Troublemaker Book One

Comic Bento is a monthly subscription service for comic book collectors. It’s a lot like the Jelly of the Month Club. Only instead of a variety of jams to smear on your toast, you get several graphic novels to read. There’s theme-months, like Marvel Females or School Days. You can subscribe for one, three, or six months, as well as a year. You can enroll yourself or a friend could register you for a Bento as a gift.

Troublemaker by Janet Evanovich and Alex Evanovich was one such graphic novel I got from a Comic Bento my wife gave me. I’m not sure of the themes I got it from, but this was one of the books I unearthed. Saying that this one isn’t really in my wheelhouse is an understatement. I have never read a Janet Evanovich book before and until now, I don’t think I would have ever planned to.

This book was a graphic novel companion in Evanovich’s series of novels following the exploits of renegade mechanic Alex Barnaby and race car driver Sam Hooker. They solve crimes around the Miami area along with their giant St. Bernard, Beans.

In this opening chapter, a friend of Alex's named Rosa has been kidnapped. Normally, if Rosa disappears, it’s because she meet a guy and had a fling in Jamaica. But when someone tries to kill Alex and Sam, it’s pretty clear that this time Rosa is in real danger.

The investigation will take Alex and Sam to places best left unexplored: a retirement community full of NASCAR fans, the Everglades, and a nightclub where Sam’s newly cougarized mother is on the prowl. It's all part of the madcap fun that includes voodoo, strawberry milkshakes, and attempted murder.

The story ends on a semi-cliffhanger. There’s an acceptable ending but it also leads to a part two. I would like to get my hands on the further adventures and I am racking my brain as to where I thought I saw some of the books in this series. My local library perhaps?

This mystery was very funny with a sort of Moonlighting sexual tension between the two lead characters. There was some elements of Dexter mixed it what with this taking place in Miami. I wonder if the two were ever meet in a crossover- that would be awesome.

Great artwork by Lady Killer’s Joelle Jones. It was very clean and extremely expressive.

This is just another reason why I love grab bags or subscription services like Comic Bento (which act as a sort of grab bag.) The randomness of choice really opens me up to books and series that I otherwise would not have given a second glance at.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.