The Mighty Bite

The Mighty Bite #1

by Nathan Hale

From the New York Times bestselling cartoonist behind Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales comes a wacky graphic novel series!

What happens when a couple of prehistoric creatures want to become Internet stars? Trilobite and Amber (a walking whale) dream of fame and fortune. They don’t realize that most of the world thinks that they’re extinct. When a wandering paleo-newscaster introduces them to the world of internet videos, they hop at the chance to get behind the camera.

The competition for internet fame will be fierce—Trilobite and Amber will face off against ancient sea creatures, talking cacti, floating cat heads, and more! Friendships will be tested, allies will be made, and cameras will be smashed! Our heroes will have to use all of their newfound skills when they find themselves competing in an all-out video-making battle royale!

With laugh-out-loud gags and outrageous, elaborate artwork, fans of Dog Man and InvestiGators have never seen anything like Nathan Hale’s The Mighty Bite —and will learn about some of the real-world science in the story.

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

288 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2023

About the author

Nathan Hale is the New York Times best-selling author/illustrator of the Hazardous Tales series, as well as many picture books including Yellowbelly and Plum go to School, the Twelve Bots of Christmas and The Devil You Know.

He is the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel, Calamity Jack. He also illustrated Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, Animal House and many others.

(He is not the author of Extinction Earth or the other apocalyptic titles listed. That's a different Nathan Hale. If someone with "librarian" status would disambiguate those titles for me, I'd appreciate it.)

Learn more at www.spacestationnathan.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anthropomorphized prehistoric critters mingle and compete with humans, ghosts, and gods in an internet content creator showdown. So much nonsense, so many antics.

I love Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series of historical graphic novels, but his fantasy books for kids -- Apocalypse Taco, One Trick Pony, and now this -- well . . . not so much.

Hale gives a couple nods to Dav Pilkey's Dog Man as he sets out to make a book that would please his nine-year-old self, loaded with frantic action and poop jokes. I'm pretty sure I would not have enjoyed this at nine, and I'm waaaay past that now.

Not for me.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun! I was a bit frustrated with Trilobite at first, but now I adore him and all the crew!

[Joshua Glasgow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot that I read this with my 4-year-old a few months back. From what I remember, it was one of the better ones. It leans into RaNdOm humor a lot, but mostly that works for me. I remember a scene where the bad guys were going to shoot a cute little kitten out of a cannon and then it turned out to be just a floating head of a kitten. Very strange. It was, like, a newscast competition… idk, it was enjoyable I think.

[Caleb Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trilobite has a dream to become famous and it gets silly from there; what's not to love?

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun, I really enjoyed the illustrations!

[Ahmed Ridha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kafka's The Metamorphosis but about perms, being an influencer, and the soul of a dead flea.

Kafka's The Metamorphosis but good basically.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was actually pretty good. It is probably his only good fictional book. His other ones are bad and I don't recommend them but this 0ne was actually pretty good.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it other than the other two fiction books aren't very good but his non fiction are great toadly recommend then

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is way different than Nathan Hale’s historical middle grade graphic novels, but I so appreciated the back matter that explains why he wrote it and to learn a bit more about trilobites!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was wondering if this graphic novel might be too wacky for its own good, but as I got into the rhythm of the story, I began to appreciate it more. THE MIGHTY BITE, with its high energy, witty humor, unique characters, and pop culture humor, brings to mind "Animaniacs" and similar cartoons that speak the audience's language without talking down to them.

From true facts about obscure prehistoric life, to skewers of pop culture, to ridiculous potty jokes, the gags and references come from all sides, and the illustrations are delightful.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quirky trilobite and his companion animal Amber – a walking whale from the Eocene – set out on a quest for fame and fortune after a run-in with a glamorous paleo-newscaster. Hale manages to build winning characters and humorous adventures galore around nuggets of reality – prehistoric creatures, mystical traditions and oddball facts. The black ink and blue washed comic panels are imbued with a strong seventies vibe. The simple color scheme helps to balance the plethora of invention and diversity of character. The final video battle showdown is narrated by a gnome and a porcupine, judged by an octopus, pterodactyl and cyborshark and features both the ghost of a sleeping flea and a massive ape god super-cluster. Add color to that and an actual alternate universe might open. By turns both wise and goofy, Hale lives up to the title page’s promise to ‘blow [our] minds’. Back matter separates fact from fiction and lists the rules Hale set himself during lockdown that resulted in this comic tour de force. Illustrations and text give hope sequels may be planned.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for providing an advance Copy for review.

