The Epic Origin of Super Potato (Super Potato #1)

Gr 3-6--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 not-so-secret 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 over-the-top 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 continues--this 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.--Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"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 potato-shaped self, he's ready to do battle with Doctor Malevolent (who looks like a slimmed-down 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. Full-color 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