Fangbone!: Third-Grade Barbarian (review)

On a far-off planet in a distant galaxy, a Viking-like people battle the evil armies of the great Drool—when they're not competing to see whose axe is the sharpest or whose armpits are the smelliest. Young Fangbone, an enthusiastic but mostly annoying wannabe warrior, is magically transported to Earth to hide out and keep the enemy's secret weapon, the Big Toe of Drool, hidden until it is safe to return. In his attempts to blend in, Fangbone enrolls in school, where he meets Bill and his fellow "loser" friends in Ms. Gillian's 3G class, who are desperate to win this year's beanball game against the popular kids. Serendipitously, Fangbone happens to be amazing at beanball, and the residents of 3G happen to have a few tricks up their sleeve to defeat the various monsters sent after Fangbone by Drool. Rex knows his audience well and so delivers the various booger/fart/poop jokes in spades, but he also includes a few instances of more layered humor, especially in his portrayal of Fangbone's harried and overworked teacher and the clueless principal. Kids familiar with being labeled by both the adults in their lives and their fellow classmates will readily relate to the outcast youngsters of 3G and will cheer the group's triumph over the A-listers and Drool. Rex's art sports blocky, vigorous cartooning and unusual colors (the palette is mostly yellow and gray), capturing the text's frantic, action-driven tone.