Another Missile Mouse Commission. Missile Mouse is going for a spin on his Okkino Air Viper. With a full Carbon Maginox Fiber body, thrust vectoring, and the Intellicanard system, there’s little in the sky or on the roads that can keep up with him. I think he had to get this to balance out having the Air Junker.
Missile Mouse: the Star Crusher (Available in Jan) is getting lots of good reviews! I’ve been posting these on twitter, but here the are in full for you non twitter types.
Scholastic is really putting their graphic novel foot forward, and this first installment in an ongoing series from writer/illustrator Jake Parker is proof. Parker, an animator at Blue Sky Studios, has created an action/adventure sci-fi hero in Missile Mouse, a pint-sized secret agent who packs a big punch. The storytelling is fairly straight forward for the genre (good versus evil, inter-galactic war, surprise double-crosses, et al.), but Parker’s illustration work is what really makes this book pop. His background in animation is apparent; with clean lines and solid coloring, each frame looks more like an animation still than it does a comic book panel. The humor is definitely there for kids–which is appropriate since the book is geared toward eight- to twelve-year-olds–but I do wish there was some subtle adult humor peppered throughout.
When his mission to recover an ancient star compass goes wrong, intrepid Galactic Security Agent Missile Mouse finds himself saddled with a partner. Agent Hyde, the son of a senator and a rookie, is willing to please, but part of his job (according to Chief Maxwell) is to keep Missile Mouse from making costly mistakes. The two are to retrieve a missing scientist who holds the key to a horrible weapon, the Star Crusher, in his hereditary memory. They rescue Ulrich Vondorf from the Rogue Imperium of Planets (RIP)—but not before RIP gets most of the info they need. Missile Mouse must find the last stash of dark plasma before RIP, but that’s not the only hurdle GSA’s finest is going to face! An animation artist for such companies as Disney & Nick as well as a comics artist, Parker produces a first full-length graphic novel that’s a gem in story and art. Bright, action-filled, at times wordless panels keep the pages turning. Intelligent space opera and a realistically rounded hero will have young fans of the future demanding the next volume. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)
Missile Mouse, or MM to his friends, is an agent in the Galactic Security Agency and the kind of gruff loner ideal for deep-space adventuring. After he botches a mission and lets a valuable star compass fall into the hands of the dastardly Rogue Imperium of Planets, he partners up with a hotshot young agent, cramping his reckless-but-effective lone-wolf style. Their mission is to rescue a kidnapped scientist who holds in his outsize noggin the knowledge to construct a black hole–generating doomsday device that sure could come in handy for the baddies’ plans to rule the galaxy. The setting and overall look of this graphic novel owe much to Star Wars and the Halo video games. Parker’s fluid lines and animation-quality characters make for uncluttered action sequences, nicely kept PG with laser shots that knock weapons out of hands and more KOs than kills. MM’s fearless brashness makes for a winning hero, and the able mix of humor and urgency make for a solid space caper.
— Ian Chipman



December 14th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Is Missle Mouse’s nickname “Em-Em” or “Double-Em”?
It’s probably not “Mike-Mike” or “Double-Mike”…
December 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Good question. In the book they call him just “M.” Though when I refer to him in writing and emails I shorten it to MM.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Mike-Mike, that’s way to ridiculous for an already ridiculous name…
Cool Viper to boot. I would love to take one of those for a spin around the block.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Yeah. Mike-Mike IS dumb. It just happens that “M” in the phonetic alphabet is “Mike”. It might have been slightly neater sounding if it wasn’t already a name.. (along with “Charlie” “Juliet” “Oscar” “Romeo” and “Victor”)
December 14th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
And so the reviews begin to pour in!! You should make one of them fancy book trailers!!! :S
December 15th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Soon the whole world will have found you and I’ll have to turn my back on you because you’re to main stream to be hip. When people ask me “Hey did you read that Missle Mouse book?” I’ll reply “Hmph!!! I knew Missle Mouse when it meant something.”
December 17th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Yeah, I forgot to mention a “congrats”, your reviews really are fantastic!
Oh, and speaking of book trailers, I just made one the other day. I’m sure you could make one a gazillion percent better for MM.