Fans of Nathan Hale will love his newest graphic novel series. He has moved his focus from history into natural history. Hale introduces readers to a host of truly wacky prehistoric (and some supernatural) characters. Middle grade readers will learn a little bit about these species while enjoying The slap-stick comedy.

Follow Trilobite and his sidekick Amber the ambulocetus as they try to become famous internet stars. They team up with wildly popular Tiffany Timber Paleo- Newscaster in a video-making battle royale. Will they win internet fame as they compete against a group of ancient creatures that don't play fair?

This will be a middle grade favorite for sure! I can't wait to see what is in store for Tiffany, Bite and Amber in the next book.

Nathan Hale, thank you for always giving even my most reluctant readers something to look forward to.

[MandM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure about this one so I checked with my 10 year old book buddy and we both thought it was a bit weird for either one one us, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad book. Just not out first pick.

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put off reading this title for a while. It seemed there was absolutely nothing about it - nothing - that appealed to me. I've read Nathan Hale before - outside of Hazardous Tales I haven't enjoyed his work (and I've only read one HT). I checked this out, turned it in, got an ARC for later reading... I just couldn't bring myself to commit.

I'm shocked at how pleased I am that I read this.

The copy I ended up reading was an ARC, lacking in the blue shade tone that's layered onto the final edition. As I suspected, the plot is completely ridiculous. Really, there's not a lot of plot at all.

But that's ok. BECAUSE THE ART IS INCREDIBLE.

I got a heavy 70s underground comic vibe the illustrations. Nearly every page had something unique and unusual on it. So much of it was over the top and just worth goggling at. I'm not sure if the blue tone would have added much to the work, but the B+W was great.

One of my favorite books to just look at in a while. I'm actually hanging on to my copy so I can glance at it again some day!

[Steph C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Hale spends most of his time drawing carefully researched comics about real people doing real historical things, and then every few years he just snaps and has to do one of these. Last time it was Apocalypse Taco - this time it starts out less gonzo body horror and more lighthearted silliness, but you just wait, the Akira made of ape gods will be along soon enough. It begins with a trilobite who wants to become a famous celebrity and just kind of unspools from there--an explanatory comic in the back reveals it was improvved a page at a time with an intentional lack of plan. This gives it the overall feel of "whatever Nathan Hale felt like drawing today: the comic," but he has the art skills to back it up and always GOES FOR IT at full intensity, whether it's a prehistoric creature, a ghost flea, a screaming house, a grotesquely realistic take on Dog Man, the aforementioned mass of god-apes, whatever. It's like putting your ear next to an air horn full of imagination.

[Kevin McCloskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blown away by the audacity of this book. Nathan Hale is clearly at the top of his game. The individual panels, the flow, the perspective, the hand lettering are all so masterful. There are pages that conjure the best of Robert Crumb, Winsor McCay, Japanese woodblock prints, and 1960's psychedelic posters.

The plot involves a trope I sometimes weary of, namely, characters that feel the need to go viral to save the day. However, The Mighty Bite transcends that common storyline, with humor, eye-popping images, and a breakneck pace.

I was lucky enough to pick up a copy at my local bookstore on Independent Bookstore Day and got the bonus full-color signed print. This is my favorite book of the year and I expect it will be a favorite for Nathan Hale's many fans.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book where kids can learn about trilobites,crinoids, ambulocetus and making a video. Trilobite and Amber are friends....they get into trouble together. They meet up with an internet sensation, a paleo-newscaster Tiffany Timber who immediately realizes she has the story of the century by finding a trilobite. Since Trilobite wants to be rich and famous he tries to copy Tiffany. He goes to buy a video camera and that's where the trouble starts. Dealing with a shady character Trilobite gets taken and Tiffany has to help bail him out. It comes down to Tiffany, Trilobite and Amber against the shady Opabinia in a video face-off to see who is the best. Fun, cool drawings, some actually useful information a fast paced read.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but real weird. Trilobite and his friend Andrea the Ambulocetus are looking for fame, but they manage to anger the creature called Opabinia. All the creatures (most of the creatures) are based on real prehistoric life. Except the journalists, two women with large and luxurious hair.

