Steven Hollis left for Los Angeles with only a dream of becoming a screenwriter and a friend who wanted to act. Years later, Steven has a gambling problem, a drinking problem, and an eviction notice for his crummy apartment.
Thankfully, he also still has his friend Diedrich Ryan, who grew into one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. And despite his success and now speaking of himself in the third person, Diedrich has not forgotten the friend from high school who pushed him to apply to Julliard.
When Diedrich gets an invite to the bachelor party of wonderkid producer Benny Blevins, he’s all too happy to bring Steven as his “plus one.” It’s a golden opportunity for Steven to try and sell his screenplays to one of the most powerful players in Hollywood. Unfortunately for Steven, it is also a golden opportunity for crime boss Lucca Burlusconi.
Blevins, in addition to being a noteworthy producer, is also a notorious sexual predator. A gentleman gangster of the old school, Lucca Burlusconi would find this distasteful even if his own daughter were not one of Blevins’ victims. And while even his influence cannot touch Benny Blevins in Los Angeles, there is an unfortunate screenwriter who owes Lucca Burlusconi a lot of money. One who just got invited to a private party at a lavish mansion in Mexico City, where Benny Blevins will be celebrating his upcoming wedding.
Thus does Lucca Burlusconi’s problem of how to avenge his daughter become a problem for Steven Hollis to solve. It is only the start of Steven’s increasingly lengthy list of problems. One that will swiftly grow to accommodate fleeing the scene of a murder, evading a Mexican drug cartel, and somehow getting back to the United States without a passport. Compared to that, selling his screenplays while finding time to kill the man who can make his dream come true will be a cake walk.
Imagine The Hangover rewritten and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and you might wind up with something like The Loose End. There is an edge to Dave Dwonch’s writing that was clearly inspired by the indie heist movie boom of the 1990s. However, Dwonch parodies this aesthetic just as much as he homages it. This is particularly true in the second half of the story, as a group largely consisting of action movie stars enact increasingly outlandish plans they think will work because they saw it in a movie once. Ironically, their plans work just about as often as they do not, with one actor turning out to be an incredibly skilled sharpshooter despite only training in firearms to learn how to stand properly.
The artwork by Travis Hymel mirrors this tone. The style is reminiscent of many indie action comics of the time, and one could almost see this comic being done in black and white. But then we couldn’t have the colors off Geraldo Filho, which punctuates certain panels by rendering them with a single color. That, coupled with a shift between hot and cold colors, creates the feeling of a late 20th century grindhouse heist movie.
The Loose End is rated 15+ by Titan Comics and I consider that a fair ranking. There is considerable violence, drug use, and references to sex and sexual assault. Yet there is no nudity and no on-panel depiction of sexual assault. Surprisingly, there’s also no on-panel disrespect of women more extreme than Benny Blevins slapping the backside of one of the maids at the mansion he rented. Despite this, I would still recommend this one for an adult graphic novel collection, purely because older audiences are more likely to spot the references and tributes hidden throughout the comic.
The Loose End By Dave Dwonch Art by Travis Hymel Titan, 2025 ISBN: 9781787746442
Company Age Rating: 15+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
The bond between a boy and his dog is a special one that can last a lifetime. Building that tender relationship, however, takes considerable time and effort as demonstrated in Andy Hirsch’s (Science Comics series from First Second) Good Boy, a story of how one high-strung boy and his unpredictable dog learn to connect with each other and nurture a remarkable friendship.
Charlie is a middle grader who, when pressured into stressful situations, switches into panic mode and ends up barfing. This occurs right before a camping trip when he prepares to board the school bus. He stresses over packing only one toothbrush, which then explodes into a flurry of thoughts that sends him back home where he finds refuge under a blanket on the couch. To his surprise, his mom brings home a rescue dog named Ralph. Eager to befriend his new playmate, Charlie approaches Ralph only to be greeted with a ferocious growl. Slowly but surely, Ralph grows to trust Charlie and thus begins a budding relationship between the two. When Ralph unwittingly follows Charlie to school one day, the principal’s assistant suggests that Charlie teach him agility training lessons.
