Dead Max Comix

Written By:

Dana Sullivan

Illustrated By:

Dana Sullivan

GR:

Lexile:

300-490

SKU: MAX

Middle school can be survival of the "fitting in" at best. In Dead Max Comix, Derrick discovers that his secrets aren't really unusual. This series offers a light-hearted touch at accepting yourself and findng your own "pack."

Book 1: The Deadening

Derrick Hollis is a young aspiring cartoonist, too shy to show his work to anyone. When his dog Max dies, he's devastated. But then Max returns to give Derrick advice --on standing up to bullies and how to deal with affairs of the heart. 2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Medal winner/Graphic Novels

Book 2: The Rocking Dead

Seventh grader Derrick’s “Dead Max Comix” are such a hit in the school paper that he and Max start an advice column. Derrick and Doug should have asked for advice before they started a band without inviting Kim and Keisha to join. To get even, Kim challenges the guys to come up with awesome costumes for Comic-Con and enter the upcoming Battle of the Bands. Will the Battle of the Bands mean the end of Derrick and Kim? More importantly, who will win?

Book 3: Bully for You

Derrick finally feels like he's getting the hang of Middle School. He's in a band with his best friends and his dogs Bennie and Max are getting along. Even his Dead Max comics and advice columns are a hit, until Max's cat-hating ways start raising hackles with his cat-loving readers. Then when Derrick's cartoons protesting racism backfire, the Muslim kids turn against him and the paper is in danger of being shut down, along with Derrick's cartooning career. Is Derrick a racist bully or trying to help some friends fight hatred? Luckily, Dead Max and some fishy characters are on the case, sleuthing out the real culprit and reuniting the students of Zachary Taylor Middle School with some long, lost friends

Book 4: Furball of the Apocalypse!

7th grader Derrick's goldfish Finn and Gillian have gone missing --but so have Derrick's two science teachers. Max and Derrick are on the case...but they could be headed for a furball of a dead end!

Free Discussion Guides available.

Middle Grade Ages 9 to 14
Grades 4 to 8 Reading Level 4 64 pages 6.5" x 9"

Praise for Dead Max Comix

"Dead Max is drop-dead funny."
--Dav Pilkey, creator of Dog Man

"...told in short fast-paced chapters...characters encompass a more inclusive spectrum of skin tones.... A fun premise."
--Kirkus Reviews

"I don't read books about dead dogs. But Dead Max is an exception to that rule. Max has the perfect blend of humor, heart and snark, everything you'd want in a dead dog."
--Dori Hillestad Butler, Edgar Award author