I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE DOUBLECLICKS “Worst Superpower Ever” (2012).

A simple strummed acoustic guitar plays slowly as the singer lists a series of Super Powers you may or may not want.  The cello comes in on the second verse  where the actual superpowers aren’t that great either.

The strange thing is that the worst super power options really aren’t that bad–not great super powers I agree, but being able to predict what someone else will wear is certainly not worse than a lot of other powers one could have.

I really want to love this band, but I fear that they’re always not quite but almost awesome.  Still, there are worse things you could be than that.

[READ: January 22, 2013] The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby

I am disappointed in myself for having read this out of sequence (Super Diaper Baby comes after Captain Underpants book 5).

The premise behind this graphic novel is that George and Harold, co-creators of Captain Underpants are being punished (yet again).  They must write a 100 page paper about being a good citizen.  But, and this is the important part, Principal Krupp says they can’t make a Captain Underpants comic (which they can’t understand as the Captain is a great citizen!).

But Krupp never said they couldn’t make a  new comic.  And lo, the birth of Super Diaper Baby.  There’s some wonderful funny jokes in the beginning like when the nurse says “name” and they say they haven’t picked one yet, but she means their name (that misunderstanding kind of joke gets reused a few times for more hilarious results).

Just as normal baby Billy is being born (and there’s a very funny “Billy Don’t be a Hero” joke that no kids will ever get), Deputy Dangerous and Danger Dog are up to no good.  They trap Captain Underpants and get ready to drink a formula that gives them super powers.  First Danger Dog takes some and is able to fly.  But before Deputy Dangerous can take any, the police chase him and he rides off on Danger Dog.

When the doctor goes to spank Billy for the first time, he launches the baby right out the window (a crazy joke that really made me laugh) and into the magic potion that Deputy Dangerous was carrying.  And in glorious Flip-O-Rama (which is all over this book!) Super Diaper Baby is realized (and beats up the Deputy).

The Deputy seeks revenge and in a sequence that had me laughing for easily five minutes (because I am clearly eight years old), the plans go horribly wrong and involve a dirty diaper.  It was a fairly obvious joke and yet something about the fact that he actually did it (and the subsequent name calling) was just too funny.

Now Deputy Doo Doo (stop calling him that!) has a new plan involving a gigantic robotic ant.  There’s also some hilarious sign rearranging done by Danger Dog (like It’s fun to drink out of the toilet) .  But this time Deputy Doo Doo is serious and Super Diaper Baby is in real trouble until Danger Dog saves him.  He is rechristened Diaper Dog (for he has to wear a diaper too).  Oh, and they rescue Captain Underpants too.

The end of this book has a hilarious postcard that you can mail in to “Me was offended by Super Diaper Baby’ and if you do they will send more offensive stuff.  I read this warning/apology before reading the book and I knew I was in for some hilarious stuff inside.  I was not disappointed.