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Caramel reviews Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins

Both Caramel and Marshmallow have enjoyed reading and reviewing books by Stuart Gibbs for the book bunnies blog. Today Caramel talks about a recent graphic novel adaptation, Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel, of a 2016 book written by Gibbs; this version was published in August 2026 and was illustrated by Ward Jenkins. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about the second book in Stuart Gibbs’s Moon Base Alpha series.

Caramel: Yep. I read and reviewed the graphic novel version of the first book and now this is the second one.

S: So let us dive right in. Tell us what the book is about.

C: It is about Dash, the same guy from the first book, and there’s a new case for him to solve. A person has gone missing.

S: Oh say more.

C: The person who’s missing is Nina, the station’s commander, and so the station goes through some issues as such.

S: Oh wait. Dash and his family were living on the Moon, right? So Nina is the commander of the moon base — Moon Base Alpha?

C: Yes, they are, and yes, she is.

S: Cool. So this sounds like a typical Gibbs mystery, and he is so good at crafting fun mysteries. I am guessing this was good, too?

C: Yes it was, it also went into some more interesting stuff, but that was later, and as such, a spoiler.

S: Okay. I guess what we don’t know won’t hurt us. At least in this case. So tell me more about the book. Do we meet any characters besides Dash from the first book?

C: Yeah, almost all of them show up at least once, most of them more than once.

S: That’s cool. So it really feels like a series then. So do you like Dash, the main character? Does he remind you of Ben Ripley from Spy School books? Or how about Teddy Fitzroy from the FunJungle books?

C: Yes, he kind of does, which makes sense. This is the same author after all. They are all fun characters and very likeable. And they manage to solve all sorts of mysteries. But this one is different because he lives in space! How cool is that?

S: But of course we talked about how we really do not want to leave our own planet the last time…

C: Yeah I stand by that still, until space travel is much safer.

S: I do too.

Caramel is reading Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins. — Caramel is reading *Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel* by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins.

S: So I noticed that the person who illustrated the Moon Base Alpha books is different from the person who illustrated the Spy School graphic novels. Do you like the style used in this book?

C: Yes, I did, though the graphic novelizations for the Wings of Fire books are still my favorite. Now if only they came out with those more frequently…

S: But those books have an unfair advantage. I mean they have dragons! Not much can compete with that.

C: True, but what about dragons, in space?

S: Yeah, I suppose that would top everything! But okay, back to Spaced Out. Was it good enough for you to want more? There is apparently at least a third book in the original Moon Base Alpha series, so I am guessing they will publish the graphic novelization of that some time next year. Are you excited about that?

C: Yaaaaaaaayyyyy!

S: Okay, I am guessing that means this was a very fun read and you are excited about the next one?

C: Yes.

S: Okay, then we will make sure to get you a copy when it does come out. So Caramel, do you think this is a good time to wrap up this review?

C: Yup. This is a school night so maybe it is a good idea.

S: Sure, okay. Let’s do that. What do you want to tell our readers?

C Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoy space mysteries. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Spaced Out: The Graphic Novel* by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoy space mysteries.

Caramel reviews The Martian by Andy Weir

Today Caramel reviews The Martian by Andy Weir, the 2011 book that was the basis of the more recent movie The Martian. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So today we are talking about The Martian by Andy Weir.

Caramel: Yes, Weir talking about The Martian.

S: That’s a good one, Caramel! Okay, so let us get to it. Would you start by telling us what the book is about?

C: Sure. It’s about a guy named Mark Watney, who goes to Mars, and gets trapped there.

S: So the Martian is a human then? It is not quite sci-fi with aliens and such?

C: No, no aliens, but yes sci-fi, we can’t get a spaceship full of people to Mars just yet. We haven’t even sent an unmanned ship there for a while, though NASA still has some rovers there. I even reviewed a book about them a while back.

S: True, you are right of course. Sci-fi does not have to have aliens, but space travel a bit beyond what we can do today also definitely counts. So this guy Watney went to Mars alone or as part of a team?

C: He was part of a NASA team, but he got impaled during a really bad sandstorm and the others had to leave before they could find him. But thankfully his accident was not deadly so he survives, and then he has to survive the planet all on his own. All the while everyone back home is sure he is dead, so they are not even looking for him or not even planning to come back to look for him…

S: That sounds pretty dismal.