The two launch into a series of rigorous athletic trainings: From leaping through hoops and over hurdles, darting through tunnels, balancing on see-saws, and scaling up and down inclined ramps, Charlie and Ralph develop a bond built from mutual trust, patience, and calculated timing while fostering a social emotional connection that undergirds their relationship. Shaded panels and thought bubbles bombard Charlie during sudden episodes of social anxiety, balanced out by an expressive range of emotions and reactions from Ralph. At the heart of this endearing relationship lies a story of pushing through playful antics and obstacles that test the dynamics and gamut of their friendship.
Most poignant are the interpersonal subtleties that arise and evolve between the two as they navigate on a road paved with numerous obstacles—a partnership cultivated from the virtues of trust, patience, respect, and ultimately deep understanding of each other. A delightfully amusing addition to middle grade graphic novel collections, one that explores the psychology of pet ownership, Good Boy excels in capturing the struggles and mishaps of coping with social anxiety, mastering the art of pet training, building trust, and persevering through all the obstacles along for the ride.
Good Boy By Andy Hirsch Macmillan First Second, 2025 ISBN: 9781250291950
Sashimi is new in Barnacle Bay school. He has a hoodie pulled over his wide eyes and orange skin. And he’s squishy – he sweats all the time! All the kids he meets at his school are surly, critical and awkward, (or even mean!) but he doesn’t seem to notice. He even thinks the school bully and the bully’s toadies are funny!
There’s a lot that Sashimi doesn’t know. Everything is new to him, and he’s seeing everything for the first time. Even though he’s a sweet…whatever, he sometimes doesn’t realize his behavior isn’t appropriate. So he gets whacked a lot. There’s lots of whacking. But regardless of how the kids treat him, he refuses to be embarrassed – he’s completely confident and authentic about who he is and constantly amazed by everything.
Still, it’s A LOT. Good thing he’s got his friend, the classroom goldfish, to answer some of the more pressing questions he has. There’s also Joseph, the friend who says he’s not a friend. Unfortunately, Sashimi finds some disturbing information out in the supermarket while on a trip downtown. And THEN he meets his friend Joseph’s grandfather, and things get….well…complicated. Just like Clark Kent taking off his glasses, Sashimi’s secret gets found out. But will his friends help him keep his secret? What exactly WOULD a good friend do?
Santat’s broad marker lines and manga-like expressions add to the comic action and made me laugh out loud at some pages – “I can see through time!” “Holy Smokes, kill it with FIRE!”
This is a warm story about making friends, how hard that can be sometimes, and learning to be your authentic self. It’s appropriately placed for middle grades, ages 6-12.
Sashimi By Dan Santat Macmillan Roaring Brook, 2026 ISBN: 9781250360007
A political allegory for the rise of dictatorship all framed through the anxious lives of… some pigeons?
Street Noise Books delivers the English language edition of Pigeons! A Fable for Our Time from Marc Chalvin. The book opens boldly, introducing the reader to a vast number of hapless pigeons and the merciless crow who terrorizes and controls them.
The pigeons themselves are not known for complex thought. They eat poisoned seeds, walk in front of cars, and generally look for crow to give them instruction in every area of life. Simultaneously, the crow revels in this power, killing pigeons at will and toying with the living ones, safe in the knowledge that they will never object. Into this scene enters an idealistic seagull. She believes the pigeons are capable of more; the challenge is to convince them of that. The plan—stage democratic elections so that the pigeons can understand the concept of freedom and escape crow’s tyranny. The problem—the pigeons may prefer an iron claw to an uncertain world in which they make their own decisions.
While there is a clear narrative from start to finish, Chalvin balances story and character with a heavy emphasis on the political themes of the book. The pigeons often understand very little of what is happening around them, but the book intersperses debates between crow and seagull on topics such as democracy, control, and self-actualization which serve to bring the social and political topics to the forefront. In this way, things are a bit on the nose for readers who prefer subtler messaging. That being said, the book is far from a dry treatise on political thought. The pigeons banter and squabble, crow struggles to manage even the most basic interactions with the feathered populous, and seagull looks on in dismay as even the best intentions struggle in the face of reality. With dry humor and biting observations about humanity, Chalvin turns loose three factions in a struggle that feels immensely relevant to human history and the moment we live in today.
