Mighty Jack and the Goblin King

This sequel picks up right where Mighty Jack (rev. 9/16) left off--and what follows is all action. In pursuit of the ogre who kidnapped his sister Maddy, Jack and his sword-wielding neighbor Lilly pass through a vegetative wormhole into a bizarre fantasy world of floating castles, giant rats, and babbling goblins. Fortified by superpower-boosting smoothies and armed with magic beans, Jack and Lilly nevertheless find themselves separated after a sneak attack. Jack discovers that Maddy's life is in grave danger. Lilly ends up in an arranged marriage to the oppressive Goblin King. Several furious, blood-splattered brawls ensue, shown in dynamic panel layouts that regularly burst into double-page spreads and with ever-present sound effects ("CH-CHUNK!" "SPLORT!" "FOOM"). Jack's bravado and macho rhetoric ("I'm going to catch up to that ogre, smash its head, and bring my sister home") is tempered by Lilly's moving display of self-sacrifice and Maddy's surprising show of swordsmanship. Numerous references to and cameos from Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl universe are peppered throughout the story, culminating in a call to arms from the space heroine herself and suggesting a future crossover adventure. patrick gall