WOLFIE MONSTER AND THE BIG BAD PIZZA BATTLE

A cheerful monster faces off against a diabolical businessman.

With one large eye, bright purple arms, a blue head and body, rosy pink feet and cheeks, and an unrelenting smile, Wolfie Monster runs Magik Cheez Pizza along with his brothers, Jackson and Roy. Wolfie and Roy are both goofy and laid-back, while Type A Jackson struggles to manage the business. When successful mega-corporation Happy Leaf moves into their town, its owner, the take-no-prisoners Lord Mudpant, offers to buy out Magik Cheez. Roy and Jackson are eager to sell, but Wolfie is not interested. The fiendish Mudpant plots to make Happy Leaf the only choice in town and will stop at nothing to achieve pizza domination; can a little monster win against a big businessman? Wolfie is silly and bumbling, but his best friend, Bea, has the good sense needed to take on the nefarious Mudpant. With a good amount of pop and fizz, this fun, fast-paced graphic offering will delight readers with its giggle-inducing antics set against a timely backdrop. Most of the main characters are male; female Bea is a sunny, tangerine-colored monster with cheery purple hair and body and is depicted in a complementary palette and similar body shape as the male characters, with none of the stereotypical feminine signifiers such as eyelashes or hair bows.

Like pizza, this David-and-Goliath crowd-pleaser is hot and fresh.