Trouble in Pizza Paradise!

August 31, 2020
Captain Dugong and Dolphin Girl, Deerburbia’s dynamic human “father/daughter super hero/restaurateur combo,” protect the town and run Pizza Paradise! in their signature costumes. Still in training, Dolphin Girl works to hone her aquatic mammalian powers, among them echolocation. When they discover their archnemesis, Sea Cow, and the Bad Guys Club for Bad Guys planning a scheme, Dugong remains nonchalant, forcing Dolphin Girl to confront Sea Cow on her own with the newly enlisted Otter Boy. Though Dolphin Girl is delightfully earnest, debut creator Smith’s absurdist humor can fall flat, leaning into classic animation gags (stopping high-speed travel for an old woman crossing the street, for example) and in one case admonishing millennials via an animatronic cheese slice. Still, full-color art reminiscent of early Nickelodeon creates a fun, recognizable aesthetic as Dolphin Girl pursues her “porpoise” in this short volume. Ages 8–12.

June 1, 2020

Gr 2-5-By day Captain Dugong and his daughter, Dolphin Girl, run Pizza Paradise, a Chuck E. Cheese-like restaurant, until they receive the call to go out to protect the citizens of Deerburbia from the Bad Guys Club for Bad Guys. When the leader of the club, the evil Sea Cow, attempts to take over Pizza Paradise, Dolphin Girl is horrified, but her father seems unconcerned. So with her new sidekick, Otter Boy, Dolphin Girl sets out to save the day. Smith's wacky illustrations and silly character antics will remind kids of their favorite cartoons. Dolphin Girl clearly runs the show as she helps her bumbling dad, who's more focused on getting free cable than crime fighting. Superhero powers such as echolocation and extreme breath holding make it clear that these are not your average heroes. The villains' plans are ridiculous and will keep kids laughing as they wait for things to go wrong. Jokes about college loan debt and college majors will go over children's heads but will give caretakers a chuckle. The ending will have kids anticipating future installments in the series. VERDICT A silly superhero romp and a fun addition to graphic novel collections.-Ashley Leffel, Griffin M.S., Frisco, TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2020
This graphic novel tries very hard not to be a superhero story. There are at least nine flavors of Sea Cow-brand diet shakes, including B.L.T. and Cottage Cheese. They are terrible, and they may cause "sweating, nightmares, or restless leg syndrome." But Sea Cow, a supervillain who dresses in an animal costume, has a zombification weapon and plans to force people to buy her drinks. This makes her more ambitious than her opponent, Captain Dugong, who would rather watch cable golf than fight crime. Even the most heroic character, his daughter, Dolphin Girl, never bothers to change out of her superhero outfit. Every element of the story is hilariously mundane. The town motto of Deerburbia, USA, is "a place to live," and the cartoon sound effects are often absurdly on the nose: "scary music" and "dolphin call." The drawing style is so simple and stylized that, from a distance, some of the pictures might be confused for diagrams of single-celled organisms. Many of the main characters are white, but Deerburbia as a whole is more diverse, and Dolphin Girl's sidekick and co-worker, Otter Boy/Keith, is black. The stakes are rarely higher than the fate of the titular pizza place. These superheroes are never epic. If the plot sometimes feels unfocused, that's kind of the point. Both underachievers and overachievers will be pleasantly bemused and amused in equal measure by this low-key adventure. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

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September 1, 2020
Grades 2-5 Meet Captain Dugong and Dolphin Girl, Deerburbia's favorite father/daughter superhero/restaurater combo. Don't be fooled by their makeshift animal-onesie costumes and goofy dispositions: they possess actual, marine mammal-inspired powers (Blowhole Cannon! Algae Throw!), which, when they're not managing their beloved Pizza Paradise, they develop through superhero training. But when Sea Cow, along with her Bad Guys Club for Bad Guys, attempts to zombify Pizza Paradise customers and take over the joint?even as the lunch rush overwhelms Captain Dugong!?Dolphin Girl must find the strength to foil the evil plot. In his debut graphic novel, storyboard artist Smith brings to the page all the humor, quirk, and energy of an animated cartoon. The frenetic expressions of his bug-eyed, baby-toothed characters bring humor and movement to every panel, while Lacy's pastel colors soften the eccentric comedy. Deerburbia (slogan, A Place to Live )?which gets the full-map treatment?lays a strong foundation of suburban absurdity, offering a literal world of possibilities for future adventures, which readers should be eager to jump into.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)