When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. Readers will go hog wild for this lovable hero.

This is an absolute must-read for fans of Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series. Gary and his friends are both relatable and accessible: The social tribulations of being part of a trio of friends will resonate with middle-grade audiences.

The first in a series, Harrell’s full-color graphic-novel charmer is over-the-top fun, filled with fast pacing, abundant silliness (pig puns abound!), and a well-developed plot and characters, that nevertheless does not rely on humor as its sole support. A second episode sees the friends face off against a nefarious human foe, the Butcher, a White woman who wants to use the power of the world’s meat and has a robot that makes pigs in blankets. Carl’s hurt feelings understandably morph into anger Gary’s decision to exclude his friend accidentally ends up creating a supervillain who may be Batpig’s undoing unless the trio can work together.

He tells Brooklyn about this development but not Carl, who can be indiscreet-and immediately picks up that his friends are hiding something from him. When a prank goes awry and he receives a radioactive bite from Brooklyn, Gary discovers he now has superhero powers and develops his new alter ego, Batpig. Porcine Gary has a great life reading comics about the Crimson Swine, playing video games, and hanging with his friends, Brooklyn, a bat, and Carl, a fish.

Rob harrell books