Squish #1: Super Amoeba

For a single-celled organism, Squish the amoeba leads an awfully complicated existence. His two best friends%E2%80%94Pod, a bowtie-wearing amoeba nerd, and Peggy, a pathologically cheerful paramecium%E2%80%94are a constant thorn in his side; he just can't seem to make it to school in time; and Lynwood the school bully wants to swallow him whole. When yet another bout of tardiness lands the whole group in detention, Squish is faced with a full-blown moral dilemma: in order to save Peggy from becoming Lynwood's next between-meal snack, he has to let the big bully copy his next science test. Can even our precocious protozoan hero get himself out of this one? The Holms strike a breezy, goofy tone right out of the gate, and Squish is a likably put-upon lead character, but beyond him the book doesn't offer much; his pals are annoying and the villain has as many dimensions as he has cells (that is, one). Add to that a disappointing two-color palette, and the whole undertaking seems flatter than a microscope slide. Squish may be an amorphous blob, but he needs to whip his supporting cast into shape for issue two. Ages 7%E2%80%9310. (May)