Eek & Ack: Adventures From the Great Goo Galaxy (Family Comic Friday)

  This 2006 graphic novel is the first in a series of books from versatile child author Blake A. Hoeda. If your child has read any of the Sports Illustrated for Kids graphic novels or the DC Super Heroes Easy Readers, there's a pretty good chance they've read his work before.  In this graphic novel style kids book, Hoeda presents the alien brothers Eek & Ack. They're almost like your typical earth kids: they're sometimes gross, precocious, and they fight with each other and their older sister.

   When older sis challenges the boys that their spaceship can't even levitate, the brothers decide to not only gas it up but fly it to the Milky Way in hopes of conquering planet Earth. Unfortunately for the brothers, their ship looks a lot like a washing machine and when it gets accidentally moved to the local laundromat, Eek and Ack meet their worst enemy: the spin cycle.

     This out of the world tale has things kids love- aliens, slapstick, action, and gross humor. But it's not too over the top when it comes to gags. I actually found myself chuckling a couple of times. Some kids stories repeat the same tired joke over and over. It doesn't happen here. Now, I didn't read other books in the series, so jokes might repeat in those. But when it came to this graphic novel, every page was fresh and original.

   From what I can tell, there hasn't been a new book written in this series for at least 6 years. But many volumes can be found on Amazon for as low as a penny! (Shipping extra but usually no more than $3.99.)

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.