C: Yes, but this Watney guy is a very creative guy and he figures out how to grow potatoes on Mars and all kinds of other engineering trickery and eventually he manages to get the NASA folks realize he is not dead, so they try to save him.

S: That sounds like a pretty tense story.

C: Actually, it is very funny, he tells a lot of jokes.

Caramel is reading The Martian by Andy Weir. — Caramel is reading *The Martian* by Andy Weir.

S: So the story is told through Watney’s perspective? Oh then at least we know he will most likely not die in the end.

C: I believe yes, mostly. Every now and then we read the story through some folks on Earth, from NASA headquarters, and sometimes from the astronauts who were with him on Mars. And there is a lot more I can say, but to quote the amazing River Song, “Spoilers!”

S: Alright, maybe this is enough then about the plot. What can you tell us about the rest? You already said the book is actually funny.

C: Yep, though it does have some bad language. The guy is trapped on Mars after all, so he is a bit frustrated and is writing for nobody in particular because he expects he will likely die. So I didn’t mind the language really. And he is hilarious!

S: I know you also saw the movie based on the novel. Did you think the two were similar? Did you like the book and the movie both?

C: Yeah, the only really interesting difference is he doesn’t begin the movie with the same line.

S: I guess they wanted to keep the movie PG-13!

C: Yep! But in actuality there were some differences later on, but i thought that was funny.

S: I agree. It summarized his frustration very well.

C: Anyway, the movie is pretty awesome too. I enjoyed reading the book and I enjoyed watching the movie. Maybe we can put a link to the trailer here.

S: Sure, here we go:

The Martian (2015) trailer from YouTube

C: Thank you!

S: Okay, so maybe this is a good time to wrap things up.

C: Sure, why not?

S: Great! So what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Martian by Andy Weir and recommends it to all bunnies who like space travel, science fiction, and extreme adventure stories. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Martian* by Andy Weir and recommends it to all bunnies who like space travel, science fiction, and extreme adventure stories.

Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker

Last week Caramel reviewed Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker. This week he reviews the second book in the series, Rescue on Tankium3, published in 2011. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about the second Missile Mouse book.

Caramel: Yes! I reviewed the first one last week and so this is just the perfect time to talk about the second one.

S: Yes, agreed. So tell us what our favorite space spy Missile Mouse is up to in this book.

C: It starts out with him chasing down a person, and he learns that the said person is being mind-controlled, which leads Missile Mouse to a planet called Tankium3. He learns there that all the men were kidnapped, and disappeared.

S: All the men from the planet disappeared?

C: At least all men from the species of people called Tankians.

S: Wow, that is weird. And quite scary. So what is the reason for this? Or is that the main mystery of the book then?

C: No, we learn that there’s an evil king, named Bognarsh, and he has taken all the Tankian men by mind control machines and is making them mine for fuel.

S: Fuel for spaceships and such?

C: Yeah, and with the fact that the RIP, which I mentioned before in my review of the first book, is fighting the galactic government, fuel is really important.

S: I guess it is kind of like how oil is still so strategically important to today’s world, at least for humans.

C: Yeah, logistics carry wars.

S: That is a powerful and very sophisticated thing to say for a little bunny like yourself, Caramel. But I do know you read a lot about history and know about many of the important wars of this planet. Where did you hear about this?

C: I think it must have been in a history textbook about the civil war, it was talking about how the railroads of the North led to victory.

S: Oh that is interesting. I can see what it means. Especially for long wars, you need to sustain your men in the frontier, you need to keep feeding them, trying to keep them healthy, providing them with sufficient ammunition and so on, and all of that involves a lot of logistics. I also found via Uncle Google, the quote “Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars,” attributed to American general John J. Pershing. Kind of the same idea!

C: Great minds think alike! I mean I am assuming Pershing was a great military mind, given how he has a Wikipedia page. Then again a lot of awful people also have Wikipedia pages. Anyways.

Caramel is reading Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker. — Caramel is reading *Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3* by Jake Parker.

S: Yes, anyways, let us get back to the book. So I now know why the fuel is so important. Now tell me a bit about these mind control machines.

C: Well, there is a big central thing and then there are these little pod-like things that are controlled by that central thing. The pod-like units attach to your head and control you, at least that’s what I got.

