It's the silver edition of Goosebumps. The 25th book in the main series. And what better way to celebrate this milestone than with a book all about comic books and a super villain that I'm sure Stine wanted to market the hell out of. Which I guess he did because there was that one CD-Rom game. Either way it's Attack Of The Mutant AKA That One Where Adam West Was In The Episode.
COVER STORY
I like this cover. The Masked Mutant definitely feels like a 90s comic book villain design, and his dynamic pose definitely feels like something you'd see on a comic book cover. His bright pink nightmare of a hideout definitely stands out, but again it evokes ideas of wacky villain hideouts. Something akin to the Legion of Doom headquarters from Superfriends. And once again it's time to gush at how the lighting looks and how Tim Jacobus draws some damn fine trees. With great lighting and color as always, it's hard not to want to see just what this villain is up to. Great work.
STORY
Our protagonist is a young boy named Skipper Matthews. Yes, Skipper. All I think of is Barbie's sister and not a kid that Stine writes as being very portly and dorky. Stine pretty much checks off his list of comic book nerd stereotypes and moves right forward to the story. Skipper likes comic books, but his absolute favorite are the Masked Mutant comics. The Masked Mutant is a super villain has the ability to transform himself into anything and often battles heroes like the Galloping Gazelle. an obvious Flash knockoff with a terrible name. The lone kryptonite to the Masked Mutant is that if he turns himself into a liquid substance, he'll die. Keep that in your pocket for later.
Skipper's also one of those comic book fans. The kind who lose their mind if their books are touched by unclean hands and not under sweet sweet mylar. This really does speak to the nineties-ness of Goosebumps. This book came out only a couple years after comic book collecting became a thing. it was not too long after news of old comic books being worth a fortune, and thus the boom of comic book buying was at an all time high. The era of holographic covers, black baggies, special super rare variants. The nineties really was a bad era, wasn't it? Skipper's also one of those kids who craps on other people's interests, particularly his friend Wilson's rubber stamp collection.
Skipper's comic book obsession is getting in the way of his work. Even his buttoned down, square of a father is getting annoyed that his comic reading is getting in the way of his math homework. The next day, Skipper takes a bus ride to the orthodontist. On the bus he meets a girl named Libby and they both seem to hit it off really well. Skipper tells her of his love for the Masked Mutant, but Libby's more into High School Harry and Beanhead. I guess X-Force is okay to bring up, but you don't want the Archie people coming for your wallet, huh Jovial Bob? While talking with her about how stupid High School Harry is, and how it will never increase in value, because again he's one of those fans, Skipper misses his stop. When he gets off the bus however, he sees a weird pink building with a green dome roof. It looks exactly like the hideout of the Masked Mutant.
Being too late for the orthodontist, he opts out of going inside the building. The next day at school, Wilson tells Skipper that maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe the artist for the Masked Mutant comics was in town one day, saw the building and got inspired. Skipper still isn't convinced, and still wants to check the building for himself. However, after about a week of stalling, he eventually makes it back to the location, only to see that the building has disappeared. Bewildered, he goes to Libby's house instead to hang out. It's here we get Stine shooting a bit on Archie comics and how Betty and Veronica look the same. I grew up with some Archie, but I was never a massive fan, but I certainly never got as angry with it as Skipper does with High School Harry.
He goes home just in time to see the newest issue of The Masked Mutant has been delivered. He reads, seeing that the Masked Mutant's hideout is cloaked under an invisibility curtain. He goes with Libby to the empty lot where the building was, and moves in further. Sure enough, the building comes into view. They enter the building and a strange yellow light rolls over his body, giving off some sort of weird sensation all over Skipper's body. The kids enter an elevator that sends them falling down into a room with machinery. They both try to go back to the top floor, but the elevator breaks down. Libby also suddenly vanishes. Skipper searches for her, but finds a room with machines that continue to roll paper. Then he gets attacked by the Masked Mutant...'s cardboard cutout!
