WILD & WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY: Salt Water Taffy graphic novel series by Matthew Loux

SALT WATER TAFFY series

The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny

by Matthew Loux

Oni Press Publication

Source: Purchased

Book 1: The Legend of Old Salty

ISBN: 978-1-932664-94-2

Eleven-year-old Jack Putnam and his eighth-year-old brother Benny are being dragged against their will on a summer-long vacation with their family. And not to somewhere cool like Disney World, but to a little port town in Maine named Chowder Bay, far away from anyplace fun. But what promises to be a very bleak summer quickly becomes a series of exciting adventures in one of the most mysterious places on earth!


Warring Seagulls! Giant Lobsters! Kleptomaniac Eagles! Ghosts from the Civil War! Chowder Bay has far more adventures and mysteries in store than these two boys could have ever imagined!

Book 2: A Climb Up Mt. Barnabas
ISBN: 978-1-934964-03-3

Eleven-year-old Jack Putnam and his eight-year-old brother Benny are being dragged against their will on a summer-long vacation with their family. And not to somewhere cool like Disney World, but to a little port town in Maine named Chowder Bay, far away from anyplace fun. But what promises to be a very bleak summer quickly becomes a series of exciting adventures in one of the most mysterious places on earth! This second volume finds the boys scaling a nearby mountain to confront a giant kleptomaniac eagle with an obsession with fancy hats!

Book 3: The Truth About Dr. True
ISBN: 978-1-934964-04-0

This volume has Jack and Benny investigating the mysterious death of Dr True, a 19th century inhabitant of Chowder Bay who is most famous for 'Dr. True's Wonderful Elixir'. Was the town's famed hero, Captain Holister, involved? As with everything else in Chowder Bay, not everything is as it appears.

Book 4: Caldera's Revenge, Part 1
ISBN: 978-1-934964-62-0

Part 1 of Jack and Benny's first multi-volume adventure The boys are having a hard time reading "The Hidden History of Chowder Bay," given to them by Captain Hollister. So, when a spooky whaling ship appears in the bay, it's no time at all before the boys abandon the tome and find themselves in the middle of the action, searching for the fiercest whale that ever lived: Caldera.

Book 5: Caldera's Revenge, Part 2
ISBN: 978-1-934964-63-7

The finale of Jack and Benny''s first multi-volume adventure Jack is taken prisoner aboard the ghost ship Nutmeg, and it''s up to Benny and Angus to rescue him. With the help of an old friend, Benny unravels the mystery of The Hidden History of Chowder Bay, but will he get to Caldera and the Nutmeg in time to save Jack?

REVIEW

A graphic novel series perfect for readers who love adventures stories. Jack and his family end up in a small town on the coast of Maine for the summer. But Jack figures it will be rather quiet and boring.  It turns out that he is completely wrong. With his brother Benny at his side Jack has a series of adventures involving giant lobsters, hat-loving eagles, and a legendary whale. While the illustrations are black and white, I found that it suited to old-fashioned adventure feel of the stories. Both Jack and Benny are likable protagonists and the plots while mostly believable have fantastical elements.  A fun series that reluctant readers and adventure lovers are sure to enjoy.