Pencilmation is primarily the misadventures of the stick man character Pencilmate. From dealing with flies in his soup to becoming the thumb wrestling champion of the world, weird and wacky things always happen to Pencilmate. There are dozens of short stories; a few of which star the female protagonist of Pencilmation, Pencilmiss. Watch as she stars in a zany parody of the Cinderella story and marvel in her secret identity as Super Pencilmiss! Other beloved characters of the web series such as Tall Guy, Granny and the Red Box Guy make appearances in this hilarious book.
I read that Ross Bollinger got his inspiration for Pencilmation thanks to a Daffy Duck cartoon. However, I really felt like I was in the middle of the Ren & Stimpy universe with this book. The gags are often surreal. The characters reactions are over-the-top. There's fart jokes. And in-between every couple of stories, there are fake ads, just like on Ren & Stimpy. At one point, I was singing 'Everyone wants a Log!'... Google it, kids!
Anyway, I was a huge fan of this book. And now that I know that there's literally dozens of Pencilmation episodes on Youtube, I'm gonna have some laughs.
Now, yes, I am trying to persuade parents and guardians to help use comics and graphic novels as a reading aid in my reviews. Some of you are probably thinking that I'm supporting cartoons over reading. Just the opposite. I found out about Pencilmation the graphic novel before the web toon. I'm assuming most kids know about the cartoons but didn't know about the book. BOOKS! There's currently a Pencilmation sticker book and a joke book on the market right now. This Halloween, a pair of chapter books will available. Thus, if the young reader in you life is a fan of Pencilmation's animated antics, then show them the books based on those lively characters and get those young ones reading!
The fart jokes and other elements of potty humor is probably the only down side to this book. I remember when I was younger, parents and politicians freaked out over the content of Ren & Stimpy. I even think Nickelodeon went so far as to having to ban an episode or two. With The Graphite Novel, I don't see anything that went too far. Gross humor is a part of growing up. This book is recommended for ages 8-12. But if you as the responsible grown-up think that your young reader needs a couple more years under the belt before introducing them to Pencilmation, that's a-okay. Just understand that other parents and guardians out there might have no qualms with the humor elements of this book and that's okay too!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
