LASER MOOSE AND RABBIT BOY: DISCO FEVER by Doug Savage

Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy are back in LASER MOOSE AND RABBIT BOY: DISCO FEVER. When Rabbit Boy catches up to Laser Moose, Laser Moose is hunting a new villain, a creature he believes is more evil than his nemesis Cyborgupine: a cute little Chickadee. As the story unfolds, it leaves the reader guessing whether or not Chickadee is a master villain, one of the good guys, or a creature that just gets caught in the middle of things. After a bunch of disco balls are lost from a truck, Cyborgupine creates a plan how to defeat Laser Moose once and for all. Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy are a really unique duo and a set of graphic novels. I’m looking forward to reading more of their zany adventures.

ARIOL #6: A NASTY CAT by Emmanuel Guibert and Marc Boutavant

ARIOL #6: A NASTY CAT is the 6^th volume of stories featuring the young anthropomorphic donkey, Ariol.  The Nasty Cat in the title refers to one of Ariol’s nemesis, a cat named Timberwolf. Timberwolf is a bully, but he really doesn’t appear in these stories all that much. The stories in this collection are:

“The Race” – during P.E. at school, Ariol’s class takes place in a running some laps. It isn’t a race, but Ariol pretends it is and tries to finish first.

“Foundation” – Ariol wants to look more like his idol, Superhorse. So, he puts his ears back and uses some of his Mom’s foundation to paint his face. Unfortunately, he can’t get it off.

“Snow Day” – It snows one day. Ariol’s dad can’t get his car started so Ariol and his friend, Ramono, walk to school.

“Petula! Petula!” – Ariol hears a song on the radio with the name “Petula” in the title. Petula is the little cow Ariol has a crush on. So, he decides he is going to find out the name of the song and buy the cd to give to Petula.

“A Surprise” – Ariol’s birthday is coming up and he wants to do something different this year.

“Truth or Dare” – on a bus ride for a field trip, Ariol and Ramono sit next to Petula and Mothbella. Petula and Mothbella start playing truth or dare and Ariol hopes that he will be asked to join in the game.

“One to Zero” – Ramono spends the night at Ariol’s. They plan to get Ariol’s parents to let them stay up to watch the soccer game. That doesn’t happen, so they have to hatch a new plan.

“Aquasplash” – Ariol and his dad spend the day at the water park.

“Mrs. Sapolin’s Pies” – Ariol and Ramono go with Ariol’s grandmother to bake pies at Mrs. Sapolin’s house. While there, they meet Mr. Sapolin.

“Don Olio and his Rhythms” – While at the bizarre selling pies for Mrs. Sapolin, Ariol gets to meet some musicians and sing on stage.

“Vote for Ariol” – Ariol decides to run for class president so he can get closer to Petula. But things don’t go as planned.

“The Election” – It’s the class election day. Will Ariol win the election or will he find a way out of it?

The collection ends kind of on a cliffhanger and I’m curious to see if the next book in the series takes it up.

LUPIN LEAPS IN by Georgia Dunn

LUPIN LEAPS IN is a compilation of stories of the comic strip “Breaking Cat News.”  The BNN features three cats: Lupin, Elvis, and Puck. They report on news that matters to cats. This particular book focuses on many of the adventures of Lupin. I am not a cat person and initially was not a fan of “Breaking Cat News.” However, while I’m still not a fan, the series has grown on me somewhat and I’m at least amicable to it. The cats in this comic have bigger personalities than Garfield and are more realistic in their behaviors. If you’re a cat lover, you’ll probably enjoy the strip and like LUPIN LEAPS IN.

ZITS: NOT SPARKING JOY by Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman

NOT SPARKING JOY is the latest treasury of “Zits” comic strips. It features the Duncan family:  Dad Walter, Mom Connie, and their crazy teenage son Jeremy. The strips featured in the book appear to have run in newspapers from January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017. "Zits" is more of a gag-a-day strip, but it does occasional feature a short running story or a weeklong themed strip. I still enjoy reading “Zits,” but I do have to admit that sometimes it occasionally gets stale. The title of the book comes from Marie Kondo and a few strips that revolve around Kondo’s cleaning philosophy.

BIG NATE: BLOW THE ROOF OFF! by Lincoln Peirce

The continuing middle school adventures of Nate Wright (aka Big Nate) continue in BIG NATE: BLOW THE ROOF OFF! Honestly, the strongest storyline in this book is that Nate’s summer crush, Trudy, is the new girl at Nate’s school. Nate is so excited. However, there’s a slight problem: Trudy is in the 7^th grade and Nate is a 6^th grader. There are a few other storylines in this collection, but the majority of the stories in the collection revolve around Nate & Trudy. BIG NATE: BLOW THE ROOF OFF! Includes a pull-out poster of the book’s cover.