Skipper searches around the room, believing that this must be where the comic book is drawn. As he looks through the papers, he recoils in horror to see sketches of himself. Libby runs into him, still in a panic, and the two kids manage to leave the building. The next day, another Masked Mutant comic is delivered to Skipper. When he looks inside, he sees himself on the first page, sneaking into the hideout. He tries to get his parents to notice, but they chalk it up as coincidence. Skipper reads the last page, seeing the Galloping Gazelle tied up, saying that "only the boy can save me now!" So Skipper returns to the hideout, now more paranoid about what's going on. He hears ominous laughter coming from the loudspeakers. He enters the elevator and gets shot up to the top floor.
He enters a hallway that looks exactly like the one in the comic book. He hears someone screaming for help inside a room. Upon opening the door he discovers that it's the Galloping Gazelle, who is still tied up. Skipper unties him and the two try to escape. They run into a disintegrator gun, and we get a fake out where Skipper thinks he got shot, but didn't. The two eventually make it to the Masked Mutant's main room, and get confronted by him. Galloping Gazelle tries to run around the Mutant, creating a tornado. He didn't factor in one thing that could ruin his plan, and that's being easily tripped. The Mutant turns into a leopard and growls at the Gazelle. And the Galloping Gazelle, like the valiant hero he is, says "you're on your own, kid" and runs off, leaving Skipper high and dry.
The Masked Mutant begins to pressure Skipper, trying to find out what power he has. But eventually, he just grabs him and raises him twenty feet in the air, ready to slam him hard to the ground. However, the door opens, and Libby suddenly shows up. She grabs a gun, saying that it melts molecules and fires it at the Mutant, who starts to shrink away into nothingness. So, the day is saved and everyone lives happily ever-Oh wait, Libby then turns into the Masked Mutant. Yeah, she was the real one and that other guy was just his assistant, Molecule Man. Quality swerve there, Stine.
The Masked Mutant tells Skipper what's going on. Remember that light that covered Skipper? It rearranged his molecules, transforming them into ink dots, turning him into a comic book character. That's why the sketches appeared and why Skipper was in the recent comic book. He goes to kill Skipper, but Skipper warns him that he's the Colossal Elastic Boy, and the only thing that can destroy him is sulfuric acid. So, the Mutant changes himself into acid, but since this is a liquid form, it instantly kills him. Skipper manages to take this opportunity to escape.
Skipper goes home and sees another Masked Mutant comic has shown up for him. But he's more preoccupied with the chocolate cake his mom made. He grabs the knife, but ends up cutting his hand. But instead of blood, Ink pours out of the wound. It turns out that maybe his superhero adventures are far from over.
Attack of the Mutant is a decent enough book. I like that it feels a bit more like Stine having a cynical take on comic books and their fans. Especially taking digs at Archie comics. I do wish there was more of a chance to have fun with the concept, but what we still get is effective. Skipper definitely falls into the Evan category of annoying Goosebumps protagonists. He isn't too fun to be around, and he spends a lot of the book complaining about comic book stuff. The Masked Mutant is also a great villain, but there isn't enough time with him for him to really feel like he leaves an impact. It's another case of everything coming so close to the end of the book that there isn't enough of a lasting impression to make you go "that was worth the wait". As for scares, there's a couple, but then there's parts of the story where Skipper's buying shoes or trading lunches. It takes away from progressing the story to be honest. For the 25th edition, I would have hoped for something stronger, but it's okay at best. Attack of the Mutant gets a C+.
Being too late for the orthodontist, he opts out of going inside the building. The next day at school, Wilson tells Skipper that maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe the artist for the Masked Mutant comics was in town one day, saw the building and got inspired. Skipper still isn't convinced, and still wants to check the building for himself. However, after about a week of stalling, he eventually makes it back to the location, only to see that the building has disappeared. Bewildered, he goes to Libby's house instead to hang out. It's here we get Stine shooting a bit on Archie comics and how Betty and Veronica look the same. I grew up with some Archie, but I was never a massive fan, but I certainly never got as angry with it as Skipper does with High School Harry.
