THE INFLATABLES IN MISSION UN-POPPABLE

Only very brave writers would create a character who’s smarter than they are.

A brilliant character requires brilliant ideas, and, remarkably, this graphic novel has one ingenious twist after another. A balloon shaped like a cactus uses the air from a bouncy castle to clear away fumes of dangerous gas, and she uses melted popsicles to stall an escaping villain, an inflatable avocado. Cactus and her friends must prevent the avocado from taking over their water park. The plot, of course, is mostly an excuse for goofy jokes, most of which are puns. Some are good. Some are bad. Many are both. A balloon shaped like a watermelon says, “You really are one in a melon!” The black-and-white drawings look like they were inspired by clip art from the ’90s, but, again, they’re just an excuse for more jokes, like a book of dastardly plans with the title Dastardly Plans. Beyond the humor, it’s impressive and, these days, sort of inspiring to find a story where victories are achieved by teamwork and intelligence. While the main characters are talking balloons, the human beings who do appear are diverse in appearance.

The stupid jokes only make this comic book more brilliant.