Chalvin’s art as well is simple, keeping the emphasis on the characters and the content over highly detailed scenes. With heavy line sketches and simple shading, there are stylistic touches of political cartoons while still allowing the book to take on its own shape and character. The wide-eyed pigeons are often indistinguishable, but Chalvin still imbues them with life amidst their fear and their naive joy as they wander their way through each new day. Most pages are broken into a simple four-panel layout while occasional scenes are given more space for detail and emphasis as key moments unfold at a larger scale. It’s a style that serves well, as Chalvin takes the simple visuals and fills them with personality and meaning.
There is some semi-graphic animal death throughout the book that is mitigated by both the style and the ironic humor that define the book. While the themes and questions are important, younger readers are likely to bounce off of this in favor of less overt political explorations. However, for older teens who are interested, and definitely for adults, Pigeons! is packed with sharp messaging and enough lingering complexity to give the reader something to contemplate once the book is done—rather than tying everything off in a bow that invites no further exploration. As a piece of social and political commentary, Chalvin delivers an excellent and tightly told fable here, and it’s a worthy addition and warning for any readership inclined to sit with it. And for any space looking to teach on the ideas the book contains, Pigeons! offers a very palatable entry point into subjects that can sometimes be dry in a purely academic context. In short, it’s not for everyone, but it’s a book well worth picking up for the right audience and an important book to see on shelves today.
Pigeons! A Fable for Our Times By Marc Chalvin Street Noise Books, 2025 ISBN: 9781951491505
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: French,
Continuing to showcase fan favorites from the original show, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and T’Lyn, this first volume in the new ongoing series features the same humor and adventure from the cartoon in episodic comic form. Starting off with a series of short adventures that solve themselves, we see our lower decks’ lieutenants in the bar, where Mariner is complaining about the lack of substantive adventure. This is obviously followed by adventures that get a little too dangerous, including a battle royale with mentors from previous iterations of Star Trek, a new universe quickly consuming theirs, and a time traveling menace wreaking havoc on the timeline.
I appreciated that the artists used the same character styles as the original cartoon and that it was consistent across issues. The primary color scheme of bright and bold with only cel shading really showcases the Star Fleet uniforms and aliens they encounter periodically. And it was fun to see previous favorites like Picard and Scott drawn in this style.
Although you can read this volume without seeing any of the cartoon’s five seasons, it would probably lead new readers to some confusion when character growth or previous adventures are referenced. The footnotes at the bottom of almost every page were fun but mostly unnecessary to the story after the first issue. They also seemed to be attributed to various characters and the narrator without identifying who was speaking in most cases, which was confusing more often than not. This would work best in public libraries since the show was produced for adults and contains adult themes and bleeped language. The subject matter can also get a little dark and depressing, so it’s definitely not meant for children to read although upper teens would likely enjoy it. If you have fans of the show at your library, they should enjoy reading this tie-in continuation.
Star Trek Lower Decks: Second Contact By Ryan North Art by Derek Charm and Jack Lawrence IDW, 2025 ISBN: 9798887243030
Related media: TV to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Sean Avery is an Australian author with a handful of humorous picture books in print in the US. This is his first graphic novel published in the states and it has the same quirky, manic humor that many Australian children’s books seem to feature.
Readers start the story by meeting Ducky, always portrayed in profile with a large, staring eye, plump beak, black fedora, and trenchcoat. Ducky’s boss, and the boss of the whole farm, is Mr. Pig, a massive pink sphere with floating eyebrows and a small pink bowtie. Mr. Pig has a secret mission for Ducky, but it won’t be easy to get them started. Just when Mr. Pig thinks he’s getting somewhere, Donny the Donkey, Ducky’s “partner” shows up. Finally, Mr. Pig manages to explain the mission – someone is stealing from his personal slop trough. Ducky is on the case! Maybe. Sort of… Along the way there will be disguises, lasers, and tough-talking cats as well as a lot of confusion!
Avery’s art is hectic and explosive, with bulging eyes, dim-witted henchcats, and, of course, Donny who has buck teeth and a tendency to lose control at pivotal and stressful moments. Throughout the wild story, Ducky maintains their cheerfully bland expression, leading to wild exasperation on the part of the other animals as they bulge out of the panels in frustration. The backgrounds of the panels are shown in pastel patterns of polka dots, circles, and the occasional hearts until Donny lets loose and everything is clouded with poisonous green farts. The panels are large and, interspersed with a few full spreads, are laid out in 2, 3, or 4 panels per page. The text is bold and brief, with emotions conveyed through the animals’ wild eyes, exaggerated facial expressions, and the variation in speech bubbles. Ducky, of course, never changes expression throughout, placidly causing havoc as they go about their spying.
