The new kid is Hilo, the titular boy who crashed to Earth, and now he lives in Daniel's bedroom — and follows him to school, after reading the family's encyclopedia set and dictionary (in 20 minutes).
Daniel is worried that Hilo will get him in trouble, but Hilo has it figured out. He releases a raccoon into the school office and, during the ensuing panic, manufactures an entire plausible history for himself and inserts it into the school records. He shows up in class next to Daniel, and alongside of Gina, Daniel's long-lost best friend, who has just moved back to their small town from New York City.
Hilo, of course, is a robot, and he fights bad robots, and the very worst of those robots, Razorwark, has his sights set on Earth. As Hilo recalls more of his personal history, a terrifying mystery is revealed, but in the midst of some of the funniest action sequences and running gags you're likely to read this year.
Every single thing about this first volume in a promising new series is terrific, from the character design to the plotting to the coloring and illustration. Creator Judd Winick (who was an early reality TV star on MTV's The Real World) is a massively accomplished comics creator and screenwriter who has written for Batman, Star Wars and a host of other major comics titles.
It was immensely fun to read at bedtime — many of the panels are wordless, save for sound effects, and that is the kind of bedtime reading that can get parents and kids hconvulsed with laughter. The only problem was that after I'd finish a chapter and go to bed myself, I'd get up and discover that my daughter had turned on the light and was reading ahead.
Hilo Book 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth [Judd Winick/Random House]
Hilo Book 2: Saving the Whole Wide World [Judd Winick/Random House] [Pre-order]
