Have you ever been to an incredible restaurant, but then hesitated to go back? You think that it surely can’t be as good as the first time; they probably changed chefs or the servers have all become surly jerks who doing something on Tik Tok with your food. You want to try something new from the place, but have reservations because things let you down. I was like that with Investigators, which was the first book in the graphic novel series by John Patrick Green. The second book in the series, Investigators Take the Plunge does not disappoint. It doesn’t go all Empire Strikes Back on audiences, but it introduces some new characters and produces almost the same amount of laughs.
When I reviewed Investigators I found it to be the heir apparent to Dog Man, which was the successor to Captain Underpants. I still stand by that comparison for the most part, but I’ll add that Investigators have more laughs, throws more gags at the pages, and has a higher reading level than those series. The higher reading level is what will suck in lots of parents to this series; while the fun that kids have reading it will keep them there.
Similar to the sequel to Lethal Weapon, Take the Plunge starts out with Mango and Brash right in the midst of the action. They’re riding a rocket over when they receive a video call from the head of S.U.I.T, Special Undercover Investigation Team. It’s their boss and as sure as a crispy crocodile will dissolve in water, they make one small mistake that sets up the twists that make up the graphic novel.
It’s the addition of S.U.I.T and the various other players who are in that organization that makes up many of the laughs, as well as the tension that builds up in Take the Plunge. This is a graphic novel that’s a more challenging read than Dog Man, but not by much. Investigators will still appeal to that audience, but will also demo older because of the very smart jokes.
Like a classic Mel Brooks film, there are innumerable amounts of jokes in this book. Again, just like the first book in the series, the vast majority of them hit their target. What’s more, even when the jokes are too common or otherwise lowbrow, one of the Investigators, most likely Mango, will utterly own the joke. This amount of deflection allows the low hanging joke fruit to be said, but it also gives the book a wink and nod that lets the audience know that the joke just had to be said.
I know some parents are not down with potty humor. They find the mere act of elementary school children laughing about number 2 to be far from the first thing on their list. Take the Plunge doesn’t have potty humor. There are puns. There are so many puns that metaphors, similes, or other literary devices are all but lined up a dark alley with crowbars as Investigators are skating off of the ice.
Investigators Take the Plunge is seriously funny stuff. It didn’t have as many laughs as the first one, but Take the Plunge is crafted on a much larger palette. Readers will meet many more characters, get deeper into the ones we really liked and get as strange as things go in the first book. This is a book that third graders will immediately love. Second-grader will enjoy it, but might find some of the reading to be a bit too challenging. Both of those demographics will miss some of the jokes. It operates on the same level as the classic Muppets series did. That show was excellent for children and adults, but not because it watered down the humor.
Take the Plunge offers up jokes and visual gags out the wazoo. It all works on a level that kids can enjoy and older readers (see: middle school and up) will also enjoy, but for different reasons. It’s not subversive; rather it’s just jokes that work on many parallel levels, without any of them being offensive to younger readers.
If you’re 8-year-old or older (see: middle-aged adult who needs a laugh) is looking for a graphic novel series that really delivers check out Investigators Take the Plunge. It’s well worth checking out and is one that you’ll want to read a couple of times just to get all of the jokes.
Investigators Take the Plunge is by John Patrick Green and on :01 First Second.
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