Danielle Burgos

Having skipped the first volume of the series since my library didn't have it, I must admit I am now completely lost in these middle chapters of the epic length story. There is a reveal that a masked character from last volume is a character from the cartoon series who was not previously in The Unknown. So this seems to be set after the events of the cartoon and not during? And there is some shapeshifter we need to be worried about? And a pirate? Huh?

After a to-be-continued ending to the adventures of Wirt and Gregory, the last quarter of the book is another poorly drawn, garishly drawn adventure of the origin of Miss Langtree's animal boarding school.… (más)

The first half of the book does a good job of capturing the tone and spirit of the original cartoon with half-brothers Greg and Wirt each offering their differing versions of events from the same odd evening.

But then the second half of the book goes off the rails as we are subjected to a story set in the schoolhouse from the "Schooltown Follies" episode. No Greg, no Wirt, no frog or Beatrice even. Instead, we are introduced to Pooree the Elephant, the clumsy new transfer student. Horribly drawn, horribly written, and, worst of all, horribly colored in a manner that completely clashes with the palette of the series. What were the editors thinking?… (más)

Greg and Wirt continue on their adventures in the Unknown, each trying to prove to the other the worth of Hero Frog (i.e., is he truly a hero or is he a villain?). As usual, the brothers meet an eccentric cast of characters, in a variety of surreal settings.

This book picks up precisely where Volume 3 ended with no recap. Like with the previous volume, I wasn't thrilled that Greg and Wirt were separated for most of the story, but the characters are compelling enough to each stands on his own. The quirky humor will appeal to a very specific audience but not to all. Luckily, I fit into that former category.

The final story in this volume is an unrelated one back in the animal boarding school, although this one was a huge improvement over the one in the previous volume. It has an actually plot, humor, and better illustrations.

This is a solid read for those already fans of the show and comics, but not for those without that knowledge.… (más)