Protecting LA with his third-grade sidekick Candace, fledgling superhero Melvin Beederman has x-ray vision and can stop a speeding train (eventually). The two battle the McNasty Brothers and try to avoid their crippling weakness: bologna. Young readers will enjoy the goofy humor but may tire of the repetitious, cliched exclamations ("Holy skyscrapers, indeed!"). Comic book-style illustrations contribute to the over-the-top tone.

A mix-up at the laundry leaves a fledgling superhero sans cape and powers in this laugh-laced kickoff to a new series. Graduating at the top of his Superhero Academy class despite needing more than just a single bound to leap tall buildings, Melvin lands a juicy first assignment: L.A., superhero-less since the retirement of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There, his pursuit of the unwashed but canny McNasty Brothers, Filthy and Grunge, runs into complications when he gets the wrong cape back from the cleaners and suddenly can't fly, see people's underpants with x-ray vision or run any better than a middle-schooler. A small but intrepid figure with oversized eyeglasses in the many Jetsons -style line drawings, Melvin exudes a seriousness at amusing odds with the tale's droll tone. In the end, the McNastys are behind bars and Melvin, with both his original cape and a new sidekick, is left "to rest up for book number two": The Revenge of the McNasty Brothers (ISBN: 0-8050-7929-7; 0-8050-7837-1, pbk), also due in June. His "noggin power" should win the day there, too. (Fantasy. 9-11)

In this launch of the appealing Melvin Beederman, Superhero chronicles, Melvin has just graduated from Superhero Academy. He looks spiffy in his red cape and is a whiz at math. Leaping over tall buildings in a single bound, however, and stopping speeding locomotives are not easy for him, and """"that whole x-ray vision thing—it brought nothing with it but guilt. Everywhere Melvin looked—underwear."""" That's an apt reference, since Captain Underpants–esque humor abounds in this fun, flighty caper, presented with a bit ofAirplane -like deadpan delivery. Melvin is assigned to L.A., where he begins """"catching bad guys right and left,"""" watching TV cartoons and eating junk food between tasks. When he brings his muddy cape to the cleaners, they inadvertently swap it with a cape belonging to Candace Brinkwater, a girl starring in a Little Red Riding Hood play. While Candace soars through the air wearing the superhero's cape, Melvin can't get off the ground (even after 642 attempts). But Melvin fashions a brilliant solution—and saves the day with a bit of assistance. Slyly sprinkled with borrowings from superhero tales (""""Holy slow poke!"""" says capeless Melvin) and packed with kid-pleasing yucks, this copiously and comically illustrated tale is sufficiently full of baloney to fly. The spoof continues inThe Revenge of the McNasty Brothers (the title suggests the return of Melvin's nemesis), published simultaneously (0-8050-7929-7; paper 0-8050-7837-1). Ages 7-10.(July)

Gr 2-4-Melvin Beederman, graduate of the Superhero Academy, is sent by Headmaster Spinner to Los Angeles, a city in desperate need of a superhero. Although not perfect (he usually needs five or six tries to leap tall buildings and his X-ray vision causes him to see everyone's underwear), Melvin is a force to be reckoned with. In Curse, he meets Candace Brinkwater when the cleaners accidentally send his superhero cape home with her. They agree to work together to take on the evil (and odoriferous) McNasty brothers. When the villains attempt to sap his strength with bologna (Melvin's weakness), the superhero overcomes them, and, in an action-packed chase, stops a speeding train (with a little help from Candace) and takes them to the police. In Revenge, the superheroes once again foil the McNasty family when the siblings break out of jail. When Melvin and Candace are imprisoned in a warehouse with 6000 pounds of bologna, all seems lost. In the end, however, they are able to think their way out of the dilemma and, once again, defeat the McNastys. The black-and-white cartoons lend action and humor to the already rollicking text. Trine and Montijo have given readers an appealing superhero and his trusty assistant. These delightfully entertaining adventure stories are a must-have for most libraries.-Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information Center, Berwyn, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.