OPERATION ROBOT STORM

Does the world, or at least Great Britain, need saving? Call on the hirsute heroes of the Mythical 9th Division!

Not to be confused with their bigfoot rivals of the Yankee 6th Division, three shaggy, squabbling yetis known as Albrecht, Timonen and Saar are first responders when Britain calls for rescue. This time, the sudden disappearance of Wales beneath a fast-moving glacier brings the tufted trio flying in from Tibet to face evil mastermind Balaclava, aka Dr. Icepick—who has built a gigantic weather machine atop appropriately named Mount Snowdon and is holding the entire planet hostage for a ransom of $1 trillion. Can the pilose protectors penetrate Balaclava’s icy fortress, fend off his army of laser-wielding robots and (with, perhaps, a spot of help from a Welsh mum and a crew of miners) put paid to the evil scheme? Do you doubt? With occasional breaks for labeled looks at high-tech gear or scenes presented in cinematic sequential panels, Milway (Mousehunter, 2009) crafts a lickety-split set of chases, battles, captures and escapes culminating in the villain’s (presumed) death, the device’s destruction and a lot of defrosted victims. The author notes in a postscript that there actually are eight other mythical divisions, leaving plenty of fodder for sequels.

Snow joke.