Magic Pickle: A Graphic Novel

I should begin this review by being straight with you. I am not an impartial reader of this book. There have been times, more in my life than I can count, when I have craved a dill pickle spear. I admit it. The cat is officially out of the bad. I love pickles and I'm not ashamed of the fact. And magic pickles do sound tasty. On the other hand, I'm also a picky graphic novel reader. There's so much tripe out there being produced for kids these days that anytime I get handed a new children's GN my immediate reaction is to cringe. And "Magic Pickle", for all its myriad charms, didn't necessarily look like something I might enjoy. Still, I gamely plucked it up and found to my surprise that not only is it readable and fun, I also detect a sly understated wit at work here. As understated as scientifically advanced super veggies can be, anyway. Since big green superheroes tend to be of the "Hulk, smash!" variety, I suggest you take a moment out of your day to try your hand at a smaller equally green superhero, unafraid of villainous produce or footie pajamas. His origins are super secret . . . or at least they were until he crashed through the bedroom floor of little Jo Jo Wigman. The heroic product of a scientist's lunch and some particle confabulation, the pickle Weapon Kosher fights for truth, justice, yadda yadda yadda. Unfortunately, for every dill yin there's a rotten yang to contend with. The Brotherhood of Evil Produce has just come out of hiding after more than 50 years, and that means that it's time for the cryogenically frozen pickle to get back to serving justice. Of course, his lab is now located directly under the floor of young Jo Jo Wigman and she is NOT going to be kept out of the action. Jo Jo is fighting her own battles with the mean girl at school and it's possible that the pickle might be just the answer she's been looking for. Morse's drawing style is this elastic, energetic series of shifting panels and inserts. Images are constantly overlapping or going panel-less for maximum effect. You might not recognize it on a first reading, but Morse is doing some pretty fancy footwork with this story. For example, when Jo Jo starts spinning a crazy story about how she is wearing her pajamas at the bus stop because it's the latest style and she's coming from a swank party, her backgrounds alternate between starbursts, swirls, and a kind of eclectic cut paper effect. Morse doesn't have to do this, y'know. In fact, it's much easier to just draw boxes and put people in them without all the subconscious imagery. Easier, but less thrilling in the long run. The book doesn't actually tell you who has done the coloring for this title, which is as pity. I don't know that we can assume that Morse does his own, since that's not always the job of the artist proper. If he IS the person responsible, though, then I doff my cap to him because the colors in this book are right proper. My boss handed me this book with the note that it was hard to get arou

If you're anything like me, you've probably always wanted to see a super-powered pickle in an epic struggle with an evil head of lettuce (The Romaine Gladiator), and his cronies (The Brotherhood of Evil Produce). Well look no further, because your prayers have been answered! Creator Scott Morse is clearly having fun with this stuff, and it shows. From cute little Jo Jo Wigman (The aspiring "Sweet Tomato") to the gun-toting Loconut, it's all good. I've never liked pickles, but thanks to Scott Morse, I've discovered a reason to stand up and cheer: "Long Live the Magic Pickle!!!!!"