A friendship story as rare as the creatures in it.
An adorably legendary pairing unfolds in this creative, cryptozoological graphic novel.
Bigfoot Littletoe III just can’t seem to stand out. The rest of his family members make headlines with their epic photobombs of humans. Try as he might, Bigfoot keeps goofing it up, tripping, slipping, or stumbling and missing many opportunities to have his picture taken. When, one day, he gets tangled up in some campers’ tent, a smartly disguised stranger stumbles upon the forlorn Bigfoot. With the flap of a flipper, she shakes him loose, and after a campfire heart-to-heart, she assures Bigfoot that there’s more to life than being noticed. Bigfoot’s new pal is none other than Nessie, but the fluffy fella does not recognize her as the Nessie of Loch Ness fame. Nessie suggests Bigfoot stop fixating on fame and start figuring out what he actually enjoys doing, leading to an artistic montage that culminates with Bigfoot finding his true passion: hedge sculptures, which finally bring him the fame he’s long sought! Conflict arises when Nessie’s true identity is uncovered and Bigfoot has to decide which is more important: the adoration of masses of people he doesn’t know or the love of his one true friend. Far from being a one-note monster story, this tale has strong social-emotional elements, like Nessie’s calm reassurance, which inspires Bigfoot to create art despite self-doubt, woven into the narrative to create unexpected depth and complexity. The cheerful, manga-inspired artwork pops with color and expression, adding a dreamy quality to the work. Luckily for readers, this darling duo will appear again, as this is the first in a planned series. Humans depicted are diverse.
A friendship story as rare as the creatures in it. (Graphic novel. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-38572-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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