Carolyn Hax
First-time children's book author Hector Mumbly (comics artist Dave Cooper under a pseudonym) brings his twisted underground humor close enough to the surface for it to be safe for young children, which is good news for those who believe twisted underground humor is just as important a value to instill early as respect for the Earth.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
The underground comic aesthetic-at least the G-rated version-comes through in full force in the children's debut by acclaimed Canadian graphic novelist Dave Cooper. Bagel the dog, clearly a few biscuits short in the brains department, ropes his sensible feline friend Becky into helping him figure out how his beloved ten-gallon hat went missing. But Becky quickly loses patience as Bagel retraces his steps from a most improbable day, which includes laughing fishes, a jetpack-powered robot suit and a visit to a planet named Zorgonogon 14. "Do you expect me to believe all that?" scolds Becky-which, of course, precedes proof that it's absolutely true. The pseudonymous Mumbly's retro-flavored compositions are packed with bug-eyed characters, amiable grotesqueries and manic detail; the attention just to surfaces shows his highly wrought style and his dexterity. The visual gags, however, can be somewhat blunted by the muted palette, which gives some pictures a curiously muddied appearance. Still, this book will be right up the alley of any kid who likes The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandyor similar irreverence in any media. Ages 4-8. (Nov.)
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Children's Literature
- Leslie Greaves Radloff
Many children, and adults, too, for that matter, have something they consider lucky. For Bagel the dog, it's his hat. When the hat gets lost, Bagel and Becky the cat must find it before either can settle down. Bagel the dog is anxious, distraught, almost hysterical while Becky the cat provides the voice of reason and calm: slow down and run through the day from beginning to end. And so the story begins, taking readers from the time Bagel had breakfast , when he was not wearing the hat, through a walk in the park, when he was; to a jump into the stream where the hat was carried downstream and beyond. Bagel's retelling of the day is interrupted by Becky's sarcasm and finally her irritation. As pages turn, the story becomes a wild tale told by Bagel for his own and her amusement. Becky is not amused when Bagel stops mid-sentence and shrieks, "That's it! I wasn't wearing my hat on the page before this!" The final illustration has Becky looking somewhat worse for wear with the assorted cast of the story Bagel has just told her. Readers might see them as the toys Bagel plays with. The science fiction spun by Bagel to explain his lost hat might remind older readers of the Seuss classic And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, but the comparison stops there; the fantastic things seen here pale by comparison. Becky the cat looks very much like the old-time black cat clocks, or Betty Boop with her big round eyes. Eyes that grow rounder and wearier with every twist of the tale. Illustrations are in muted colors and cartoon-like. Reviewer: Leslie Greaves Radloff
Kirkus Reviews
Writing under a pseudonym, Dave Cooper offers a departure from his erotic and disturbing graphic novels with this tale of a dog who reconstructs his day in an effort to track down a missing hat. It's not an average day, as it involves being swept downstream, carried by birds to the entrance of an underground laboratory, flying off in a giant robot suit to the planet Zorgonogon 14 and then being returned to Earth by friendly aliens Norb and Gilletspo. The digitally painted illustrations, done in a style best described as the comic-strip "Mutts" on speed, place a hugely popeyed, Chihuahua-like dog and his skeptical feline listener, Becky, in off-kilter settings that range from a bedroom festooned with staring toys to equally otherworld-looking terrestrial and alien landscapes. In the end, Becky's doubts turn out to be unfounded, as Norb and buddy stroll in to return the battered hat. The sensibility's definitely older than the reading level here, but fans of Berke Breathed's non-Bloom County work may be drawn in. (Picture book. 7-9)
