The Glorkian Warrior and the Mustache of Destiny

January 15, 2016
In this third offering, the three-eyed titular hero and his Super Backpack team with a gang of young aliens to fulfill the prophecy of one unusual dream. The intensely pink and untiringly goofy Glorkian Warrior awakens after a doozy of a dream in which he's bedeviled by clingy children, headpieces he can't get off, and a giant flapping mustache. Of course, after such an experience he needs coffee, which is so welcome that he deems his coffee his new talking friend (it's really Backpack conversing behind him). The warrior, his backpack, and his coffee are then joined by a group of candy-colored child creatures who aspire to be warriors and who will help him defeat--with sheer silliness as their only weapon--his next enemy: the lime-green, headpiece-adorned, self-described Space God, Quackaboodle. After working together, the children are transformed by a visit from the Glorkian SuperGrandma, and the Warrior's long-standing sidekick, Gonk, finds himself changed and mustachioed. Bright and very busy panels take readers through a roller-coaster ride of guffaws, gaffes, and giggles; silliness reigns supreme, and sense is conspicuously absent. Kochalka's oddly wonderful--and very offbeat--bubble-gum-psychedelic, madcap adventures may not be for everyone, but they certainly are creatively unparalleled. Every volume seems to ratchet up the wackiness; readers can only guess--but most likely without success--where subsequent volumes will take them. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)

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February 15, 2016
Grades K-3 After a scary nightmare involving giant mustaches, manic children, cavernous holes, and weird hats, Glorkian Warrior is pleased to discover it was all a dream! Before heading off on patrol, Warrior needs a coffee, but before he can finish, baby Gork's friends sneak up on him, which proves more of a jolt than any caffeinated beverage. Plenty of kooky vignettes follow, as the Glorkian children beg their bubblegum-pink elder to train them in the grand tradition of Glorkian warriors. First, they tumble down a giant hole, then, upon escaping the first hole, they fall down another giant hole, only this one is occupied by a crazy guy in a weird hat. (Turns out that dream was pretty prophetic.) The high jinks continue in classic Kochalka fashion, with plenty of great sound effects, large-format panels, and ridiculous antics. The thickly outlined aliens in bright, outlandish hues are marvelously expressive, and Kochalka's distinctive cartoon style is the perfect match for the slapstick humor. Little ones after wacky stuff, particularly those who loved other Glorkian Warrior comics, won't be disappointed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)