Why Kids Will Love The Mighty Bite: Hog-Rocket Ruckus

I love Phineas & Ferb. I’m convinced that a generation of scientists will reference it as a main inspiration for their endeavors and inventions. I also enjoy Ren & Stimpy. What if the former had a tiny sprinkle of the rudeness and over-the-top insanity of the latter? The Mighty Bite: Hog-Rocket Ruckus is the graphic novel representation of this idea. It’s incredibly smart. It’s also incredibly silly. At times, it’s just a little bit rude and noisy, but never enough to make parents or librarians lower their brows. Hog-Rocket Ruckus is the second book in The Mighty Bite book series that we’ve read, and the third overall. There’s something about Hog-Rocket Ruckus that will speak to some upper-elementary and older readers.

There’s a wild, untamed energy about the graphic novel that few of its peers share. And while kids may not describe it in that manner, it’s obvious from its cover. A wild boar is flying through the air with Amber, an ambulocetus on its back, Tiffany, a young woman on its back, Tiny-a spinosaurus, that’s biting Amber’s tail, and a trilobite who is our titular character. The boar is propelling itself in the air with its own flatulence. Kids may not know the word flatulence, but they know what it means when they see the context clues. They’ll also have buckets of fun reading Hog-Rocket Ruckus…if they allow themselves.

The Mighty Bite is similar to author Nathan Hale’s other graphic novel series, Hazardous Tales in that it starts off with a narrator. In Hog-Rocket Ruckus, the author is a well-spoken and sizeable ape named Radcliff. He sets up the main characters, tells you that it’s OK to read The Mighty Bite books in any order and lets readers know why the book feels different. It feels different because it was hand drawn and lettered. That, plus the fact that the graphic novel only uses purple, black and white as the colors used throughout it adds to that manic sense of energy I alluded to. Radcliff tells young readers that the graphic novel will contain mistakes or inconsistencies within the book. For some kids, this is a genius ploy because it practically dares them to read each panel and look closely to see if they can spot something that’s been erased or a character who wasn’t flushed out.

So, this is all good and well, but will kids want to read Hog-Rocket Ruckus? Is it funny? Does it teach them anything? That third one is a non-sequitur because books don’t have to teach kids anything. If they do then it’s a side benefit, aside from the obvious reading practice. Wow, The Mighty Bite: Hog-Rocket Ruckus follows in the high-quality footprints of the first two books in this series. It’s got an impossibly high joke-to-laugh ratio and manages to blend a completely absurd story into something that’s relatable, funny, creative, and educational.

The second book in the series, Walrus Brawl at the Mall, could basically be summed up as Thunderdome on a floating mall with dinosaurs. The plot of Hog-Rocket Ruckus is as nebulous changes quickly. Near its center at all times is the kind, but troublemaking trilobite and his quest to either make money or become famous by making viral videos. As Rocket Ruckus opens, he’s just finished writing apology letters by hand (just like the book) to everyone who was hurt because they imitated his stupid actions in one of his videos. The court wants to be reminded of his crime so they watch snippets of his videos, see the thousands of people injured and he’s sent back to put stamps on the letters. Meanwhile, his three friends are doing more naturalistic video opportunities. They’re in a dune buggy pursuing a Hell Pig, yes it’s a real animal, I just had to go look it up myself.

Tiffany feels bad calling it a Hell Pig or a Terminator Pig, so she suggests to the team that they call it a heck pig. The heck pig starts to destroy their dune buggy, eventually eating the spare cans of gasoline. Bite has four people who are intent on filming his failures for their personal profit. Between them chasing Bite and his friends, the Taco Bear puns, “throw pot” jokes, wizards, and a giant mecha pig, young readers will have no choice but to be entertained.

Resistance is futile, as it is said. Having said that, Hog-Rocket Ruckus is a smart book and it doesn’t take the road most travelled. It operates at a very base level, but also has jokes, puns and gags that will make older audiences laugh. Because it’s not as overall simple as some other graphic novels that might attract mid-elementary ages, it won’t be their top pick. This is the graphic novel that will come after Dog Man. It runs simultaneously to Investigators and produces a similar page-to-laugh ratio. It’s not that those third graders won’t enjoy The Mighty Bite, it’s that they won’t get all of the jokes. Those upper-elementary ages through middle school readers, with more life experiences under their belt, will laugh out loud at this final entry into a fabulous graphic novel series.

The Mighty Bite: Hog-Rocket Ruckus is by New York Times bestselling author Nathan Hale and is available on Abrams Fanfare, an imprint of Abrams Books.

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