Karmopolis The land of cars

Originally published serially in Nickelodeon Magazine more than two decades ago, Bertozzi's off-the-wall comic about a society that functions almost entirely on wheels is now available in a single volume. Siblings Pooja and Om drive to the mall and take their little, scooter-like car to the arcade, where they snag a shiny, jewel-like egg from the crane game. Immediately, they're pursued by a besuited pair of adults, and they're off on a wild adventure through Karmopolis, encountering "walkers" (an outcast class of pedestrians living in the car city), ghosts, and eventually the convoy queens, who rule over it all. Bertozzi's world building feels like something out of Little Nemo in Slumberland, with elongated, twisting limbs; imaginative vehicles; dastardly foes; and surreal, ungeometric architecture. The pace moves so fast that there's not much to hold a plot together, but the inventive slang, energetic chases, diagrammatic cut-away views of structures, and childlike creativity to the world will find appeal in artistic kids who love to pore over intricate artwork.

Two tweens become embroiled in a silly, high-octane mystery that takes them across Karmopolis, a world in which everything--including houses and malls--is on wheels. Siblings Pooja and Om, portrayed with brown skin, are on an excursion at the multistory super-mall when they stumble upon an old-fashioned crane game. After Pooja liberates an egglike object from the machine, the brother-sister duo is targeted by a pair of mysterious, suit-wearing men on Segways. The men give chase, pursuing the siblings throughout the mall in a series of panels with Tom and Jerry energy--until Pooja and Om find themselves stranded on the highway meridian. Though they manage to evade their pursuers, the now motorless youths are forced to accept help from the enigmatic Walkers, people who gave up driving to build a walkable underground city. Bertozzi (Bomb) combines retro animation and comic-strip aesthetics with inventive, futuristic twists rendered in bold, saturated color palettes. Subtle yet thought-provoking messaging explores decisions about staying in one's lane or veering off the beaten path in a relentlessly paced, dynamic jaunt depicting life in perpetual motion. Ages 9--12. (July)