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| The title sounds like a cheesy blaxploitation sci-fi film. |
Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find, and let me begin this review with “I love Captain Underpants!” The books by Dav Pilkey were popular with children because not only you have silly superhero scenarios and off-the-wall potty humor {before the days that potty humor was annoying}, these books literally make novels look like picture books, giving each page a picture as well as a passage of text, whether long or short.
His book series spun-off in 2002 when The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, a graphic novel based on the comics inside each book, came out. It got controversy for being too filthy…poo filthy, not smut filthy, but it was an enjoyable read by any Captain Underpants fan.
Now, the first book after Dav’s hiatus, which came after he published the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty, was not a sequel to Super Diaper Baby, rather than a new graphic novel focusing on two cavemen who travel to the future and learn kung-fu. The idea seems a bit far-fetched, but is such a plot this stupid still be good? Let’s find out. This is The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future.
That changed for Big Chief one day when his great {repeat 20-to-22 times} grandson comes through the time portal from the future where they rely on cutting down trees for his company because the future is without plant life! He gives his grandson Ook and Gluk for slaves for his non-environmental strategy!
After their escape, they meet up with Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who lives in the future. He trains the boys how to use the art of Kung-Fu to stop the Goppernoppers’ reign of dystopia and bring Caveland back to peace.
The story is a bit one-dimensional, but what do you expect from a masterpiece by George and Harold? They’re not William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald, their stories don’t have deep meaning, just good guy and bad guy battles and poo jokes for brief giggles from the absent-minded…and child-minded. In short, these two aren’t perfect, even if they are fictional.
ART:
The art is as expected for two fourth-grade boys, it’s very childlike. It’s crude, but manages to still be enjoyable. The speech balloons also have various misspellings, but that will be easy to ignore.
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| Just flip... |
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| ...and enjoy the cheese! |
Also in this book, is the Flip-O-Rama! I believe this is some of the fans’ favorite part on the Captain Underpants books. These take place during the fight scenes or for added humor. You grab the page’s corner and begin flipping it as fast as you can until you can see it animate. It’s simple and you can do it at home too.
However, I got a review to do, but if you’re all really good, I’ll show you how to make your very own Flip-O-Rama animation.
In conclusion, the art isn’t too bad and either is the speech balloons for that matter. You just remember that kids took over Pilkey’s job…kids that apparently live inside him. Gross.
HUMOR:
And speaking of gross, almost all of the jokes in these books are pee, poop, or potty related. I mean, in the last graphic novel the boys did, the main antagonist in a piece of crap! Now, I see why this book got a lot of trouble.
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| Slamming the segway is always a step up in my book. |
This book, however, is different. It rarely uses the potty humor only to the billboards and their pet dinosaur Lily throwing up. This is a first for Captain Underpants. A book that’s based on anything else besides things that happen in your body.
And surprisingly, this book wasn’t one of George and Harold’s punishments. It’s their take that scientists don’t always get facts right and since they still have the Purple Potty time machine, they discovered things never before seen by intellect. Yes, because in the 23rd Century, a power-hungry moguel will get trees in the past since all plantlife is extinct.
At the end of the book, there is a language Pilkey made up to annoy parents everywhere. It’s called Cavemonics and it guarantees you will be speaking like a caveman in 8 easy steps! {Steps 5-to-8 are available online on Pilkey.com} It’s a cute idea for kids to how to talk like Neanderthals, but it’s just a little side step if you liked the book so much, you would want to live in it.
In conclusion, it’s humor kids can enjoy, but it’s a huge step up to Pilkey to downplay the potty humor. Maybe he did grow up with his fans.
Ook and Gluk isn’t what I was expecting for Dav Pilkey’s return, but I can take it. This is just the beginning for the renaissance of Captain Underpants! The graphic novel was enjoyable to read, the script and humor was good at times, and the Flip-O-Rama remains cheesy and extra crispy in milk.
But more questions are at stake…Will Captain Underpants return? Will Super Diaper Baby ever get a sequel? And why, oh why, are you advertising an Ook and Gluk sequel?! We might be finding out about these questions because the fight for Truth, Justice, and all that is Pre-Shrunk and Cottony will continue to live from now to the future!
RATING:
* * * 1/2
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