PEPPERMINT BUTLER AND CINNAMON BUN: CANDY CAPERS.
A NEW ADVENTURE TIME MYSTERY

Ananth Panagariya and Yuko Otoa (Authors), Ian McGinty (Illustrator)

> Review by CAROLYN MARCILE

Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time. It is definitely one of the cleverest, weirdest, saddest and most meaningful animated shows I’ve seen in a long time. (if you see me at a party, DON’T bring up Prismo.) Sure, Adventure Time’s heroes Finn and Jake might grapple with colorful sugar monsters. But they also deal with the weight of past lives, as well as the repercussions of a forgotten nuclear war and its heavy, cosmic weirdness. Adventure Time is a show that respects the emotional intelligence of its viewers, and recognizes that kids want to know the answers to big questions just as much as adults do. Its characters are spectacularly nuanced and, well, real, which is a big feat considering that a great deal of them are made of candy. The book is divided into a series of mysteries; Finn and Jake are missing, so Princess Bubblegum tasks Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun with finding them. P.B. and C. B. are two of AT’s candy ancillaries, and they carry the text without its normal heroes just fine. Peppermint Butler is a weird little dude, capable of fealty to his princess but also incredibly well versed in the Dark Arts. Cinnamon Bun is weirdly reminiscent of Tom Cullen from The Stand, a character capable of much more than is suspected. The book is full of humor and superbly colorful, with a palette reminiscent of the moving animation. Candy Capers is populated by a whole host of recognizable faces, which might admittedly be a drawback for readers unfamiliar with the show. But if you love Adventure Time, there’s a great deal here to keep you happy.