A recurring plot point is Mr. Pig’s assorted family, which is the only thing Ducky is confused by – Mr. Pig’s wife is a horse and his children are a chicken and a goat. His chicken daughter, Gretta, is an inventor and creates gadgets for Ducky while his son, Richard, is a goat who is kidnapped.
This is a silly story that will appeal to elementary-age readers who like lots of goofy humor in their comics and a simple, bold storyline and art. Hand to readers who are just figuring out how to tell jokes or who want a quick, funny story.
Ducky the Spy By Sean Avery Walker Books Australia, 2025 ISBN: 9781760659356
Jesus “Chuy” Reyes, age 12, starts the story by introducing himself and his best friend, Yael Levy or Yaya. Chuy is super smart and fascinated by all things intellectual—Yaya is a hands-on inventory and can make anything, even if she is a bit goofy at times. When a comet strikes earth and people gain mysterious powers, Chuy is super bummed – not only do these powers not conform to scientific laws, but he didn’t get any! When one of the second-rate supervillains of New Bork City ruins their ice cream, Yaya makes up her mind – they will become superheroes! With Chuy’s smarts and Yaya’s maker skills, the two take on Mr. Anti-Freeze, who is threatening to slimerize all the ice cream in New Bork City!
Florentine’s illustrations are bright and cheery, with lots of primary colors and drawn with clean, sharp lines. Chuy has brown skin, heavy eyebrows that move dynamically to indicate his exasperated moods, including up onto the outside of his pink baseball cap, and square glasses. He’s a tall, sturdy kid who gets a little excited about intellectual pursuits, but otherwise is mostly dragged along by the exuberant Yaya. Yaya, a skinny kid with short blue-black hair, is wildly enthusiastic about everything from superheroing to ice cream, despite the more cautious Chuy’s warnings and her younger brother’s embarrassment. Her family home is decorated to show her Jewish culture and Yoel, her younger brother, wears a kippah. Their villain has brown skin and pink hair.
The story is fairly simple, interspersed with lots of helpful (and random) facts from Chuy and step-by-step guides to making things from sorbet to grappling hooks from Yaya. The story ends with character studies and links to websites with guides for young makers.
Superhero take-offs like this tend to be cheesy, but this story is fully aware of its silliness and plays it for all it’s worth. Chuy’s repeated complaints that he’s NOT a superhero, the ridiculous villain, and Yaya’s wild enthusiasm will make readers giggle along with the author and maybe catch the making bug, even if they don’t want to put on a costume or have a super-powered bag to hold all their tools. While this is unlikely to satisfy readers who want “real” superheroes, it will certainly please younger readers who like funny stories and are interested in hands-on building. A must have for libraries and schools that include a maker space.
Maker Girl and Professor Smarts Vol. By Jasmine Florentine Candlewick, 2025 ISBN: 9781536239584
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11)
When last we left Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl, she and her friends were in dire circumstances. Well, as dire as they can be when you’re already dead and Hell has pretty much given up on reclaiming you.
Regardless, Pooty Applewater (the bucket-headed bounty hunter demon) accidentally awakened, killed, and resurrected a pickle hat, which turned into a murderous monster. Unfortunately, despite it wanting to kill Lenore, Pooty and their doll-friend Ragamuffin, Lenore forbid Pooty to kill the pickle hat. Again. Even though this left them trapped in their house and slowly starving to death. Or undeath. Or whatever.
Salvation seemed to arrive in the form of the Time Goats – a group of advanced goats from the future, who mastered the science of time travel. They came to stop Pooty from killing the pickle hat and bringing about the end of all reality. Or making sure he killed it, so the pickle hat didn’t destroy all reality. Instead, they became a meal for Lenore and her friends, which wound up scattering them across time.
Yeah. Eating cooked Time Goat makes you time travel. Who knew?!
Now Lenore and her friends are scattered across time and trying to make their way home. And this is where things start to get weird…
Those who are familiar with Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl and the comics of Roman Dirge will find more of the same wacky weirdness and oddball artwork in Lenore: The Time War. Those who are not familiar with Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl will soon grasp the core concept.
