Review by Booklist Review
This print edition of the webcomic Galactic Hot Dogs compiles the first 26 chapters into a more or less cohesive tale featuring young Earth gamer Cosmoe and his hulking alien buddy Humphree. Rocketing through interstellar space aboard their futuristic hot dog stand, The Neon Wiener, the two start by trying to enter their Mega-Dog in the Great Intragalactic Food Truck Cook-Off, end by blowing up a humongous evil monster with a crate of Humphree's Hot Hot Sauce, and in between face challenges ranging from zombie space pirates to dealing with annoying stowaway Princess Dagger. The page design, which tends toward a mad, jagged jumble of fragmentary black-and-white action cartoons, boxes of hyped-up dialogue, splinters of narrative text in multiple sizes, and loud sound effects, takes getting used to but effectively conveys the furious pacing of the plot's roller-coaster array of feats and fails. Readers who have already stepped up to the Neon Wiener online will welcome newly added comments between chapters by a robotic sidekick.--Peters, John Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers who enjoyed Brallier and Maguire's Galactic Hot Dogs webcomic (or played around in the recently launched Poptropica.com island set in the same universe) can follow the travails of Cosmoe the Earth-Boy, alien cohort Big Humphree, and maybe-evil Princess Dagger in this print adaptation. Covering the same territory as the 26 chapters of Cosmoe's story available at Funbrain.com, this hybrid novel/comic follows Cosmoe's attempts to gather the pieces of the Map-O-Sphere, which purportedly leads the way to the Ultimate Evil. Brallier's story races ahead at what in the film Space Balls would be called "ludicrous speed." Maguire does a heroic job of keeping up with twists and turns that include run-ins with Zombie Space Pirates and the villainous General Krax von Grumble, as well as intergalactic wrestling and video-game tournaments; even so, the action isn't easy to track. Planet-shaking sound effects ("SHHH-BLAM!!!") and lowbrow humor proliferate ("There are 19,476 doom-suns in the known galaxy and they're all hot as butts"), adding up to a whirlwind SF adventure that doesn't take itself a bit seriously. Ages 8-12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-Transforming an action-packed webcomic into an audiobook may seem like an impossible feat, but it's nothing compared to the challenges faced by Cosmoe the Earth-Boy and his alien sidekick, Humphree. Together, this dynamic duo sell hot dogs throughout the galaxy from their Neon Wiener food truck. Their bid to win the Intragalactic Food Truck Cookoff with a jeep-sized Mega-Dog are foiled when the daughter of evil Queen Dagger takes off with their entry. Soon Cosmoe, Humphree, and the princess are battling zombie pirates, monsters, aliens, robots, and a tyrannical general, attending wrestling matches, participating in an interactive video game, and searching for pieces of the map to the Ultimate Evil. Vincent Martella successfully replaces the surplus of illustrations with his animated and highly amusing narrative, accompanied by awesome space sound effects and onomatopoeia-especially cartoonish sound effects in the fights. His voices conjure up a wide cast of characters, and he manages to keep the suspense high even through goofy and sometimes irreverent dialogue and action. VERDICT The crazy antics, toilet humor, action-packed fight scenes, and strange cast of characters will appeal to fans of Captain Underpants.-MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Earth-boy Cosmoe navigates his hot-dog space ship--the Neon Wiener--through high-energy episodes, including an Intergalactic Food Truck Cook-Off and a videogame apocalypse. Ultimately, Cosmoe and friends defeat General Krax von Grumble's Ultimate Evil rockets. The hyperactive story is told through a combination of comic-panel illustrations and an action-packed text. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This highly illustrated story has something for every demographic, offering robots, zombies, hot dogs, a princess, video games and wrestlers. This is not a complete list. Even people who hate princesses might enjoy the book, thanks to snarky dialogue. Hero Cosmoe gasps, "What the butt?! What are you doing here??" "Stealing your ship, silly. I'm an evil princess. Y'know?" Princess Dagger knowingly responds. Cosmoe just wants to serve up hot dogs (his food truck is called the Neon Wiener), but he's being chased around the galaxy by Evil Queen Dagger and her Royal Armada, who are after the princess. Within a few chapters, he's fighting zombie space pirates. The fight scenes are the weakest parts of the book. They read like transcripts of video games: "He swings! I duck ANDWHOOSH!The Boss Worm's fist flies over my head. NOW! YES!" It's hard to engage emotionally when most of the nouns and verbs are missing. But there are some terrific jokes. When Cosmoe is getting tossed around by a robot, he muses, "Now I know what underwear in a dryer feels like." The overall effect is a little like flipping through every channel on cable TV. The book is so frenetic that some readers will need caffeine to get through it, but in the end, that turns out to be an advantage: If a joke doesn't work, or if readers get bored, all they have to do is turn the page. (Graphic/science-fiction hybrid. 7-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
