Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Battling Bots

Written by Liam O’Donnell

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-0813-3

163 pp.

Ages 8–11

2016

We all know cheaters, those vile people who manipulate circumstances in their favour, regardless of others.  At the simplest, they are kids who cheat on tests or lie to cover up some misdemeanour.  At worst, they are adults who perpetrate crimes for their own purposes.  It is so satisfying when a cheater gets caught because that’s what they deserve and it’s a small step in making the world a safer and better place for all.  It’s not surprising, thus, that when Tank and Fizz, our intrepid detectives from The Case of the Slime Stampede (Orca, 2015)  are asked by the school Troll Patrol to prove that wealthy and reprehensible classmate Rizzo Rawlins is cheating in the local battle bot competition, that the two monsters are eager to take on the case. If only all cheaters could be caught by Tank and Fizz.

All year, I had watched Rizzo cheat in class.  Math test, science quizzes, coloring contests.  You name it, Rizzo Rawlins cheated.  He bribed the school math whizzes for test answers.  His goons sabotaged classmates’ experiments.  He hired professional artists to do his cut-and-past craft projects. Rizzo Rawlins had to win at everything, every time, any way he could.  I had seen the trail of broken dreams in my schoolmates’ tears.  When I’d seen the sad faces of the Troll Patrol,  I knew Rizzo’s cheating had to stop.  And I was the goblin to make it happen. (pg. 21-22)

But, as is usually the case, everyone knows about the cheating but proving it is far more difficult.  Even with Tank’s code sniffer–her invention to sniff out codes originating from beyond the school–that proves Rizzo’s bot, the Rawlins Reaper, should be disqualified, Principal Weaver refuses to believe Rizzo is anything but a model student, probably because Rizzo’s father makes huge financial donations to the school.  When the two detectives follow Rizzo to the almost complete new stadium, Slurp Stadium, they witness his acquisition of a new illegal part for his bot and his interactions, by screen, with a masked hacker called the Codex.  But the search for evidence of Rizzo’s cheating becomes linked to a situation in which the Codex threatens Mayor Grimlock to suffer unforeseen consequences if the new stadium is ever opened.  The goblin and troll duo undertake surveillance, alongside magic-spinning friend, Aleetha, a lava elf, and discover a conspiracy involving Sanzin Balazar, the wealthy entrepreneur behind SlugCo and the new stadium, a banished demon of goblin legends, and a threat to Slick City of monstrous proportions.  But can they stop the chaos before everything is lost?

Liam O’Donnell has a fun way with words, and more so in his creation of the world in which Tank and Fizz live.

You know that feeling you get when you try to stop a demon from being summoned but accidentally help summon it?  It definitely takes the shine off your scales. (pg. 136)

There are double grubnug-fudge smoothies, glowshroom groves, spicy lizard dogs and choco-slug cookies, and mothers who scratch the scales behind your ears. (Aw.)  And Tank’s inventions, like her spybot and springers, are the contraptions of kids’ dreams. Mike Deas’ graphic novel-type illustrations suggest he got as much amusement as the author in creating the assortment of monsters that populate Slick City and the Tank and Fizz books in general. (Books 3, The Case of the Missing Mage is set for release April 2017.)

From Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Battling Bots 

by Liam O'Donnell, illus. by Mikes Deas

Since the book’s dedication is “To goblin detectives and troll tinkerers everywhere”, it seems only right to review The Case of the Battling Bots in October, the month of goblins, trolls, witches, elves and more. Moreover, the book was just nominated for the 2017 Silver Birch Express award, so it’s review at this time is only fitting.  But the outrageous antics of Tank and Fizz, all in good fun and with the best of intentions, will always entertain, regardless of the time of year, as long as early and middle-grade readers enjoy a bit of fun with their creepy and a bit, but not too much, of the graphic-novel  format to dress up a strongly-plotted story.

West Meadows Detectives: The Case of the Snack Snatcher

by Liam O'Donnell
Illustrated by Aurélie Grand
Owlkids Books
978-1-77147-069-8
128 pp.
Ages 7-10
October, 2015

It's evident from page one that Myron is a little different from most third graders.  With a new baby in the household (OK, Sofia is 8-months-old but that's pretty new still) and the move to a new neighbourhood and a new school, West Meadows Elementary, Myron is apprehensive.  Unlike his Gr. 8 sister Alicia who makes friends fast and embraces newness, Myron acknowledges that he does not like new.  However, he does like solving mysteries and his analytical mind and natural super powers are going to come in very handy.

