The Hilarious Trials of Trying to Be Good: The Bad Guys Review
- K.L. Miracle
- Jan 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 7
The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
Quick Summary
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Humor
Recommended Age: Upper elementary
Possibly Concerning Content: (details below)
🤬 Language: Level 1
🛡️ Violence: Level 1
❤️ Romance: Level 1
‼️ Important Note: We have only read the first three books of this series but preliminary research suggests that Book 11 onward may venture into horror themes and have witch characters, evil characters and characters that are scary. We will report back once we reach those books.
Jump to:
Book 1 The Bad Guys
Book 2 Mission Unpluckable
Review:
From the author of Pig the Pug comes this hilarious tale about former bad guys just trying to turn good. Ya'll, we really like these books! The movies were fantastic (and the new show is so funny!) we thought we'd probably like the graphic novels that inspired them, and boy were we right! There are twenty books in this series but the author is re-releasing them in full color editions that we are slowly but surely reading through! The artwork is fantastic, the stories are short and hilarious, and best of all, there's not been any concerning content we felt would keep us from recommending the series to you! However, do note the above important note!
If you like...
The movies (they are very similar but different enough not feel like you're retreading old ground).
Middle Grade Graphic Novels
Humor
Bad guys trying to do the right thing
Rooting for the underdogs
Talking animal characters
Books in Series
Book 1: The Bad Guys
Review
This graphic novel made us laugh out loud more than once! It's a bit different from the movie starting wtih the fact that there is no tarantula, no Marmalade, no love interest for Mr. Wolf, etc, and all of the characters are animals (no humans). Similiar to the movie, the entire book is told as if Wolf is talking to the audience but the book starts with Wold already deciding that the team is going to go good. (Fur-realzies). Snake is still unsure about going good but Shark and Piranha are more or less on board. This is a quick funny read for middle grade reaaders.
Official Blurb (drop dow)
They sound like bad guys, they look like bad guys . . . and they even smell like bad guys. But Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, and Mr. Shark are about to change all of that...
Mr. Wolf has a daring plan for the Bad Guys' first good mission. They are going to break two hundred dogs out of the Maximum Security City Dog Pound. Will Operation Dog Pound go smoothly? Will the Bad Guys become the Good Guys? And will Mr. Snake please stop swallowing Mr. Piranha?!
Possible Concerning Content*
Click on dropdown arrows for details.
🤬 Language: Level 1
None
🛡️ Violence: Level 1
Very mild cartoon violence
No one is ever really hurt
No one dies
❤️ Romance: Level 1
None
‼️ Heads up
None.
Grab your copy on Amazon*
or Grab your copy on Bookshop.org*
Book 2: Mission UnCluckable
Review
The second book is just as funny as the first! The Bad Guys are attempting to clean up their image, this time by saving 10,000 chickens from a chicken farm. Chaos ensues.
Fans of the movie may be surprised by the fact that Webs is missing and instead we have Mr. Tarantula. Marmalade is also introduced in this book in a very comical way. Very funny.
Official Blurb (dropdown)
The Bad Guys next mission? Rescue 10,000 chickens from a high-tech cage farm. But they are up against sizzling lasers, one feisty tarantula, and their very own Mr. Snake...who's also known as "The Chicken Swallower." What could possibly go wrong? Get ready to laugh up your lunch with the baddest bunch of do-gooders in town!
Possible Concerning Content*
Click on dropdown arrows for details.
🤬 Language: Level 1
None
🛡️ Violence: Level 1
Very mild cartoon violence
No one is ever really hurt
No one dies
❤️ Romance: Level 1
None
‼️ Heads up
None
Grab your copy on Amazon*
or Grab your copy on Bookshop.org*
Book 3: The Furball Strikes Back
Review
In the third book, the Bad Guys deal with the reprecutions of the last book. Marmalade is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to make the bad guys pay for freeing his chickens!
Agent Fox is introduce in this book, and Mr. Wolf is immediately smitten. The Furball Strikes Back was just as funny as the other two, though we were surprised by the turn it took in the end and the cliffhanger style ending. (Littleman requested we immediately find shovles to dig outselves out of the snow so we could go to Bookamillion for the next book).
Official Blurb (dropdown)
The Bad Guys are about to have a very BAD day!
Mr. Wolf and his bad buddies have messed with the wrong guinea pig -- one who is secretly an evil mad scientist. And the nasty little furball wants revenge! Will they survive? Will they be heroes? And will they ever stop trying to eat each other?!?
Possible Concerning Content*
Click on dropdown arrows for details.
🤬 Language: Level 1
Name calling (idiot, etc.).
🛡️ Violence: Level 1
Very mild cartoon violence
No one is ever really hurt
No one dies
❤️ Romance: Level 2
One character develops a crush on another
The other character kisses that character on the cheek
‼️ Heads up
Zombie kittens...possibly?
Grab your copy on Amazon*
or Grab your copy on Bookshop.org*
📍*Possibly Concerning Content Disclaimer: I try my best to include all relevant content notes, or possibly concerning content, but I may not catch everything and/or you may feel things are concerning that I do not. Please research individually if you’re sensitive to specific topics/subjects! 📍
Have you read this series yet? Want to add some P.C.C. we may have missed? Let us know in the comments or send us a message!
Don't forget to click on the tags below to find more books like these!
Comments