He goes home just in time to see the newest issue of The Masked Mutant has been delivered. He reads, seeing that the Masked Mutant's hideout is cloaked under an invisibility curtain. He goes with Libby to the empty lot where the building was, and moves in further. Sure enough, the building comes into view. They enter the building and a strange yellow light rolls over his body, giving off some sort of weird sensation all over Skipper's body. The kids enter an elevator that sends them falling down into a room with machinery. They both try to go back to the top floor, but the elevator breaks down. Libby also suddenly vanishes. Skipper searches for her, but finds a room with machines that continue to roll paper. Then he gets attacked by the Masked Mutant...'s cardboard cutout!
Skipper searches around the room, believing that this must be where the comic book is drawn. As he looks through the papers, he recoils in horror to see sketches of himself. Libby runs into him, still in a panic, and the two kids manage to leave the building. The next day, another Masked Mutant comic is delivered to Skipper. When he looks inside, he sees himself on the first page, sneaking into the hideout. He tries to get his parents to notice, but they chalk it up as coincidence. Skipper reads the last page, seeing the Galloping Gazelle tied up, saying that "only the boy can save me now!" So Skipper returns to the hideout, now more paranoid about what's going on. He hears ominous laughter coming from the loudspeakers. He enters the elevator and gets shot up to the top floor.
He enters a hallway that looks exactly like the one in the comic book. He hears someone screaming for help inside a room. Upon opening the door he discovers that it's the Galloping Gazelle, who is still tied up. Skipper unties him and the two try to escape. They run into a disintegrator gun, and we get a fake out where Skipper thinks he got shot, but didn't. The two eventually make it to the Masked Mutant's main room, and get confronted by him. Galloping Gazelle tries to run around the Mutant, creating a tornado. He didn't factor in one thing that could ruin his plan, and that's being easily tripped. The Mutant turns into a leopard and growls at the Gazelle. And the Galloping Gazelle, like the valiant hero he is, says "you're on your own, kid" and runs off, leaving Skipper high and dry.
The Masked Mutant begins to pressure Skipper, trying to find out what power he has. But eventually, he just grabs him and raises him twenty feet in the air, ready to slam him hard to the ground. However, the door opens, and Libby suddenly shows up. She grabs a gun, saying that it melts molecules and fires it at the Mutant, who starts to shrink away into nothingness. So, the day is saved and everyone lives happily ever-Oh wait, Libby then turns into the Masked Mutant. Yeah, she was the real one and that other guy was just his assistant, Molecule Man. Quality swerve there, Stine.
The Masked Mutant tells Skipper what's going on. Remember that light that covered Skipper? It rearranged his molecules, transforming them into ink dots, turning him into a comic book character. That's why the sketches appeared and why Skipper was in the recent comic book. He goes to kill Skipper, but Skipper warns him that he's the Colossal Elastic Boy, and the only thing that can destroy him is sulfuric acid. So, the Mutant changes himself into acid, but since this is a liquid form, it instantly kills him. Skipper manages to take this opportunity to escape.
TWIST ENDING
CONCLUSION
Attack of the Mutant is a decent enough book. I like that it feels a bit more like Stine having a cynical take on comic books and their fans. Especially taking digs at Archie comics. I do wish there was more of a chance to have fun with the concept, but what we still get is effective. Skipper definitely falls into the Evan category of annoying Goosebumps protagonists. He isn't too fun to be around, and he spends a lot of the book complaining about comic book stuff. The Masked Mutant is also a great villain, but there isn't enough time with him for him to really feel like he leaves an impact. It's another case of everything coming so close to the end of the book that there isn't enough of a lasting impression to make you go "that was worth the wait". As for scares, there's a couple, but then there's parts of the story where Skipper's buying shoes or trading lunches. It takes away from progressing the story to be honest. For the 25th edition, I would have hoped for something stronger, but it's okay at best. Attack of the Mutant gets a C+.
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