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L. Bob Rovetch's brand new Hot Dog & Bob series for developing readers is a sure bet for pulling more reluctant readers - especially boys - away from the early evening Cartoon Network lineup and into books.
With the same absurd flavor that makes shows like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and My Gym Partner's a Monkey a hit with the six to ten-year-old age group, Rovetch and illustrator Dave Whamond pair a bright but slightly nerdy boy with - of all things - a superhero hot dog from Planet Dogzalot.
Soon after Bob first encounters the determined but forgetful Hot Dog in his lunchbox, Bob's fifth-grade teacher's body is taken over by a giant alien pizza bent on world domination. Bob and his adventurous-eater friend Clementine are for some unknown reason immune to Cheese Face's power to transform their classmates into pizza-slice soldiers, but their only hope to escape a grisly end in Cheese Face's maw lies in Bob's super memory, Clementine's valiant palate, and Hot Dog's questionable superhero powers.
Peopled with some familiar types - the bully Barfalot, his henchmen Pigbert and Slugbert, the sweet but somewhat clueless teacher Miss Lamphead - and peppered with copious gross-out moments and outlandish situations, Attack of the Evil Alien Pizza Person is still original enough to be fresh in its appeal to developing readers of both genders (especially given the presence of Bob's best friend, Clementine). Dave Whamond's cover art and interior black and white illustrations are as lively and full of motion as any animated cartoon and help to make the transition from telly to text a little less painful for reluctant readers.
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Hot Dog and Bob and the Seriously Scary Attack of the Evil Alien Pizza Person: Adventure #1