Publisher's Weekly Review
As the heir to a long line of evildoers, Steve L. McEvil, portrayed with white skin and red hair, strives to meet the expectations of his grandfather Tiberius, "the world's greatest supervillain," who has retired from active villainy. Steve's big plan is to take over his school (the operation remains a work in progress) and woo his academically inclined crush, Sierra Flores, but Steve's blue-haired do-gooder new neighbor Vic Turry repeatedly foils his schemes with his consistent friendliness. When Steve, Sierra, and Vic are grouped together for a school science project, they decide to investigate the new rock structure in town. Citizens assume it's an art installation, but Tiberius believes its appearance heralds something far more sinister. Turnbloom's (Curse of the Harvester) vibrant full-color art is rendered with thick line and stark highlights that evoke a mad-scientist aura, and while the central mystery's resolution is tidy, Steve's reticence to heroics and characters' comic-strip-esque cutaway reactions provide dry humor. This plot-driven graphic novel ably synthesizes tried-and-true school drama with familiar science fiction tropes. Instructions on how to create a three-panel comic strip and more conclude. Ages 8--12. Agent: Judy Hansen, Hansen Literary Management. (May)
Kirkus Review
A young would-be supervillain has trouble living up to his name in this fart-sical outing. Stepping personally into the panels of cartoon art fore and aft, first to introduce his characters and then to show how to draw them, Turnbloom sets up his planned graphic series with a save-the-world scenario featuring sixth grader Steve--properly outfitted in lab coat, goggles, scowl, and huge flame-colored shock of hair--as a standard-issue inept lead. Notwithstanding a checkered history of freezing the faculty toilets and, with a special smartwatch supplied by his retired (mostly) villain grandpa, making Principal Wilfahrt and other unsuspecting victims poot on command, the budding bad guy finds himself joining dreamboat classmate Sierra Flores and archrival do-gooder Vic Turry in battling to close a local wormhole before the armies of alien overlord Perses the Destroyer can surge through. His quest for ultimate evilness may be stymied here by circumstances (not to mention still having a set bedtime, being forbidden by his mom to use death rays in the house, and the good influences of Vic and Sierra) but is bound to continue in future episodes. Fans of Jamie Thomson's Dark Lord romps, Artemis Fowl, or Wimpy Kid--style underachievers will find themselves in familiar territory. Sierra and Vic are browner skinned than the pale McEvil clan. Not gassed up by much beyond the rampant flatulence, but readers fond of that sort of laff will find it a blast. (Graphic fantasy. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Steve L. McEvil might be the son of an out-of-work cartoonist, but he is descended from a long line of the world's greatest super villains. His grandpa was the latest in the family to hold the title until his recent retirement, which has left the crown up for grabs. Young Steve is keen on following in his grandpa's footsteps, but his villainous undertakings run into a road block when Vic Turry, a new kid at school with a strong sense of righteousness, begins foiling all of Steve's evil plans. However, when the two are paired for a school assignment with their classmate, Sierra (Steve's secret crush), they discover a mysterious occurrence that forces Steve to reconsider the life of villainy, all while managing typical sixth-grade worries. Turnbloom's campy cartoon art playfully makes use of classic comic book tropes, like robots, gadgets, and gravity-defying hairstyles, and nicely complements the wry storytelling. Kids who love anything relating to superheroes and supervillains will appreciate this funny, fast-paced comic.
