SUPER FLY

From the “bug-centric” burg of Stinkopolis rises Super Fly, diminutive defender of the city dump—not to mention the planet beyond.

Following in the footsteps of his renowned dad, inventor of the Poop-A-Rama (“the perfect appliance for any housefly household”), nerdy fourth-grader Eugene Flystein has developed not only a device that converts boogers into lunchroom pizzas, but the Ultimo 6-9000, a device that increases intelligence and strength by a factor of 9,000. Unfortunately, the latter’s first subject is class bully Cornelius C. Roach—who races off to build giant robot rats and roaches with the aim of exterminating (wait for it) “HUMANS! Dun, dun, dun.” What can Eugene do but soup himself up likewise, don a cape and his little sister’s tights, and buzz off to battle? In a narrative festooned with swarms of small cartoon drawings and chapter heads like “Nice Flies Finish Last” and “Your Fly is Down,” this mighty mite, with able if overcaffeinated sidekick Fred Flea, survives a series of fiendishly clever traps and attacks on the way to a win. But the triumph is short-lived—roaches being, as everyone knows, hard to kill—and further conflicts loom.

As Fred would (does, actually) exclaim: “Ding-dong donkey donuts, Super Fly!” Fans of Super Diaper Baby will agree.