Max Meow: Cat Crusader by John Gallagher

Max is a citizen of Kittyopolis trying to gain more followers for his vlog, so decides to interview his friend, super smart scientist Mindy. Max inadvertently leads the robot Robbie, a minion of the evil Agent M, to Mindy’s secret lab, where there is a squabble over a mysterious meatball from space. A piece of the meatball accidentally lands in Max’s mouth, and he gains super powers! He has super strength, can fly, and can shoot electricity from his tail. Mindy and the newly dubbed Cat Crusader must continue to thwart Agent M from getting his hand on the meatball, and never let it into the hands of the Big Boss!

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Max Meow captures the "old comic book shows" feel with cliffhanger endings that necessitate questions like, "Will Max make it out alive? Find out in the next chapter!" I almost wanted to throw in a "Same meow time, same meow channel" every once in a while. Big Boss looks like No Heart from the old Care Bears TV show.  While there are a bunch of nuggets from previous generations' childhoods, there is plenty here for today's children to enjoy.  Gallagher's bright illustrations are exceptionally pleasing and easy to follow.  There are some parts that actually made me laugh out loud, so I can only imagine how hilarious this would be to its intended audience.  This would be a great series to give to students who enjoy Dogman, which I'm pretty sure, at this point, is everyone.   

Sara’s Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 3-8

Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: October 6, 2020
ISBN: 9780593121061 (Hardcover)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Elementary School, Suitability: Middle School, Graphic Fiction, Humor, Superheroes, Friendship, CSLA 2021