No one can ever smell things I do.  Just like they never hear the things I hear.  Mom says I have superpowered senses.  I can hear what radio station the neighbour three yards over is listening to on a sunny day.  I can tell when Sofia needs her diaper changed even if she's in the other room.  As far as superpowers go, I would rather have X-ray vision. (pg. 24)

Within minutes of entering Room 15, a special class Myron will attend mornings with Mr. Harpel, Myron is drawn to a crisis in the school kitchen where Mrs. Peterson, the chef, discovers a huge mess and the theft of the school's morning snack.  Myron's strong sense of smell leads him to a licorice-snacking girl named Hajrah hiding in the closet.  Hajrah, one of Mr. Harpel's four students, instantly insinuates herself into Myron's "investigation" and declares them to be the West Meadows Detective Agency.

Myron suspects a number of students in the thefts, including Hajrah, another Room 15 classmate Glitch who was known for thefts the previous year, and Smasher McGintley, the cousin of a bully from Myron's old school. But can Myron sift through the evidence before Mr. V, the custodian, starts cleaning up each mess?  And is there any relationship between the storm that took down a massive tree and damaged the school?  The solution may have been obvious to this reader but I suspect that early readers will enjoy solving the mystery alongside Myron.

Liam O’Donnell has become a mystery-writing aficionado starting with his Max Finder mysteries in Owl Magazine.  While he has capably relayed that prowess into his Graphic Guide Adventures and Tech Tales, these series are better suited for the middle-grade reader.  West Meadow Detectives is perfect for a slightly younger audience, hence Myron’s Grade 3 status, and these younger readers will appreciate both the writing, the thinking and the humour found within this first book in the series.  Moreover, they will appreciate the diversity of characters, both in their ethnicity, their strengths, their quirks and their experiences, ensuring that every reader will find themselves relating to the story easily.

I suspect that younger readers will also appreciate the black-and-white illustrations provided by Aurélie Grand and the quirky footprint page dividers that break up the text while still providing readers with an authentic novel of greater length in which to immerse themselves.  The font is large, the story is brisk and the graphics help  bring readers into solving the mystery alongside Myron.  Liam O’Donnell, a teacher as well as a writer, has penned The Case of the Snack Snatcher at a perfect level for young readers and has gotten all the elements right for engaging and entertaining them through text.

Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede

by Liam O’Donnell

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-459808102

152 pp. 

Ages 8-11

For release March, 2015 

Reviewed from advance reading copy

Slick City in Rockfall Mountain is a quirky community comprised of ogres, trolls, goblins and other monsters. Named for the goop that is dredged from the bottom of Fang Harbor, Slick City is a hub of technological and engineering development. But Mr. Snag, Gravelmuck Elementary’s ogre custodian, still relies on cleaning slimes in his job, having been appropriately licensed to do so. When his slimes are somehow released and run amok, Mr. Snag is arrested and eight-legged Principal Weaver promptly hires the suspicious Mr. Zallin, a monster who uses alternate cleaning methods. Convinced that Mr. Snag is innocent, two fourth-graders, goblin Fizz Marlow and troll Tank Wrenchlin, put their detection and engineering skills to work to determine the true culprit.

Author of Owl Magazine’s Max Finder mysteries, Liam O’Donnell knows how to weave the typical elements of detective stories such as multiple plot lines, red herrings and the usual suspects. But, with the addition of graphics by illustrator Mike Deas, with whom O’Donnell has created six books in Orca’s Graphic Guide Adventure series, The Case of the Slime Stampede is escalated from just middle-grade mystery or graphic novel to a clever amalgam. The graphics, both comics integral to the story’s progression and supplementary illustrations, complement the uproarious text. From the first line (“The principal’s car got eaten first”) and dialogue (“Smart detectives always listen to their tails”) to setting details (“The rest of the day dragged like a legless zombie tied to a dump truck”), readers will be entertained and anxious to solve the mystery. While the story could be an allegory about progress and reliance on limited resources, or even a tale of discrimination, The Case of the Slime Stampede is actually a monstrously imaginative and funny read that launches a great new series.



(A version of this review was originally written for and published in Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.)

Kubiw, H. (2015, March). [Review of the book Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede, by Liam O'Donnell]. Quill & Quire, 81 (2): 34.

Max Finder Contest from Owlkids

Originally created by Liam O'Donnell and illustrated by Michael Cho, Max Finder is Owl Magazines' favourite graphic sleuth and he is looking for one reader to become a character in a new mystery!

Six volumes of Max Finder Mystery Collected Casebooks have been published, based on Liam O'Donnell's original character. (Later volumes have been written by Craig Battle and illustrated by Ramón Pérez.)

How to Enter (Owlkids contest website)

• Entrant must be 8-14 years of age
• Parental signature is required
• Submit (electronically or by mail):

1. a photo of yourself
2. explanation (text or video) about why you would make a great character for a Max Finder Mystery

• Deadline: September 30, 2013

Full rules and regulations can be found at http://www.owlkids.com/contests/rules-and-regulations/

Good luck!