Review by Ian Keogh

Alligators Mango and Brash are top investigators for S.U.I.T. (Special Undercover Investigation Teams), here sent disguised as pizza chefs to investigate the disappearance of world famous Gustavo Mustachio. His face is on every pizza box, don’t you know? And he was just about to unveil his magnificent new recipe.

The idea is silly, the characters are silly, and the situations are silly, which means John Patrick Green is pitching things just right at young readers. He moves the InvestiGators from one ludicrous situation to the next, using cartoon standbys such as an alligator wearing a fake moustache being enough to have him mistaken for Chef Gustavo himself. While the Gators dive into yet another awkwardly preposterous scenario, Green also shows us where Gustavo actually is, and what he’s being forced to do.

Imaginative absurdism abounds from the broken breakthrough to a bunch of scientists needing to hold hands and form an orderly line to find their way back inside to their labs. It means kids reading this will laugh from beginning to end, and if adults are reading it to them pauses will be needed for assorted splutterings of mirth, which could be the name of Chef Gustavo’s latest creation. Green even supplies the InvestiGators with their own theme tune. Or at least the lyrics to it.

The art is blocky, flat and simple, yet nevertheless conveys the daft situations beautifully, and there’s even the occasional indulgence of Green as author imposing his own will on the cast via an eraser. Green weaves all the way around the houses, making meta references to how many pages back something happened, and including the likes of a ten page interlude to explain how renowned brain surgeon Dr. Jake Hardbones became Doctor Copter, the Were-Copter. Also look out for a breakdancing tricerotops and watch how the cookie crumbles.

For all the silliness, dig deep and the plot holds together. It’s mentioned early that Brash is affected by what happened to his former partner, and the sequel to that duly plays out, while something mentioned on posters Brash and Mango pass also has relevance. Some matters are left to be picked up another time, though, perhaps in Take the Plunge.

Delightful from start to finish, Green rounds off a great package with games and how to draw… features.