The Bad Guys in Let the Games Begin!

The Bad Guys #17

by Aaron Blabey

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! "I wish I'd had these books as a kid. Hilarious!" -- Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants and Dog Man They may look like Bad Guys, but these wannabe heroes are doing good deeds... whether you like it or not in this New York Times bestselling illustrated series. OK. It’s time to stop messin’ around . . . In this book, the One IS going to be reunited with the Others. You ARE going to actually meet the REAL DREAD OVERLORD SPLAARGHÖN. And ONE CHARACTER is going to change EVERYTHING you thought you knew. This is the one you’ve been waiting for!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Adventure, Middle Grade, Humor, Animals, Fantasy

186 pages, Library Binding

First published July 4, 2023

About the author

Aaron is an Australian author of children's books and artist who until the mid-2000s was also an actor. His award winning picture books include Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon and the best-selling Pig the Pug.

In the field of acting, he is probably best known for his lead roles in two television dramedies, 1994's The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award, and 2003's CrashBurn, before retiring from performance in 2005.

Reviews

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel happy I get to read this.
I feel sad. I feel frustrated because they missed? Until the real THE ONE came through. It was supposed to happen. I think Ellen knows what will happen to her. I hope she is okay. I want to see her in book #18.

I can see Snake is feeling guilty and he wants Wolf to win.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I prefer the earlier books in this series.

[XOX · Rating 3 out of 5]

The black and white graphic novel The Bad Guys episode 17. The main characters were in the centre of an arena. The audience wanted blood.

The danger they were in doesn’t make sense as I started the story in the middle of the series. It is not as good or captivating as manga.

The main characters are in trouble and that make up of the whole episode.

[Lazulii · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY ARE THERE LITERAL HELLSPAWN DEMONS HELP
Anyway, I love it a lot and the best part is page 117-121 because Mr Wolf finally got a semi proper chance to talk to Snake. Almost cried, I LOVE THEM
Page 126-127 also…. Why is it profound why am I in love with this series
Very good moments all around in this book


AND THE WAY MR WOLF WAS SO BROKEN OVER FOX… god damn and she isn’t the one like help me what
Screaming

[Catarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright this one redeem all the “…and you’ll find out in the next one”. A lot more in this one, even though we have to read the next one to find out more, I felt like this had some fun and got the reader a little more involved. I guess after 17 books it’s a good move to leave my wanting more since I’ll surely continue reading this series.

Thanks to Jr’s CC for letting me borrow her copy!

[Victor The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

An earful of shocking surprises continue to happen for the BGs and company with an ever bigger surprise near the end. A- (91%/Excellent)

[Alison Condliffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time for this series to be finished. Finished this book and had no idea of what happened. More of the same.
2023 pop sugar reading challenge- mythical creatures

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

justice for ellen

[Riley Conway · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kids and I really liked the early books in this series, and we’ll probably still see it enough to the end. But even the kids are left increasingly confused and disappointed by the extremely serialized nature of the installments. It’s one thing to tell a whole story in a book and then also leave it on a cliffhanger to entice you to read the next installment. We like that! But the last several have felt just like pieces of a larger story, not standalone stories on their own. Not much happens that can help us differentiate each book from the ones that came right before or after. Hopefully the series regains some steam and finishes strong!

[Bec]

I’m not going to actually rate this one as I know I’m not their targeted audience but I feel a bit over these books - they just feel like they are yelling at you

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this may be number 17 in the series but it's my first dive into the world of the Bad Guys. How I've only just discovered them is beyond me. I'm a real fan of graphic novels, especially all the wonderful titles coming through for a younger audience. I find they're the perfect way for newly independent readers to be able to enjoy something more meaty without being overwhelmed by the amount of text traditionally on a page. The graphics are also key to helping develop children's understanding of new vocabulary and contexts with the support of visual clues.

Number 17 sees the Bad Guys in terrible peril as they must try to escape their impending doom by traversing an arena playing a game. A game certainly not stacked in their favour. Concurrently the One is going to be reunited with the Others (this is apparently big news for avid series readers). Now to be fair, as I've come in very far into the series I'm not au fait with the preceding plot, yet Aaron Blabey helps you navigate this well and the more you read the more understanding you have. It's a brilliant pace that romps you through the book.

