Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever! (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever! Kate Quealy-Gainer McCranie, Stephen. Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever!; written and illus. by Stephen McCranie. Philomel, 2011. 223p. Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-399-25221-1 $9.99 R Gr. 3–6 Being a genius is not the breeze it seems: Malcolm may be able to invent whatever strikes his fancy (including an elevator-shaped time machine and a sauce that makes everything delicious), but his impressive brain power doesn’t always help when he [End Page 29] wants to avoid the school bully or catch the eye of his crush. Even worse, he can’t show off his amazing creations to his elementary schoolmates because he has to keep his genius abilities under wraps lest nosy grownups ship him off to college. Most days he spends talking to his dog, Chad—who can, courtesy of another of Mal’s inventions, return the favor—or fiddling with his latest invention. The first installment of a proposed series, this graphic novel, a web-comic crossover, documents Mal’s misadventures as a social outcast, mischievous son, and traveler of prehistoric lands. Monochromatic illustrations feature thick ink lines that form an expressive-faced protagonist (though he’s a little heavy on the huge manga-esque eyes), while his canine companion may have had Tintin’s dog as a long-ago ancestor. Panels move the story along nicely as they oscillate between stark simplicity and lush detail, and the easy-to-follow sequence will be manageable by even the most novice of comic readers. Visual humor abounds throughout the illustrations, and although Malcolm is more sweet than funny, Chad more than makes up for his owner’s blandness with some well-timed snark. Well-aimed in tone and content, this gentler descendant of Calvin and Hobbes is sure to have young readers thinking up their own crazy inventions. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois