Pilot & Huxley

November 1, 2010
After a late video-game rental puts them on the wrong side of some aliens who want to destroy Earth, innocent boys Pilot and Huxley are transported into an alternate dimension where Huxley's name is the ultimate swear word and boats sail on bees instead of water. Joined by a girl named Brett who can change into a monster—and the pirate she saves from the belly of a sea monster—they sail across the swamp of bees to meet the leader of the dimension, who might be able to send them home. Soon, they're on a quest to prove their worth to the leader, but will the aliens catch up with them before it's too late? Our heroes will see a city inside a dragon's nose and a burger made of live rat before the exciting conclusion. It's delightfully surreal and filled with imaginative dialogue ("This day can't get any worse." "What do you mean? We're on our way to get a giant's nose hair. That's awesome"). McGuinness's illustrations are colorful and kinetic, fitting the tale's many humorous twists. Ages 4–8.

November 15, 2010

A zany, gross-out graphic novel that reads like a madcap, G-rated South Park episode. One fateful morning, the eponymous protagonists find themselves zapped into an another dimension by the Grim Reaper, who has quit reaping souls (there is no "future in death") and now works as an "interdimensional hit man debt collector" for a gaggle of evil Vorconian aliens. This other dimension is a vast, nauseating mélange of snot, boogers and more snot. The two boys navigate their way through the one-joke, nonsensical land until they face their opponents in a quick, revolting battle. Simplistic art mingles with erratic characterization and inane storylines to form a rather weak series opener. Admittedly funny one-liners aside, the entire narrative feels slapdash, propelled by one deus ex machina after another, a conceit that grows old exceptionally quickly. While the ick factor is high, the actual plot is pretty thin; still, Captain Underpants fans will probably enjoy this mucous-drenched romp. (Graphic fiction. 9-12)

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March 1, 2011

Gr 3-5- Pilot & Huxley follows in the grand tradition of high-interest books like Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" series (Scholastic/Blue Sky), which circulate like crazy. After being zapped into another dimension by the Grim Reaper, nervous Huxley and wisecracking Pilot begin a quest to return home. But as strangers in a strange world, it isn't easy. The boys must sail across a sea of bees and pick a sleeping giant's golden nose hair to return to their dimension, fending off aliens along the way. Some jokes are funny, while others are unquestionably dumb. Sarcasm is frequent, and the gross-out humor occasionally goes over-the-top-likely to the delight of young readers and the horror of some grown-ups. The cartoon artwork isn't sophisticated. The layout, too, is simplistic. While these elements detract from the richness of the reading experience, they do make the barrier to entry extremely low, allowing just about any reader to pick up this offering and follow right along. A graphic novel that keeps the madcap plot moving and the jokes coming, it will certainly appeal to boy readers, but may not leave a lasting impression.-Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
Grades 2-4 Television and comics have long shared visual styles, tones, and character types that permeate fluidly from one to the other, as befits two media that were, once upon a time, so central to a childs entertainment life. As the two cling to each other for dear life, terrorized by video games and the Internet, the stylistic line blurs even further. Witness the titular best friends of Pilot & Huxley, whose giant round eyes sitting in giant round heads are nearly indistinguishable from those in South Park, and who find themselves on an absurdist adventure filled with a breakneck array of metatextual gags and gooey gross-out humor you will swear you just saw on SpongeBob SquarePants. This is merely to suggest that, while it doesnt ring with originality, the heroes cross-dimensional escape from a video-game rental stores bounty hunter (whos also the grim reaper) is comfortably familiar enough and, it must be said, clever enough that kids will enjoy a diverting half hour and inquire about the upcoming second installment before taking off to play some Xbox.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)