Despite picking up where the previous series ended, this book is fairly friendly to new readers thanks to Dirge satirizing comic book continuity with the character of Flashback Squirrel. This strange being happily explains everything at the start of each chapter, even as he fakes his own death to escape his secret families to indulge in sick, twisted activities. Yes, even more sick and twisted than the events of Lenore: The Time War.
Regardless, while Roman Dirge’s work is sure to appeal to those who like Tim Burton movies and other cute, Gothic and twisted things, there is another angle to be appreciated here. The time-travel based storyline offers a lot of humor for sci-fi fans. I can particularly see the quirky humor appealing to Doctor Who fans, particularly when Lenore starts dealing with various gods and a frenemy who hasn’t met them yet, but they know all too well.
Titan Comics rated this volume as appropriate for readers 15 and up. This made me quirk my head a bit, because the last Lenore volume I looked at was rated 18+. I would put this one in the Adult Graphic Novels collection for consistency. Beyond several jokes about cannibalism, there are also references to Thai sex tourism, marital infidelity, murder, mayhem, child abuse, child neglect, animal abuse, butt-wiping, and repeated violations of the space-time continuum.
It’s all in the name of good fun, however, for a given value of good fun. Just be forewarned that it is not appropriate for children and sensitive souls.
Lenore: The Time War By Roman Dirge Titan, 2025 ISBN: 9781787745421
Company Age Rating: 15+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
In the middle of a forest, a yellow bear pops out of a bush. It’s the heroic, and aptly-named, Pillow, here to do battle with the dragon in the cave, earn badges, and save the villagers’ cheese! However, this particular dragon turns out to be much smaller than expected and introduces themselves as Fae. Pillow slays them with a joke and the two set out to find the real cheese-stealing culprit. Their journey will lead them into lots of cheesy adventures (and cheese puns) and frequent appearances of Badger the Badger, popping up to deliver badges to Pillow.
The book ends with some simple activities and badges for kids to earn, from collecting leaves to a stakeout badge in your own kitchen. Stickers are included for each of the badges – the page with stickers is not perforated, but could be removed or laminated in a library setting.
Pillow the bear is a lumpy yellow shape with small ears and a lighter patch on their belly and around their mouth. Fae changes shape, but is generally small and pink with a blue bow on their head. As a dragon, they have an adorable little snout and their “real” shape looks like a cartoon cat. Pillow makes lots of dramatic faces and their simple body shape only changes slightly as they move. Only Badger, a small blue torso that pops out of the ground wearing themed headgear, has faint fingers on his stubby blue arms. Most of the story is dialogue between Pillow and Fae, with lightly-sketched backgrounds. They move from the outdoors to the village at night, shown by the background turning a deep violet, and then during the day they are in an outdoor setting again with a light blue and green wash of colors behind them.
The story is short and simple, with lots of silliness. Pillow resolves their battle with the real cheese thieves by being nice (and gets a conflict-resolution badge) and the story ends with more adventures in store as they travel to Fae’s home world. However, with all the puns the text is a little more challenging than the average easy reader and the font is definitely smaller than is usually used for a beginning reader. This is what I’d call a transitional chapter book – not long or complex enough to be considered a middle grade book, but not as short or easy enough for an easy reader. Libraries that don’t have sections specifically for transitional chapters will probably want to put this with easy readers though, since the layout of the book fits that section best.
Kids who enjoy light and simple stories like Taco & Pizza or Bug Scouts will find this a fun choice and even older kids will enjoy the goofy humor and cheese puns. A fun addition to most public and school library collections.
Badge Quest Vol. 1: A Cheesy Brie-ginning By Guy Kopsombut Andrews McMeel, 2025 ISBN: 9781524892302
Jason Platt is an experienced illustrator who has written previous graphic novels. His humor and light touch show up in this mystery that includes multiple references to the classics of detective history.
Purrlock, a short yellow cat with a white collar and blue tie, is hungry. Marlowe, his partner, is a tall brown dog with a white belly and a calmer foil in Purrlock’s wilder moments – like when he accuses his arch-nemesis, Meowiearty, of stealing all their food! Their argument is postponed when they set off for the grilled cheese festival, but when it turns out all the grilled cheese has been stolen, it’s time to investigate!
