The Mighty Skullboy Army Vol. 1

Genre adventure Author Jacob Chabot Publisher Dark Horse External Links Official Dark Horse Website

How does one conquer the world? And elementary school? Create an evil corporation and assemble your own army, of course. That's just what Skullboy has done in creating The Mighty Skullboy Army. Drafting a talking robot with high torque capabilities and a death ray (Unit 1) and a cute non-verbal monkey with a penchant for big ideas and mischief (Unit 2) into his army, it would seem it is only a matter of time until Skullboy succeeds. But despite the fact that Units 1 and 2 are ready at a moments notice, either in Skullboy's locker or by pager, they are constantly getting into trouble on their own. And along the way, there are smaller annoyances that arise for the Army including controlling the recess bell, dealing with the school bully, training the intern, fighting a giant lobster, and getting away from Booger Ralph.

You will not have a more enjoyable time reading than flipping through the adventures of The Mighty Skullboy Army by Jacob Chabot. Gathering some of the best single and multiple page adventures of The Mighty Skullboy Army from 2002 to 2005, this collection is for readers of all ages, though some jokes will go over the heads of younger ones. It reminds me of the edge The Simpsons had early on when it was geared towards a college crowd and the subtle dry humor you once found in MAD Magazine.

There is not necessarily a message to be delivered here, and that's good. Sometimes we just want to be entertained. Creator Jacob Chabot is wildly successful at this and I hope he continues to bring us more and more of these adventures. Drawn in a clean black and white format, Chabot is successful in conveying the childlike nature of his characters through his art, but also in showing his coy sense of humor through their actions.

While I could not tell if there is any real sequence to Chabot's telling of the tales of the Army by this collection, it really made no difference. The chosen stories bounce about through the years giving us a delightful representation of the best of their exploits. Still, if there is any progression that Chabot has shown over the years with the advancement of the series, it would much more enjoyable to see it in its correct order. If on the other hand, it is just a random series of events, then this is probably a good representation of some of the better pieces. A follow up collection of some other adventures by Dark Horse Books would be a real treat. One book is not enough to satisfy the giggles of world conquering by this tag team of misfits. Highly recommended, with hopes for more.