When I picked up my first Hilo graphic novel by Judd Winick I was unaware of his reality show past. He was one of the first people in The Real World. He started the insanity, so to speak. However, I’ve never seen that show nor hold his past against him, as the future is bright with this series.
Books one to eight have been a treat. Some were great, some so-so and maybe one or two were “Well, get on with it! How do they save the world?????” And that is what happened in
Gina and the Last City on Earth (Hilo #9). Things were a little slow, there was a lot of build and the climax happened fast. Hilo and friends learn of Gina’s family’s past, they save the world (not so spoiler) and yet, there is something totally different about it that makes you think “Why did he do that?” It was a unique twist in this if Avatar the Last Airbender had an even more mixed up, crazy bunch of characters and ridiculous monsters. The interesting turn of events ends this book for our group, but not their adventures.
It continues with Rise of the Cat (Hilo #10). This time we focus on Polly and Pip, with a hint at our buds Hilo, Gina and DJ. Maybe my favorite of the bunch (after the first of course) this time we are seeing how Polly and Pip (sibling cats) get sent to a school for “troubled kids” and in the process really shake things up, uncover a mystery, eat a lot of questionable foods, make a new friend and might just have some of my favorite lines of the series. We focus on what makes a person (should the robot go to school with “normal” people, how can they do magic) and bring some things from other books into a more conclusion.
And since the end of book 10 has our group of Hilo, DJ and Gina drop in on Polly and Pip, we start The Great Space Iguana (Hilo #11) telling what happened while the others were on their home planet trying to help their new robot friend, solve the mystery of missing students and found monsters, and eat questionable foods. Hilo and DJ and Gina are trying to find out what Gina’s big test is going to be (see book 9 to find out why she has a test that isn’t a test) and try to help a space iguana. The usual action, high jinks, shenanigans and fun happens, but maybe was not as strong for me. There was something missing and it was not just the ending on a cliffhanger.
Who knows when book 12 will be out. There is a Hiloday (Holiday) book coming in 2026 (possibly as it said in the back of 11, but I can’t find anything on it) and Hilo Presents: The Mighty (February 2026) which might introduce a new character (more research needed) therefore I will need to either read again, read book four which I may/may not have missed, or read the Your Pal Fred by Michael Rex series (again and picking up where I left off) as it is similar, but maybe a smidgen older than Hilo is.