Accompanied by Purrlock’s grumbling stomach, they interview suspects including, at Purrlock’s insistence, the rich and snobbish tiger Meowiearty. Finally, they gather all their suspects together for a dramatic confrontation and the true culprit is revealed! Readers who pay close attention to the clues will be able to solve the mystery alongside the two detectives and maybe they’ll even enjoy ending the story with a tasty grilled cheese sandwich – or at least skimming the homage to classic mysteries Platt includes at the end.
Platt’s cartoon style is distinctive, but not so much that he doesn’t adapt it to each new book. He pairs sharp angles with elongated caricatures of faces and lots of fast-moving action. Purrlock and Marlowe are contrasts not only in personality but also in image, with Purrlock drawn as two round balls and Marlowe a rectangular head on a long, oval body. Marlowe is constantly rolling his eyes and looking exasperated at Purrlock’s hunger-fueled obsession with Meowiearty, who is humorously portrayed as tiger in a luxurious purple suit and monocle (a true sign of evil!). His annoyed sniffs at the pair show that he’s not necessarily a nice feline, but also (probably) not truly a villain – and certainly not the sandwich thief. Purrlock’s revelation of his past sporting career marks him as not the brightest sardine in the can, but he’s definitely enthusiastic, bouncing along at Marlowe’s side and always ready with new ideas, whether it’s about suspects or what to have for dinner.
Platt has a knack of creating titles that fit perfectly into the “if you liked that popular series, you’ll like this” mold with his previous series, Middle School Misadventures being a great read-alike for Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this latest series a great choice for Investigators fans. There are, unfortunately, very few characters coded as female, which is disappointing – there are at least a few female sleuths in the classic detective genre. On the positive side, there’s a subtle message about not making assumptions and thinking critically. Overall, this is a light, funny read that elementary age readers will enjoy.
Paw & Order Vol. 1: The Grilled Cheese Caper By Jason Platt NBM Papercutz, 2025 ISBN: 9781545819944
a gambling problem, a drinking problem, and an eviction notice for his crummy apartment.
considerable time and effort as demonstrated in Andy Hirsch’s (Science Comics series from First Second) Good Boy, a story of how one high-strung boy and his unpredictable dog learn to connect with each other and nurture a remarkable friendship.
Sashimi is new in Barnacle Bay school. He has a hoodie pulled over his wide eyes and orange skin. And he’s squishy – he sweats all the time! All the kids he meets at his school are surly, critical and awkward, (or even mean!) but he doesn’t seem to notice. He even thinks the school bully and the bully’s toadies are funny!
Continuing to showcase fan favorites from the original show, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and T’Lyn, this first volume in the new ongoing series features the same humor and adventure from the cartoon in episodic comic form. Starting off with a series of short adventures that solve themselves, we see our lower decks’ lieutenants in the bar, where Mariner is complaining about the lack of substantive adventure. This is obviously followed by adventures that get a little too dangerous, including a battle royale with mentors from previous iterations of Star Trek, a new universe quickly consuming theirs, and a time traveling menace wreaking havoc on the timeline.
Sean Avery is an Australian author with a handful of humorous picture books in print in the US. This is his first graphic novel published in the states and it has the same quirky, manic humor that many Australian children’s books seem to feature.
fascinated by all things intellectual—Yaya is a hands-on inventory and can make anything, even if she is a bit goofy at times. When a comet strikes earth and people gain mysterious powers, Chuy is super bummed – not only do these powers not conform to scientific laws, but he didn’t get any! When one of the second-rate supervillains of New Bork City ruins their ice cream, Yaya makes up her mind – they will become superheroes! With Chuy’s smarts and Yaya’s maker skills, the two take on Mr. Anti-Freeze, who is threatening to slimerize all the ice cream in New Bork City!
you’re already dead and Hell has pretty much given up on reclaiming you.
In the middle of a forest, a yellow bear pops out of a bush. It’s the heroic, and aptly-named, Pillow, here to do battle with the dragon in the cave, earn badges, and save the villagers’ cheese! However, this particular dragon turns out to be much smaller than expected and introduces themselves as Fae. Pillow slays them with a joke and the two set out to find the real cheese-stealing culprit. Their journey will lead them into lots of cheesy adventures (and cheese puns) and frequent appearances of Badger the Badger, popping up to deliver badges to Pillow.
Jason Platt is an experienced illustrator who has written previous graphic novels. His humor and light touch show up in this mystery that includes multiple references to the classics of detective history.
