Review by Frank Plowright

As the simple shapes on the cover indicate, Adam Foreman’s target audience is the youngest of comic readers, or those still needing stories read to them.

Mallow is a chunk of marshmallow, pliable, stretchy and cheerful as the protagonist in a bunch of deliberately silly adventures alongside his mates. They’re either other foods, or ghosts or pets. Logic doesn’t have to be a feature of children’s adventures, but this sure is a random bunch, and they break the fourth wall to address readers directly for the introduction.

Three stories feature, but there’s no great imagination until the final one when a giant red button manifests on the wall of Mallow’s house. He’s told not to push it, but of course the temptation becomes too great. The clever aspect is Foreman letting readers in on the secret of what happens without Mallow ever finding out. It would have been nice if he’d also let readers in on the secret of how a giant red button can appear on a wall, but randomness is a signature storytelling trait.

Because the intended audience is so young, Foreman doesn’t ever stretch himself beyond the simplest of shapes. Only a friendly robot breaks the concept of a character whose outline can’t be drawn with a single line. An occasional scene-setting panel will feature background elements, but otherwise bright colours do the job of making the main characters stand out.

Perhaps Slice of Mallow has been focus tested prior to publication and caused children to roar with laughter at the simple, silly antics, but the feeling is of Foreman hardly stimulating their imaginations. Enough people must have liked it, though, otherwise Second Slice wouldn’t have followed.