My daughter and I loved all the different fonts used and it would be a brilliant book for budding comic writers to use as inspiration.

My overall feeling for the book was that I really enjoyed it, and I wasn't expecting to. It certainly made me want to read the next title in the series and I'll be getting a copy of book one and starting from the beginning. Surprisingly thrilled to find another brilliant graphic novels series for young readers.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline is a big old mess by this point of the series. Pure chaos.
Same as the last few books, it flicks between the different storylines with the multiple crews that are now out and about. I’ve mostly forgotten what their point is, beyond completing ‘the one’, Matrix style. It doesn’t tell you anyone’s goals, but basically they’re journeying through doorways and attempting to hop through space following their oracle’s guidance.
There is a convergence in this story, and it ends on the usual cliff hanger.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read the kindle version but that book cover is not there so i prefer to review where the book cover is correct .....that is just me. fun read. i love this series. didn't realize i had missed this one. children's chapter books. children's humorous comics & graphic novels. children's action & adventure books. out on July 4, 2023. i've preordered book 18 that will come out on November 7, 2023. will always check out more from Aaron. please read it ... even if you are an adult like myself (45 yrs young) love the art work. so cool.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

Better than the last one in the series because things are actually starting to come together. I really hope a conclusion is coming though!

Putting this here for myself to read when the next book comes out so I will maybe remember enough of the plot... At the end of this book, the "others" come to reunite with "the one" (fox) but the one turns out to be the weird little bear character (I think it's agent shortfuse).

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
The Bad Guys take on their biggest battle yet when they confront Snake directly and battle in the Dark Lord's arena. Wolfie, Ellen and Bat hold their own but are struggling. As this is happening, those who are part of the One are racing to get there. The book ends by revealing who the One is and leaves readers waiting to see what will happen next.
This series has entertained elementary level readers and they will appreciate the humor and action in this volume.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

The graphics and comics are good just like before. But it's more of what the heck did I just read and what the heck even just happened. The series is bleeding dry and should have ended. Really going for a stretch on this one, I thought the last one was a stretch and hoped for an ending. But nope, says book 18 coming soon. Very disappointed

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost nothing happens, and this is just a bunch of random gags, chaos, and sound effects, dragging out the series over additional books. When there is a plot twist at the end, it's really dark. This series has been floundering for multiple volumes, with hardly any actual content per book, and should have wrapped up already.

[Jacob Shute · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really like this book. It could have had a chance if the battle in the arena was more challenging for them. All they did was basically use their powers and then the others came out and saved them. I wanted more challenges and fighting. The end of the book though starts to go into the CRAZY ERA OF BAD GUYS BOOKS! Overall 2 stars

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

These have all been pretty entertaining and now it really feels like we’re getting somewhere. I was not expecting that twist at all. I’m really curious to see how it will all wrap up in the next and final book.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, but rounding up for "What kind of weirdo has a double A in their name?" joke, as well as the "FARTING IS NOT A STRATEGY!" proclamation...because I'm juvenile .

Looking forward to seeing how the latest cliffhanger plays out.

[Ellee Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright date: 2023
Star rating: 4
Award: N/A
Genre: graphic novel
Summary w/ themes: this is the 17th book in the series where the bad guys have to fight in an arena.
Use for future classroom: good series to have
Thoughts of book: super simple read

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dean: I loved this book so much and the ending was so unexpected.

[Yaniv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it, but...

Imma be honest. This book is WAYYY too short. Keep up the hard work though! It's amazing in plot. Thanks!

[Jenna Breitbarth-Guidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome (6 year old rating). Mom - kinda all over the place but still will read the next one!

[Arman Waggoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

And I thought the last book was slightly terrifying and intense but, dang! Now I'm scared what's next!

[Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good can't wait for book 18

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has been going on for quite a while. More story to come. Hmmmm.

[Nikki Mackay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hehehehe

[Elan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the best bad guys book of all time its great fun and so much more so if you read this book get ready for laughs fun and more anyways bye.

[Eugenio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughter review: I really liked the ending, Shortfuse talks! The others show up and we see all the real bad guys together! So fun!