend reunite for another trip to the Land of the Trolls.
Felix, a redheaded White boy, has a portal to a world of trolls in his bedroom toy box. As he searches his messy room for Robocan, his remote-controlled dog, he falls into the other world. But we’ve been here before. In this sequel, Felix is soon paired back up with Calcite the troll on a quest to find the robot. They meet Tourmaline, the great troll witch; ride a flying Rockadactyl (a pterodactyl made of stone), and escape the laser eye beams of Garganto, a giant guardian blocking the way through a gorge. Unsurprisingly, Robocan shows up to help, and Felix ends up back home with another this-happened-then-this-happened story under his belt. In its attempt to widen the world of Felix and Calcite from the first volume, this book instead repeats most of the beats and tries to make up for its thin story with fantasy elements that never feel particularly clever, original, or visually interesting. Felix has no personality, and in this book, at least, Calcite doesn’t do much but tag along on Felix’s quest. Games such as an invitation to search the cartoon artwork for a hidden spider begin and end the book.
An uninspired installment in an equally uninteresting graphic-fantasy series. (Graphic early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72846-291-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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