InvestiGators (InvestiGators Series #1)

by John Patrick Green

Overview

John Patrick Green's goofy graphic novel series follows the super spy alligator duo the InvestiGators as they travel through the sewers and fight the forces of evil.

MANGO and BRASH are the INVESTIGATORS:
sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T.* and scourge of supervillains everywhere!

With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?

*Special Undercover Investigation Teams

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250219954
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Series:	InvestiGators Series
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	4,896
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	GN390L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

John Patrick Green is a human with the human job of making books about animals with human jobs, such as Hippopotamister, the Kitten Construction Company series, and now the InvestiGators series, all from First Second Books. John is definitely not just a bunch of animals wearing a human suit pretending to have a human job. He is also the artist and co-creator of the graphic novel series Teen Boat!, with writer Dave Roman. John lives in Brooklyn in an apartment that doesn’t allow animals other than the ones living in his head.

Editorial Reviews

…a very entertaining read. The fast-paced tale of a missing baker, a helicopter turned "were-copter," and a vat of radioactive cracker dough has heaping helpings of surreal alligator action and wordplay gags to keep new readers bent on solving the mystery. And the sharp illustration line, color and movement really pop.

The New York Times Book Review - Jon Scieszka

01/06/2020

World-famous cupcake maker Gustavo Mustachio hasn’t been seen in two weeks, and Mango and Brash, two alligators—wearing V.E.S.T. (Very Exciting Spy Technology) for their work with S.U.I.T. (Special Undercover Investigation Teams)—are dispatched to Gustavo’s bakery, Batter Down, to find out more. Brash is level-headed, buoyant Mango can’t resist puns and wordplay (“We’re alligators. SNAPPY is what we do best!”), and both dive into toilets and travel through city sewers in service of the case. As the head scientist at the Science Factory across town prepares to announce a great discovery, a mysterious customer delivers a giant birthday cake from Batter Down, leading to the Science Factory’s explosion and adding another facet to the mystery. Helicopters, many-armed gadgets, and wild schemes proliferate this graphic novel series opener as origin stories explain characters’ behavior (and occasionally slow the story’s frenetic pace). In high-intensity colors, straightforward panel artwork by Green (Hippopot­a­mister) offers plenty of slapstick gags to Brash and Mango’s tale. Fast-paced fun for the bad pun and dorky joke crowd: “Now let’s flush ourselves down the nearest toilet and GATER DONE!” Ages 7–10. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"...has heaping helpings of surreal alligator action and wordplay gags to keep new readers bent on solving the mystery." —The New York Times

"With its rampant good-natured goofiness and its unrelenting fizz and pep, this feels like a sugar rush manifested as a graphic novel. Silly and inventive fast-paced fun." —Kirkus

"In high-intensity colors, straightforward panel artwork by Green (Hippopot­a­mister) offers plenty of slapstick gags to Brash and Mango’s tale. Fast-paced fun for the bad pun and dorky joke crowd." —Publisher's Weekly

"Like the heroes of Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” or “Captain Underpants,” the Investigators are bound to resonate with kids." —School Library Journal: XpressReviews

From the Publisher

02/14/2020

Gr 2–5—In the first installment of what promises to be a wildly successful graphic novel series, Green ("Kitten Construction Company") once again shows off his knack for pun-filled animal tales. Alligators Mango and Brash are friends and secret agents for S.U.I.T. (Special Undercover Investigator Teams), tasked with solving their first case: finding Chef Mustachio, who went missing just before he was about to unveil his latest concoction. These masters of disguise are off and running. But when there's an explosion at the Science Factory, the duo are asked to look into that mystery, too. No matter where they go, Mango and Brash blend in seamlessly with humans who somehow never notice that they are interacting with alligators who sport vests outfitted with gadgets. Jokes, especially visual puns ("Badges?" "We're not badgers, we're alligators!") and toilet humor, come fast and furious, and the clean, simple cartoon art and paneled layout are easy to follow. Kids who are tickled by Green's irreverent humor will appreciate the drawing tips that conclude the book. VERDICT Like the heroes of Dav Pilkey's "Dog Man" or "Captain Underpants," the Investigators are bound to resonate with kids.—Nancy McKay, Byron Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

2019-11-24
A zippy graphic-novel series opener featuring two comically bumbling reptile detectives.

As agents of SUIT (Special Undercover Investigation Team) with customized VESTs (Very Exciting Spy Technology) boasting the latest gadgetry, the bright green InvestiGators Mango and Brash receive their newest assignment. The reptilian duo must go undercover at the Batter Down bakery to find missing mustachioed Chef Gustavo and his secret recipes. Before long, the pair find themselves embroiled in a strange and busy plot with a scientist chicken, a rabid were-helicopter, an escape-artist dinosaur, and radioactive cracker dough. Despite the great number of disparate threads, Green manages to tie up most neatly, leaving just enough intrigue for subsequent adventures. Nearly every panel has a joke, including puns ("gator done!"), poop jokes, and pop-culture references (eagle-eyed older readers will certainly pick up on the 1980s song references), promising to make even the most stone-faced readers dissolve into giggles. Green's art is as vibrant as an overturned box of crayons and as highly spirited as a Saturday-morning cartoon. Fast pacing and imaginative plotting (smattered with an explosion here, a dance number there) propel the action through a whimsical world in which a diverse cast of humans live alongside anthropomorphized reptiles and dinosaurs. With its rampant good-natured goofiness and its unrelenting fizz and pep, this feels like a sugar rush manifested as a graphic novel.

Silly and inventive fast-paced fun. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews