Astro Mouse and Light Bulb

Large-headed Astro Mouse, an off-white, green-eyed anthropomorphic rodent, and his friend Light Bulb, a floating, faceless, stick-limbed light bulb whose "dad's a microwave and mom's a toaster oven," have been sent from Earth on a mission to determine whether the moon is really made of cheese--but have gotten lost along the way, despite the journey being "a straight shot." Wandering through space, the duo finds themselves in various nonsensical situations, including getting caught in a wrestling match with a five-eyed potato, stranding themselves on a warring mint green vs. fruit pink chewing gum planet, and adopting a lump of newly animated caca as a pet. When the ship gets taken over by Astro Chicken and his sidekick, Lamp, both formerly encased in a large ball of boogers, things aren't looking good for the motley crew. But a plan to conveniently strand the intruders on a planet signaling distress might just be their ticket out. Fine-lined, noodle-limbed art coincides with abundant pop cultural nods as Solís (Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles) keeps the absurd, often scatological, humor coming in this series opener. Ages 7--12. (Apr.)

This graphic novel, imported from Spain, is full of unlikely sentences. Readers who open this book to a random page might see, "We're prisoners of a bubble gum bubble!" or "Light Bulb, I never knew you were so good at sculpting monsters from dinorhinosaurus boogers!" or "SPLATASPLATSPLAT!"--which is the sound a spaceship makes when an enormous green booger is caught in the propulsion system. This story is not lacking in boogers. Astro Mouse and his crewmates are constantly in the middle of an adventure, and most of the adventures involve boogers or poop or pee. In fact, one of the main characters is a living turd named Caca. The stories are best for readers with no attention span whatsoever, because Astro Mouse flits from one peril to another as though someone is changing channels on a remote. Anyone expecting a logical story should know that the characters--none of them human--include a light bulb and a potato who's a championship wrestler. The character design is often appealing and sometimes witty. Potatoator has five eyes, and Astro Mouse looks like a subversive parody of Mickey--as if his nose had been inflated with a balloon pump. But some of the characters--in particular a ship's domineering captain--are so unpleasant that readers may wish their segments were even shorter. The perfect book for someone who's had way too many energy drinks. (Graphic science fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.