I have always really loved the film, Napoleon Dynamite. It came out when I was a teen, and I saw it in the tiny, independent movie theater in my hometown. I think my brother and I saw it three times in theaters; we liked it so much – the subtlety of the humor, the slightly retro vibe. It was also made by a couple of Mormon kids which we were at the time. It was a pop culture phenomenon I could finally talk about openly at church without getting unsolicited opinions from overly righteous adults. We were borderline obsessed. At one point when I was in Idaho (were they filmed the movie), I went and drove by some of the houses and locations, including what used to be a Liger farm. I also ate a lot of tater tots. So, it’s safe to say I am, and always have been, a fan which is why I was so excited to read this new story, Napoleon Dynamite: Impeach Pedro.

It is senior year, and Napoleon is trying to figure out not only what college to go to (“Your mom goes to college.”), but what his career path will be. Should he be a cryptozoologist? Join the FBI? Really, his future holds no bounds. I mean he does have nunchuck skills. He is officially dating Deb, Pedro is student body president, and Napoleon is secretary to the student body president which he thought would be sweet, but really is kinda lame. Disaster strikes when Pedro is accused of not winning the majority vote and possibly committing voter fraud. (Sound familiar?) There is also a possible small-town murder being investigated by some new characters, as well, so lots of detective work.

This story does what NBC’s Parks and Recreation did: It uses a small town, and in this case more specifically a school, to shine a light on current political issues in a satirical way. It’s a tasty bit of Napoleon’s catch phrases along with a dose of political humor that hits very close to home. It really balances out perfectly. We get appearances by all of our favorite characters, including Tina the llama, who is still a fat lard that Napoleon has to feed dinner.  I also like that we heard some new catch phrases, my personal favorite being the insult, “You’re a flipping book.” If you are a fan of the film, this is a truly fun read. I want to close with one fact: Ligers are real. Yep, you read right, they are real. Google it.

Creative Team: 
Carlos Guzman-Verdugo (Author), Alejandro Verdugo (Author), Jorge Monlongo (Artist)
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Click here to purchase.