Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever


By Jay Lynch & Dean Haspiel (Toon Books/Raw Junior)
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-5-2

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Superheroes at their Very Best and Most Fitting… 10/10

If you give them a chance and great material, kids love to read. Happily, these days there’s a grand renaissance of books for the young to cut their milk-teeth on, and thanks to the dedication of folk like David Fickling Books (and their wonderful comic The Phoenix) in Britain and Toon Books/Raw Junior in the USA, plenty of avenues for youngsters to grow up reading comics too…

This one even acts as a superb introduction to the weirdly compelling world of classic costumed crusading, courtesy of veteran cartoonist Jay Lynch (Bijou Funnies, Phoebe and the Pigeon People, Nard ‘n’ Pat, Mad, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids) and multi-talented illustrator Dean Haspiel (American Splendor, The Quitter, Billy Dogma, Justice League Adventures) who have concocted a rousing all-ages tale in the manner of classic Jack Cole Plastic Man and animated movie The Incredibles…

The riotous romp begins in ‘Fighting…’ as Mona and Joey stop their seemingly incessant squabbling just long enough to realise mailman Mr. Mojoski is watching them. The kids are arguing over world’s greatest hero Mighty Mojo and are utterly flabbergasted when the aging public servant reveals he is that valiant champion and that he is retiring forthwith…

He gives the kids his power-bestowing costume so that one of them can take over his role one day, but they immediately start tussling again and tear it in two…

All their dreams seem over, but Mom might have a solution…

Next morning the kids get a surprise: two costumes, but they each have only half the power of Mighty Mojo…

‘Fighting Forever…’ finds Mona and Joey still scrapping – but this time with strange and awesome abilities – until a sudden crisis blots out the sun. An emergency has arisen and evil crocodilian overlord Saw-Jaw is behind it…

Individually, neither of them is able to defeat the reptile raider and they are forced to consider the inevitable: ‘Fighting Together Forever…’

Aimed at the five-and-over age-range, this splendidly child-sized (236 x1 62 mm) tome is a gloriously evocative, sleekly exciting kid-friendly caper, produced in 32-page, full-colour landscape format and the kind of illustrated extravaganza kids of all ages will adore – and probably fight over…
© 2008 RAW Junior, LLC. All rights reserved.