Book-A-Day #54 (9/9): Pinky & Stinky by James Kochalka

We went to the library today ("today" being Saturday, 9/9) -- well, actually, we went to two libraries, but I don't feel up to telling the story of the perambulations of the comedy team of Thing 1, Thing 2, and Minivan Dad, and you probably don't care, anyway -- and the boys got a small pile of media (1 DVD, 1 VHS, 2 magazines, 3 manga collections, 3 picture books, and a partridge in a pear tree).

I picked up this; it was in the "juvenile graphic novel" section (where Thing 1 was intently browsing, and I was kibitzing), I'd always mean to read something by Kochalka (I'm now regularly checking out his webcomic American Elf, and I've been hearing about him for ages), and so there I went.

I'd call this a kids' comic rather than all-ages; there's a flatness of emotional effect and of motivation that's more common in stories for children. The title characters are pigs sent on an exploratory mission to Pluto, but they crash-land on the Moon, are mistreated by the human US astronauts there, and end up aiding the Moon-Men against those astronauts. It was fun and pleasant, and maybe the boys will like it (it's going up to their rooms now), but I'm glad I didn't spend my own money on it. I might flip through a Kochalka book the next time I'm at my comics store, though.