Fog Mound 01 Travels of Thelon

Set in a future from which humanity has vanished, leaving only legends behind, this text-and-graphic-novel hybrid takes a chatty young chipmunk from the supposed safety of his hollow-tree home to a derelict city ruled by a komodo dragon with "ratmink" minions, and then on to an idyllic animal community perched atop a plateau ringed by poisonous fog. Along the way he gathers a trio of friends-most notably Olive, a mechanically minded bear whose flying machine provides a hair's breadth escape from the Dragon Queen. The illustrations, done in pen with light blue highlights, depict Thelonious and associates walking erect, wearing looted human-or in Thelonious's case-doll clothing and puzzling out the purposes of the human artifacts around them. In every other chapter, the text and pictures blend into full graphic-novel format, providing needed boosts to the tale's generally slow pacing. That, along with occasional quirky incidents such as the appearance of a mute (at first) homunculus may be enough to draw in a few readers, but those hoping for sustained drama, suspense or humor will be disappointed. An abrupt end signals future episodes on the way; perhaps they'll be better. (Fantasy. 10-12) (Kirkus Reviews)