An Illustrated Guide to Shark Etiquette

I bought one collection to try, then wound up purchasing the entire published collection of Sherman Lagoon books for my 13 year old son who absolutely loves them. The setting is the ocean world, but all that transpires reflects the "real" world above. The humor is insightful, a bit cynical and the characters colorful. We're waiting for more....

The third book of Jim Toomey's (yes, aztecprincess, he IS darn sexy) hilarious strip "Sherman's Lagoon" shows no signs of waning or staleness. Few strips can achieve -- or surpass -- the surreality of Calvin and Hobbes, and this is one of those few. ("Liberty Meadows" is another, sadly not in books yet...)It features doofus, perpetually human-hungry shark Sherman; irritable wife Megan (don't cross her if you value your life); Fillmore the nerdy and cultured sea turtle; Hawthorne the malicious and loudmouthed little hermit crab; and recurring character Ernest, sarcastic and geeky little fish.Among the crazy adventures are: Bill Gates buys the island, Megan thinks she's pregnant, Fillmore actually gets a date (something is wrong, of course), the return of irritating Thornton the warm-weather polar bear, Hawthorne's annual shell-changing--and of course, lots of Sherman-chases-beach-apes-aka-humans and Hawthorne-pinches-beach-ape-toes!The pop culture references in the isolated tropical island make a bizarre combo (Starbucks, for example) and the sight of a shark at a computer should theoretically be strained and overdone. However, given the colorful personalities and kooky situations at Kapupu Island, even sea boogers will find this entertaining in Toomey's skilled and skewed imagination!

It must really BOGGLE the mind to think that such a handsome hunk like him could come up with such wacky, off-the-wall comedies under the sea! There's plenty of satire, parody, slapstick, lowbrow humor, and oooh...even a little risqueness to boot! (You just DON'T want to know WHERE the geeky Ernest holds his secret club!) Real sly, man.Here in the third book, Sherman is his usual old man-eating self; Megan remains a shrewdish old missus; Fillmore continues to be your bookish cynic who just can't get a date; Hawthorne is still a stubborn and selfish old crab as usual; and the bespectacled Ernest is the very same computer-savvy nerd as ever before. In other words, they are quite the same sea-dwelling characters we all know and love. Yet they are all caught up in the newest and silliest adventures - this time, in the show biz, the big romantic getaways, and the fishing contests. Why, they are even invaded by sea boogers, space dogs, and Bill Gates as well as a beached whale being talked out of a suicide and Megan getting PREGNANT!!! So just kick back and enjoy such a crazed fantasy world so lovingly conjured up by the Playgirl candidate!;)

It's not often that something this clean and inoffensive appeals to a bunch of South Park fans, but Sherman's Lagoon has done it. It has been impossible to keep my hands on since my friends have discovered it, and we really do keep pointing out, "Have you read THIS one?" This book is a keeper.

I got hooked on Sherman's Lagoon online (you can check out some recent strips at www.slagoon.com to see if you like it). I bought the first two books, then ordered this one as soon as the website announced its release. Certainly a bit strange, sometimes leaning toward gross, it uses sea life to offer a grotesque commentary on life-the sort of commentary that might seem excessive using human characters. Sherman is a shark who won't be a candidate for the Nobel Prize anytime soon, and he's mostly focused on his next feeding. Despite his focus on food and his willingness to eat fellow sea life as well as "beach apes" on vacation at his lagoon, he manages to maintain friendships with some seemingly edible fellow residents of the lagoon. His loving wife, Megan, is a more refined shark (note the pearls), yet up to a feeding frenzy now and again; she spends a lot of time trying to induce romantic behavior in Sherman. There are also an unlucky-at-love sea turtle, a wannabe con artist crab, a brainy fish, and a frat-boy polar bear who winters on the beach in the tropics. OK, so it's a little strange. But give it a try, it works.