The Mighty Skullboy Army

The Mighty Skullboy Army #1

by Jacob Chabot

Brazen robots! Hostile corporate takeovers! Ill-fated interns! Criminally insane turnips! Distinctly unhelpful helper monkeys! And hats, dear God, hats aplenty! All this and more awaits any brave soul ready and willing to enlist in the ranks of the Mighty Skullboy Army! How do you sign up, you ask? Just purchase this book, absorb its nefarious bounty (we recommend using the eyes-to-brain method), and say hello to your new lord and master, Skullboy! If he's not home from elementary school yet, be sure to pick up a handy pager. You will be called upon when needed. Oh, and be sure to beef up on that health insurance.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Humor

88 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2007

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snarky robot sidekick and a over-inflated sense of self? So awesome. And the school setting makes it relatable (a boy with a skull for a head isn't relatable? Says who?) to the kids plus it's hilarious.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I just didnt get the plot or the translation to Czech was wonky, but I didnt really care for the story. The art on the other hand is pretty awesome and polished...

[Tony Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun light reading with a subversive twist, slightly challenging vocabulary and wonderful art. I'm a big fan of the robot and Booger Ralph. This is one of the bedtime story books for my kindergartner and it's something we can both deal with .

[Jordan Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, cute, mildly funny. Not split-your-sides or anything, but a good 30 minutes of easy chuckles

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, easy read. Funny & kind of bizarre, but a little uneven.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the few books in the last year that really disappointed me. The publisher blurb states: "Brazen robots! Hostile corporate takeovers! Ill-fated interns! Criminally insane turnips! Distinctly unhelpful helper monkeys! And hats, dear God, hats aplenty! All this and more awaits any brave soul ready and willing to enlist in the ranks of the Mighty Skullboy Army! How do you sign up, you ask? Just purchase this book, absorb its nefarious bounty (we recommend using the eyes-to-brain method), and say hello to your new lord and master, Skullboy! If he's not home from elementary school yet, be sure to pick up a handy pager. You will be called upon when needed. Oh, and be sure to beef up on that health insurance." What it feels like is a cheap blend of Calvin and Hobbes with Pinky and the Brain. Yet without the intellectualism of Calvin or the humor found in Pinky. The illustrations were okay, the story so-so and overall not really worth it. I won't be buying volume 2 if it ever comes out!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some wonderfully funny bits to this book. It has a strange and amusing premise and the Army is pretty adorable. Skullboy is as amusingly evil as he is clueless. There are plenty silly bits and and goofy violence to keep a young reader happy.

But... There are some major issues that I have a hard time getting around. The central joke of the comic is that Skullboy is an evil overlord but still has to go to elementary school. I have no problem with him creating an intelligent and chaos causing turnip. I do have some major issues with him taking a gun out of his suit and shooting it. Also, all of the adult women in the comic were strangely and overly curvaceous for a comic listed as being for kids. And on an artistic note, every single one of those women had the same damn curves. Really?

So... not terrible, if someone asked me for a crazy, funny and non-superhero comic I wouldn't hide it from them. But it's not gonna be going on my go-to recommendations list either.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps if I was much, much younger...

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny but kind of inconsistent. While younger readers might pick it up for its cover and fairly small number of pages, some of the dialogue and jokes might go over their heads.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright, fun, original.

[Lilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[King Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good and funny book.