The Epic Origin of Super Potato: Book 1,New

About the AuthorArtur Laperla is an author and illustrator who lives in Spain. His work includes the Super Potato series and the Felix and Calcite series.Product DescriptionSuper Max has it all. He's a superhero with a flashy uniform and a great head of hair. Sure, sometimes the evil Dr. Malevolent pops up to cause trouble. But Super Max has defeated the villain over and over again.This time is different. This time, Dr. Malevolent's plan works . . . and he turns the handsome hero into a tiny tuber! But there's one thing the doctor didn't count on. The potato still has powers, and justice takes many forms. Super Max may be gone . . . but it's Super Potato's time to fly!Review'Super Max is devoted to fighting crime, especially Dr. Malevolent, and looking good. When Super Max learns that Dr. Malevolent has stolen a priceless statue, he heads to his nemesis's notsosecret hideout to retrieve it. But Dr. Malevolent uses his new weapon on Super Max, transforming him into a potato. This is just the beginning of a hilarious story about a hero who needs to adjust to new circumstances. Laperla offers obvious and subtle humor, appealing to a variety of readers. Kids will get a kick out of the overthetop action and enjoy watching Super Max come to accept his new role as a tiny tuber. The bright cartoons will draw in even the most reluctant readers, who will be happy to know that the series continuesthis volume ends with a call for Super Potato to capture yet another outlandish villain. VERDICT A zany, funny selection that will entertain kids and the adults who might be reading over their shoulders.'starred, School Library Journal'Super Max is the kind of crime fighter who fixes his hair before flying to the rescue and asks his mirror who's the handsomest superhero of them all. So when his archenemy, Doctor Malevolent, turns him into a potato, Max's ego takes the hardest blow. Overcoming this hardship with a new potatosized costume, he mashes Doctor Malevolent's plan to starchify the rest of the city. With the fiend at his mercy, the hero learns that turning potatoes back into people is impossible, which gives him a chance to prove that compassion is central to true heroism. The predicament also sets the character up for future, potatoshaped adventures. The art punches things up considerably, with wellconstructed, flowing page layouts, humorously extreme reaction shots, and a stark and vibrant color palette that feels both classical and unique. If Loony Tunes was in the superhero business, this is something it might have baked up. A superhero romp with some ageappropriate examples of heroic behavior and a nonstop torrent of gags that work a decent portion of the time.'Booklist'Super Max has a luxurious blond coiffure, a cape, big muscles (737, to be exact), and an outsized ego. So, it's humiliating when Doctor Malevolent shoots him with a new weapon and turns him into a potato. Now, he's Super Potato, a tiny figure with spindly arms and legs, and he's devastated: 'Super Potato cries like a baby surrounded by onions.' He still has superpowers, though, and once he rigs up a new costume for his potatoshaped self, he's ready to do battle with Doctor Malevolent (who looks like a slimmeddown Gru from Despicable Me) again. Super Patata has been available in Laperla's home of Spain for several years; this is its U.S. debut, and its uncredited English translation sounds natural and doesn't fumble. Laperla's parody strikes an easy comedic tone from the first page, and its wackiness unspools effortlessly. Fullcolor panel artwork combines caricature with handsomely drafted backgrounds of cityscapes and spaceships, and Laperla nails Super Potato's expressions of rage and exasperation. A promising start to a series with appeal to strong and reluctant readers alike.'Publishers Weekly