There are moments in this book that are genuinely quite hilarious, but the writing seems to work on the premise that, if enough jokes are made, surely some of them will be funny. While true, it does subject the readers to an awful lot of duds.

The dialogue in the early portions of the novel are where this is most egregious. Imagine super hero antics interspersed with dialogue out of Seinfeld. All drama, action, and plot development grind to a halt as the cast bickers.

Once the novel gets going, it actually has some things to say other than simply being funny. Much of the super hero genre is deconstructed in one way or another, with the concept of a kid sidekick given a particularly good kicking(as the title might suggest).

In general, one simply gets the sense that the novel could have used better editing. There’s a scene midway through in which the characters try, and fail, to catch a bus. One turns to the other and says something to the effect of, “I bet you when they make the movie they leave this part out.” While very meta, it’s a long time to spend on a gag that is only funny in the abstract.

Overall, I’d say that the novel is enjoyable, but not great. The longer you can stick with it, the better it will get. The blooper real at the end was also a treat, if only to hear the narrator deliver a line and break down a few words later as what he’d just said finally registered.