August 16, 2021
The “very first issue of Captain Fantastic” has arrived at the local comic shop, and superfan fourth-grader Stevie Blunt, who has brown hair and light skin, needs it. The problem: Stevie doesn’t have $75, and the shopkeeper will only hold it until Monday, when Stevie’s blond archenemy Chaz Pharsight will buy it. Decked out in full superhero gear complete with “super-heroic hair” and a marker mask, Stevie (aka Commander Universe) quickly agrees to dog-sit for Miss Boyle, “the prettiest lady in whole town,” who “zips around the neighborhood on a candy-apple-red hovercraft.” Soon, though, Cupcake goes missing, and Commander Universe; his Latinx friend Rudy, known as X; and East Asian neighbor Abi Chan must find the precious pug in a town of villains before Miss Boyle returns. Interweaving comics-style scenes throughout, Kelley’s middle grade debut keeps the laughs rolling in this imaginative encouragement for the next generation of caped crusaders. Ages 7–10.
October 15, 2021
Grades 2-4 In this droll suburban caper, the theft of the dog he was watching sends neighborhood superhero Commander Universe, alter ego of mild-mannered Stevie Blunt, charging off to the rescue. Keeping tongue firmly planted in cheek, Kelley strews the simple mystery with obvious clues and multiple suspects while surrounding his towel-caped crime-fighter with a mildly caricatured but also offhandedly diverse cast, led by excitable sidekick Rudy and annoying neighbor Abi Chan--who, for all the trouble she has picking out a super moniker of her own ("Abi, the Amazing Hero of Super-Awesome Incredibleness," "Abi, the Incredible and Amazing Super Girl of Incredible Powerfulness and Deceptive Cuteness"), turns out to be the better detective. Of course there's an arch-nemesis to confront, too (though the bullying actually goes both ways), and a hilariously overcoddled canine MacGuffin, who turns up safe and sound in the end. Presented in a mix of full-color comics panels and short chapters of print generously interspersed with additional inset vignettes, this rib-tickler will pull chuckles even from earnest, young world savers and villain battlers.
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