Fart Boy and Reeky Dog

"Our story begins deep in the bowels of the evil institoot in Professor Groovypants's secret laboratory," intones the omniscient narrator of this goofy graphic novel, as Groovypants and sidekick Egor stand before the Phart-Maker-5000--a bean-fueled, green-smoke-spewing mechanical behemoth. The machine creates a prodigiously farting baby named Phartolomew, whose Superman-like origin story unfolds via uproarious clear-line drawings from Holub (The Eye of Cyclops) and Rosado (Call Me Iggy). In this spoof of classic superhero comics, Phartolomew is adopted by loving, bean-farming human couple Nancy and Newt Normal, who try to help their son fit in by living a legume-free life. But destiny is inexorable and, in fourth grade, Phartolomew eats a bean taco. With the help of Reeky Dog--a transmogrified Egor--Phartolomew embraces the identity of Fart Boy and aims to defeat evil Professor Groovypants by emitting "A NUCLEAR AIR BAGEL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS." An "Are You Evil?" quiz and a banjo-backed lesson on fart science add more gas to a story that approaches bottom-shelf derrière jokes with the gravity of the finest and fanciest of odors. Fart Boy and Professor Groovypants read as white. Ages 7--10. (Apr.)

A superhero by any other name would still be as pungent. The Great Overlords of Planet U-Reeka have entrusted Professor Groovypants and his assistant Egor with an important mission: to plunder Earth by creating a source of renewable energy. Within a month, Groovypants' Phartmaker 5000 is churning out massive farts, fueled by sacks of beans, culminating in the creation of an unusual infant named Phartolomew. But Phartolomew's flatulence proves too potent, and with a giant, propulsive fart, he's flung into the air and separated from his creators. Eventually, he's adopted by bean farmers Nancy and Newt Normal and enjoys an average--if much gassier than usual--childhood. But one fateful day at school, Phartolomew, now a fourth grader, eats a bean taco, releases an explosive fart that sends him flying once more, and realizes that he has flatulence-based superpowers. Dubbing himself Fart Boy, he must take on the villainous Groovypants, who heard the explosion and, believing that the students are responsible for the farts, plans to infiltrate the school and harness the "bean-powered renewable energy." Playing ably with superhero tropes, Holub tells an utterly goofy tale. The cartooning is solid, from Phartolomew's smelly upbringing to the dramatic buildup before his first bean taco. While readers with a low threshold for gross-out humor may wish to clear the air before the finale, kids who find breaking wind to be the epitome of humor will laugh themselves silly. Most characters present white. A real gas.(Graphic science fiction. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.