What’s an enterprising kid to do when he’s plucked out of his small home town and dropped into a big city? Worry about getting mugged, first of all, then dodge his hippy-ish parents’ attempts to make him eat big-city-weird-food (kimchi or paneer spinach? ew*)… but eventually get his bearings and go exploring. Our intrepid protagonist Charles fancies himself a reporter, so when he’s surprised by a monster at night (‘huge! fangs! hair!’), he heads out to investigate and eventually runs into Margo Maloo, ‘monster mediator’. Surely she needs a sidekick… or does she?

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo, a webcomic by American cartoonist Drew Weing, has so far been collected in 3 volumes, although I didn’t even know it was a webcomic until writing this post, having come directly to the printed books by way of Weing’s debut graphic novel Set to Sea (Fantagraphics, 2014). No regrets at all — Margo Maloo’s adventures bundle up my favourite elements (teamwork and friendship, to name a few) into an alluringly drawn and coloured package. Weing’s writing is smart; while his kids function as archetypes of specific personalities, this does not feel constraining or predictable; on the contrary, they feel like real people that one would like to hang out with. It also helps that they traipse around a fully-fleshed out city that’s more than just a static background.

Chubby Charles reads like a Daniel Pinkerwater character, given his obsession with junk food and an immense curiosity about the world that overrides his fears. This is high praise indeed, as both admins here are enthusiastic DP fans.

You can start reading the adventure here.

~ ds

* Let it be known I’m actually a big fan of kimchi and spinach (paneer, considerably less so).