3 out of 5

A pretty charming Kickstarter, Alterna-published project of a Webtoon character, Cyko KO! comes in a nicely under-sized softcover format, with clean white pages for the promised coloring opportunity and a lot of cheeky activities sprinkled throughout – crosswords, mazes, etc. – for the readin’ youngins.  But, making this a bit more notable is that ‘all-ages’ tag; one of those rare instances where “all” doesn’t automatically equate to a kids only range.  Rob Feldman’s creation – a masked superhero in the Hanna Barberra school of design, traveling with companion Peachy Keen and voiceless ghost Meemop in a Scooby Doo-like van – is successfully funny throughout, balancing enjoyable antics with some really well-timed gags.  There’s a good humored winking-at-the-reader vibe, reminiscent of the early Adult Swim spins on Hanna Barberra (Brak, especially, comes to mind), and the story is just expansive enough to be interesting but easily graspable.  It essentially boils down to another Scooby Doo bit – haunted house bust – but it’s mixed in with an amusing cast and occasional fourth wall breaks.

The last bit is actually somewhat of a disappointment, though, as the book sort of hypes that aspect, and yet it only happens one or two times.  The content is amusing on its own, but there’s a sense that it could’ve pushed into outright hilarity had it truly embraced that self-aware concept.

Still, definitely an enjoyable read.  Hopefully Feldman will have the opportunity to add further published editions to his oeuvre.