The Comic Book That Changed Pete’s Summer Vacation

 I. The Comic Book That Shook Up His No-Thrills Summer Vacation

Pete was just an average boy resigned to a lazy, hazy, no-thrills summer vacation, but his best friend gave him a comic book that changed all that. It happened on the last day of school. Actually, several things happened to him on that day.

1. He began to see and hear what appeared to be a ghostly creature prowling about his house. When he tried to tell his parents about it, they acted as if he was nuts.

2. His sixth-grade teacher unexpectedly zapped the class with their choice of impossible summer project to do.  Pete accidentally picked the wildlife research project.

3. The next thing Pete knew, his best friend Jack Tamer had pulled him aside and given him an illegal comic book – not to read but to hide.

II. Don’t Read It? That Makes No Sense!

   I mean, come on. What child wouldn’t like a break from summer break, just long enough to curl up with a good book? Summer is supposed to be fun time, not fun-restriction time. You and I should know. July 4th is coming up. It’s Independence Day, not “Being Stolen From” day. For someone to try to steal the comic book was just too much. What school bully in his right mind would attempt something so bold and mean and majorly unfriendly?

   Craig Crowburn, leader of the Bog Fog Gang, that’s who. He and his smelly slime guns with their evil, gushy, soggy tuna-fishy blobs added way too much mayonnaise to the mix.  I mean –

Oops. I already said too much. After all, this about summer reading time, not some special PE class on fighting bullies.

Or is it?

III. To Read or Not to Read the Comic Book: That is the Question

Okay, back to my original point: The school year had ended. All Pete wanted was to go home.

Then Craig shot Jack with toxic slime.

Pete had nowhere to turn. Sitting next to Jack in the back of the bus where no one else could see him, he flipped open the page and began to read.

What happened next changed his life forever. He experiences the supernatural, miracle power of –

I mean, not to get carried away, but the comic book transformed Pete’s life. He became a hero. Now he faced more challenges than ever, as well as perplexing questions such as: Should he keep on reading or should he just hibernate away his summer doing nothing useful whatsoever?

To quote the first page, “The comic book had taken Pete on an amazing adventure. He couldn’t rest until he got it back.”

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