58. Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker

Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker (Canada) - (US) Missile Mouse, 2

Pages: 146
Ages: 9+
Finished: Mar. 7, 2011
First Published: Jan. 1, 2011
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Genre: Graphic Novel, Children, Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5



First sentence:

Freeze, or I blast you!

Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.

Reason for Reading: next in the series.

Missile Mouse is chasing a fugitive on the capital planet, has a bad run-in with the robot guards, is attacked by Blazing Bat and after mass destruction to the docks brings his man back to the GSA. Turns out the fellow was under the influence of a mind altering device which made him the living slave of the one controlling the device. Missile Mouse is sent with the victim back to his home planet along with a team of Security Robots, one of whom becomes his new partner, Agent 44. Here they find the evil King Bognarsh who has captured all able-bodied men and taken them to the other side of the planet to work as slaves in his mine. It's up to Missile Mouse to save the people of this planet but at the same time he has a bounty hunter, Blazing Bat, out for his head, literally.

I love Missile Mouse! This pure science fiction graphic story takes some common science fiction elements and rolls with them on a junior level without becoming a farce or a superhero story. Missile Mouse is kind of an anti-hero. He doesn't respect authority, does things *his* way, often makes a mess of things, but always gets his guy. It's hard not to find him lovable in certain ways. While Missile Mouse may be a rogue he is not stupid, he learns from his mistakes, and from this we see the real heart of the beast inside. The story is quite exciting. Typical of any sci-fi cartoon or TV episode with its battles, high tech gadgetry and moments of humour but the core of this book is MM's relationship with Agent 44. What starts as a commander who has nothing but disdain for his subordinate turns into a true crime fighting/military partnership where one must have the other's back at all times, where trust becomes an instinct. A wonderful story for only the second book in this series. Looking forward to what Book 3 brings. The ending here sets up how the next book will start.