Reimagining a well known character is not for the faint of heart. If you fail, you risk sullying the name of a beloved institution. If you succeed, well, you lived up to the greatness of the already great character – isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? The worst of them leave you feeling disappointed and gross. But there is a third outcome. It’s the rarest one. It happens when a reboot takes the character in an entirely new direction, and the results are feel less like a reworking, and more like a wonderful rebirth. Such is the case with The Sewer Rat Stink, Tom Angleberger’s graphic novel take on natty mouse Geronimo Stilton. It’s weird. And it’s good.
There’s a stink invading New Mouse City. It’s making everyone leave town. Geronimo Stilton is determined to get to the bottom of things, so he descends into the sewers with P.I. Hercule. They discover a villain with a plot to take over the city, but will they be able to stop her?