A mix of simple comedic ingredients with a few twists as garnish makes for a funny, fast read.
An alien duo comically attempt to make hummus.
Zips is a tentacled, single-eyed orange extraterrestrial, while pal Eeloo is a cute childlike green creature with crab-pincer hands. Together, they host a self-styled cooking show in which they impart culinary wisdom based on their extensive knowledge of human food, garnered over the course of nearly one week on Earth. Overconfident Zips has come to the table ill-prepared. Realizing how interminably long the dried beans must soak leads to frustration. Managing the machinations of the mysterious food processor tests Zips’ dexterity. A missing ingredient requires a risky dash to the grocery store. When the aliens finally complete their concoction, readers will have learned a lot about both of them: Zips’ bombastic attitude belies a general lack of knowledge on all things human, while it turns out that Eeloo’s pincer hands have many useful applications in the kitchen. Their humorous quest mirrors a caregiver and child experimenting in the kitchen, a location where many readers may have experienced failure, persistence, and, hopefully, a final tasty victory. The structure of the comic is rather rigid, with pages generally composed of four panels of dialogue emphasizing the duo’s interplay, but the story is most exciting when they break beyond that, making messes and reacting to challenges with visual gags.
A mix of simple comedic ingredients with a few twists as garnish makes for a funny, fast read. (hummus recipe) (Graphic fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781524884352
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Readers will go for these pals who stick together in a bond as solid as stone.
More fun with Stick and Stone!
The BFFs whose exploits were chronicled in two earlier picture books (2015, 2021), illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, have joined the graphic-novel universe. This second graphic novel starring the duo, after Stick and Stone Explore and More (2022), is divided into two chapters, each followed by appealing, simple activities. The first chapter finds the pals picnicking with friends near a cave. Timid worrywart Stone has misgivings, but those issues are resolved satisfactorily. Once over those hurdles, Stone confronts spelunking, a word he loves (as will readers) until he learns what it entails. Stone’s not into cave exploring, but what he discovers when he finds himself in a cave are unexpected—and not entirely unpleasant—surprises and, afterward, a burgeoning new friendship. In the second chapter, Stone effects a daring rescue as he extracts Stick from the jaws of an overly enthusiastic puppy, an adventure that leads the pair to adopt a “pet” that undergoes a spectacular transformation, necessitating a tender farewell. This charmer is chock-full of humor, heart, adventure, and the joys of friendship. Stick and Stone are endearingly winning characters with distinctive, expressive personalities. Kids will savor the dynamic, funny digital illustrations; follow the panels and speech bubbles easily; and appreciate the font, which varies with the narrative’s onomatopoeia.
Readers will go for these pals who stick together in a bond as solid as stone. (Graphic fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-358-54938-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
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