There's a rat-king-style Ape God, a videography competition, the ghost of a flea, multiple dimensions, and sensational (click-bait) storytelling. As a foray into pandemic-brain musings, this is intriguing. As a story in its own right, I can see its appeal, but it didn't do much for me.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Nathan Hale’s books for many reasons: accessible history/information, hilarious humor, fantastic artwork. And this one was just a crazy romp of silliness and I’m all for it! Paleontology, trilobite main character, frenetic storytelling, ridiculousness galore, so much going on and I was just along for the ride!
I wish I had his books when I was a kid, and I’m glad to read them as an adult and share them with as many kids as I can.
Nathan, please keep creating! I’m here for whatever comes next.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars from this adult reader. 4 stars from the kids.

"What did I just read?" was my exact thought as I was nearing the end, and author Nathan Hale answered the question!

I was expecting something more along the lines of his Hazardous Tales -- which we get a fleeting taste of in the "back matter" section -- and instead we get a quirky adventure with silly characters bouncing off the walls. The kids enjoyed it and they are the target audience after all!

[Towntaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have liked other series by this author and I liked the idea of including facts about prehistoric animals. I was really hoping this would be more scientific and less ridiculous. But the entire plot was kind of stupid in my opinion and not as interesting as a shorter book with more facts about the trilobite, woolly rhinoceros, etc. would have been. I hated every page that the human characters were on.
https://x.com/towntaker/status/180313...

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this book has fun illustrations, unique characters (I learned about quite a few different kinds of prehistoric critters, such as opabinia and ambulocetus), and silliness that anyone could enjoy. However, the world Hale created was kind of hard to understand and there was quite a bit of humor/references that an adult would understand better than a kid. Definitely a unique book that makes me want to read more of Hale’s work!

[Deborah Zeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wacky graphic novel. Prehistoric and “extinct” creatures, a paleo journalist, giant apes & a video challenge to beat all video challenges. What more could any ask for in a MG graphic novel? Definitely a different kind of Graphic Novel. Thanks to edelweiss for the arc. I look forward to re-reading the final book, in color.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
Hale uses interesting characters in this story. Readers meet a trilobite and an ambulocetus who are best friends. They form a team with a human newscaster and another dinosaur to take on other prehistoric creatures in a video battle. The absurdity works and middle grade readers will appreciate the fun and action.

[Melissa Lobegeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for my 8 year old after a friend recommended it. As a paleontologist I had to read it too, because it is not everyday where you get to read a book with as wise and wacky opabinia is the villain and a trilobite and ambulocetus are two of the heroes. It was a rollicking good time with plenty of shenanigans.

[Caleb Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo fun. I have been recommending this to kids at the library who have already hit up all the dog man comics bc I’m obsessed with the art and I figured I might as well actually check it out myself! The art is great, I laughed out loud multiple times, I would die for Tiny Spinosaur!
Also dog man himself makes an appearance!

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildly different from his Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, this book was not what I expected at all. It was, however, enjoyable as a very unpredictable comedy caper. The main character, Bite, is a trilobite (yes, the extinct one) whose best friend Amber is an ambulocetus, a prehistoric walking whale (that looked more like an alligator to me). In an attempt to become rich and famous, they team up with paleo-journalist Tiffany Timber and end up in a news video competition.
The art is unique and distinctive, and the characters are wildly wacky. Younger readers may struggle to follow the story, but upper elementary students will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek humor as well as the puns and sight gags.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (It was okay)

Looks like I'm in the minority here but I spent the entire book thinking "what in the world is this?!?"

I did like a few of the references (like Dog-man) but overall I just found it to be too bizarre for me.

[Brandon Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a goofy and entertaining read. The theme is a bug?! that wants to become famous so he can afford to eat. This book introduces us to some crazy concepts and unexpected twist. A good read if you don’t want something too deep but want to feel a little amused when done.

[LeeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wackier than Wonderland.

It will make middle schoolers bust out laughing, and there are lots of 4th wall breaks to keep readers going.

Overall, it feels like old-fashioned newspaper comics getting an upgrade.