New from Michael Ian Black

Here, in top comic form, Michael Ian Black warns against the temptation to mount a pig parade. "Like most children, you have probably thought to yourself at one time or another, I bet a pig parade would be a lot of fun." Hawkes makes the perfect match for Black's fantasy run amok. As Black describes the fun of "gathering a few hundred pigs together for a grand parade," Hawkes renders them as Looney Tunes–style characters hoofing it like the Music Man and his minions, complete with fireworks and a porcine float. But on the next page, when the author states, "The only problem is, a pig parade is a terrible idea," Hawkes paints a realistic image of a sow sucking on a corn cob, eyes closed, slobber dripping from its maw. Next, he depicts the porkers on the trail of the parade route's remnants--gum and lollipops stuck to their snouts ("They prefer to snuffle, which is kind of like walking with your nose"). Other reasons a pig parade is a terrible idea: they "absolutely refuse to wear majorette uniforms," they don't care about floats--not "Wilbur the Pig from Charlotte's Web" floats, only "root beer floats, which they love" (Hawkes shows them bellying up to a root beer bar). Hooves-down, the best reason against parading pigs has to be the music they play: "sad, sad, country music ballads with titles like 'My Tears Are Wet 'Cause my Mud's Gone Dry' and 'I Just Wanna Plop into This Bucket of Slop.' " Black and Hawkes take the natural characteristics of pigs and transplant them in a human context for maximum comic effect. If you've never thought of making a boy into a pet or putting a pig in a parade, you certainly won't ever forget those ideas now. (Review by Jennifer M. Brown)