DRAGONBREATH

“Vague notions of heroism entered his mind, and then paused, confused by their surroundings.” Primed by viewings of Seven Fists of Carnage and like martial-arts fare, impulsive dragonling Danny “That-is-so-COOL!” Dragonbreath isn’t exactly ready to charge into action but plunges ahead nonetheless when he and his nerdy buddy Wendell see new exchange student Suki the Salamander in the clutches of real, live ninja frogs. Telling her hilarious tale in a close weave of smart-alecky prose and two-toned cartoons with dialogue balloons, Vernon propels her tailed trio to “mythological Japan” (thanks to an unusually extensive city bus system) for encounters with a magical crane (the feathered kind), a wise but hard-of-hearing old dragon and a hidden fortress full of amphibian ninjas eager to make Suki their Queen. As she’d rather be a veterinarian, the stage is set for a climactic battle. At least as rib-tickling as first outing Dragonbreath (2009), this follow-up leaves the safely returned Danny shrugging off kung-fu to prattle on feverishly about vampires. Stay tuned. (Fantasy. 8-11)