S: Alright, that makes sense sort of. So then does the Missile Mouse figure out how to remove them from affected people? Or will he turn off the central thing? Or am I again getting too close to asking for spoilers?

C: Yeah, the last one. I am not at liberty to discuss that information at this point.

S: Hmm, okay. Then let us talk about the book in more general terms. Are these books funny? Or do you just like to see the spaceships? I know you really like Jake Parker’s spaceships.

C: There are not that many spaceships that I could study carefully in this book, but the tech is cool anyways, too. The illustrations look very techy and sci fi, and match the setting quite well.

S: So this was a win for you?

C: Yeah, very much so. if there’s more books in the series, I would greatly appreciate reading them.

S: Okay, we can look into that, Caramel. But for now, this seems to be a good time to wrap up your review.

C: Sure. Why not?

S: Okay, let’s do that then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker and is hoping that there is (or will eventually be) a third book in this fun series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3* by Jake Parker and is hoping that there is (or will eventually be) a third book in this fun series.

Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker

Today Caramel reviews Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher, a fun graphic novel by Jake Parker first published in 2010. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I can see you have a new graphic novel to talk about today!

Caramel: Yep! I don’t know if you remember that I reviewed Kepler’s Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships? This book is in the same universe.

S: Oh that is interesting! I knew it was the same author / illustrator, but I did not expect the books would be related.

C: Yes, he also was the person who illustrated Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel.

S: So you definitely like his drawing style?

C: Yeah, no question.

S: I am glad you got to read another book by him then. So tell me a bit about it. Who is this Missile Mouse? I am guessing he is the main character.

C: Yeah, it’s sort of obvious as the book is called Missile Mouse, so yes, but this is the beginning of the series based on this guy.

S: The author describes him on his webpage as follows: “Missile Mouse is a James Bond meets Han Solo for the middle-grade crowd. The cocky, big-eared rodent is a secret agent for the Galactic Security Agency (GSA) who prefers to do things the quick and messy way.” So he is a secret agent for the galaxy and he is kind of arrogant like Han Solo of Star Wars.

C: Yeah, that’s about right, and it’s a good description of Missile Mouse. So in this story Missile Mouse gets a new partner, Hyde, and they go on a mission to find and rescue this scientist from his kidnappers, the RIP (Rogue Imperium of Planets), which are sort of the bad guys.

S: Hmm, so the Galactic Security Agency is an arm of a galactic empire, and this RIP is their enemy?

C: Yeah, they are. So the galactic government is a peaceful state, and the RIP are trying to take over the galaxy.

Caramel is reading Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker. — Caramel is reading *Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher* by Jake Parker.

S: Do we know much about the government Missile Mouse is working for other than it is peaceful?

C: I believe that it’s a democracy, but not much else is really stated.

S: So if it is anything like Star Wars,maybe there is a senate and so on. Okay, tell us more.

C: Before Missile Mouse joined the GSA he was a bounty hunter or a mercenary.

S: Really sounds like the Star Wars universe. But the main character is a mouse. Are the other characters all mice too? Or are there other animals?

C: No, the beings in the universe are a multitude of other animals and aliens that don’t look like animals we know on Earth.

S: Any bunnies? Any humans? Any dragons?

C: None of those showed up in the book.

S: Alright, we are mature enough to enjoy books with no bunnies or dragons.

C: Sure, I’m totally mature.

S: Yes, for a bunny your age, you are definitely mature. But you reviewed other books about mice. Remember The Mouse and the Motorcycle?

C: I also reviewed several books about Babymouse. And don’t forget Ragweed and Poppy and the others? I read all those books, too.

S: Yes, true. Marshmallow reviewed Flowers for Algernon, which also had a major mouse character, who did not speak but still. She also reviewed Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.

C: Yeah. So mice are neat. Anyways Missile Mouse is cool, too, and he is funny and adventurous and brave. And the book is an adventure story and a spy story, and you know I like all those things.

S: That’s true. You read all the Spy School novels, too.

C: Yeah, so spies and secret agents are cool. Therefore this book is cool. And there is some cool space stuff, which I also like.

S: So it is clear you enjoyed reading this book. I think there is at least a second Missile Mouse book. I am assuming you will want to read that too.

C: Yes, I will. In fact I am planning to dive right in as soon as we are done here. Are we done here?

S: I suppose we are. Would you like to wrap it up with your usual ending statement?

C: Sure! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!