Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom

Cucumber Quest #1

by Gigi D.G.

What happens when an evil queen gets her hands on an ancient force of destruction? World domination, obviously. The seven kingdoms of Dreamside need a legendary hero. Instead, they'll have to settle for Cucumber, a nerdy magician who just wants to go to school. As destiny would have it, he and his way more heroic sister, Almond, must now seek the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight. Can these bunny siblings really save the world in its darkest hour?Sure, why not?Adapted from Gigi D.G.'s popular webcomic series, Cucumber Quest, The Doughnut Kingdom is the first graphic novel of a clever, adorable, and hilarious four-volume heroic adventure that is sure to make you hungry for sweets and action.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Humor

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was THE CUTEST. We love a middle grade series that challenges gender norms 👏🏼

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had really cute art, but for a middle grade, it reads REALLY young to the point where this felt super cliche. It was cute and the cliffhanger leaves it so that the series would probably be addicting to binge, but I don't think I'll be continuing because I didn't think it was anything new or special.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly jumped with joy at the sight of this book on my library shelves, which made quite the show for my little sister accompanying me that day. This is just the perfect read to share with your younger sibling.

What happens when an evil queen gets her hands on an ancient force of destruction?

World domination, obviously.

The seven kingdoms of Dreamside need a legendary hero. Instead, they'll have to settle for Cucumber, a nerdy magician who just wants to go to school. As destiny would have it, he and his way more heroic sister, Almond, must now seek the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight.

Can these bunny siblings really save the world in its darkest hour?

Sure, why not?

It didn't take all too long for this book to impress me at once. Cucumber Quest is the perfect combination of featuring visually stunning art, hilarious one-liners, and fully-fleshed characters.


THAT LAST PANEL MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD.

I appreciated how this book veered from the usual "heroic" arc and tackles often-used (ridiculous) tropes* from fairytales with creative and playful jabs. Cucumber Quest not taking itself too serious was a highlight, for sure. Also, the self-empowerment in Almond, the little sister, impressed me, as well, because who said little sisters can’t be the hero of the story. Through her character, the idea of a knight in shining armor is spun on its head.

Again, I have to emphasize the rich, dreamy, and vibrant coloring which makes for quite the visual to hold in your hands. I mean:

And:



*Tackled tropes include:

• The villain making those long speeches before acting with his fists.


First, that "instant replay" is epic. Second, Almond is a hero.

• Making the mission harder for the sake of Drama.


Her self-confidence is both aspiring and troubling because it costs them dearly.


There's more to the story than meets the eye, and I'm forevermore shocked that it left of such a cliffhanger. Essentially this first volume builds up the ground for the upcoming adventures awaiting this group, and I'm keen on diving in.



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[First Second Books]

Join nerdy magician Cucumber and his feisty knight-in-training little sister, Almond, as they set out to retrieve the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Evil Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight. Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom is the first of a series of delightfully pun-filled middle grade graphic novel that anyone would love!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance, Cucumber Quest seem like the kind of book that's going to be obnoxiously cutesy (Everyone is named after food! Wacky! There are BLT knights! Zany! Adults are oblivious ditzes! Ra-ra-random!) but it gradually turns into something that combines the best parts of a video game you'd love to play and an animated series you'd want to binge. It's funny and just self-aware enough to pepper its 'epic quest' story with interesting twists on the usual tropes.

[Lucía Cafeína · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divertido, adorable, divertido y adorable y DIVERTIDO Y ADORABLE.
Me encantan este tipo de historias: no podría ser más surrealista, pero eso es exactamente lo que lo hace genial, la originalidad de los personajes y escenarios, la trama de aventuras, la magia y los villanos. ¡Es tan genial!
Y, por si fuera poco, ¡las ilustraciones y los colores no podrían ser más estupendos!

[J.a.e._Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une aventure mignone et intrigante avec des perso (un peu trop) caractérisés et attachants. C'était rigolo mais la fin est un peu abrupte et la suite n'a jamais été publiée en français...

[Lauryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.W.L.S MAGICAL READATHON 2019 | BOOK #6 | CARE FOR MAGICAL CREATURES (land animal on the cover)

I know I'm bending this challenge a bit but the characters are rabbits and it's on the cover. Anyways this pretty much describes how I feel about this book: 😍😍😍😍😍. This has been a moment with Lauryn.

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOW THAT WAS CUTE AND FUN

[Tami Secrettland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nos encontramos frente al estreno de este popular webcomic en España. En este primer tomo conoceremos a los protagonistas, dos hermanos conejitos a los que acompañaremos en su aventura para convertirse en Héroes de leyenda.

Durante el camino nos encontraremos con otra serie de personajes, todo ellos muy peculiares. Estoy segura que no te olvidaras de ninguno. El dibujo es muy bonito, y la edición impecable como todas las novelas gráficas de La cúpula.

Es una historia entretenida, y con unos toques de humor que sacarán más de una sonrisa a los más pequeños de la casa. Creo que es ideal para introducirles en la lectura, y disfruten de una historia que va a conseguir engancharles y además que les va transmitir unos valores estupendos. Una opción muy acertada sin ninguna duda. Además trae una serie de extras que estoy segura que les resultarán de lo más entretenidos.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really enjoyed reading this and seeing how it was flipping tropes unfortunately it also fell into a lot of other tropes that made it seem lazy. Like Sir Bacon who is a pig who is (slightly) overweight so of course ALL he thinks about is food and is constantly tripping and being overall very ditzy. Which as we all know, fat, short people are. And Dame Lettuce who is obsessed with a guy who is a jerk. She also keeps a diary and wears makeup so obviously she's stupid. The only 2 characters in the book who wear makeup are both evil and stupid by the way. By trying to avoid tropes it unfortunately falls into others which left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall I did really enjoy the art and did chuckle a lot throughout.

[Laura (ローラ) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I initially liked this sweet art style, cute characters and story premise. But, started to get bored about half way through. The writing in this felt flat, and the story lost focus. It might make a recovery in the second volume though. I would still safely recommend this to a new reader who was interested in princesses, knights and quests.

[Juan Manuel Sarmiento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy cuqui y divertido todo, ya quiero la segunda parte

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should say up front that I only read this book to fulfill a prompt in BookRiot's 2023 Read Harder Challenge ("Read a completd web comic"). I'm not normally a fan of graphic novels, although I have enjoyed a few.

This one, however, was just inane drivel. The dialog was ridiculous, the characters completely one-dimensional, and the plot ludicrous. The only bright spot was the art, which was striking and fun. Unless you're a diehard comics fan, I'd definitely give this one a pass.

[Fiebre Lectora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pepino, héroe de leyenda, ha sido una historia que me ha maravillado: graciosa, bonita, con muchas aventuras y sorpresas, y personajes que no podrían ser más especiales.

Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/201...

[Siina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cucumber Quest 1: The Doughnut Kingdom was extremely funny and cute up to a point of being annoying! A weird combination, really. In this dream-filled candyland called Dreamside, the seven kingdoms need a savior, since the evil queen of sorts has decided to revive the dark night and Cucumber "Cuco" needs to save the day. Except he's a young nerd boy, who needs constant saving and his bodyguard is his sister Almond. The adventure is like a magical road-trip filled with odd humor. The most I enjoyed about this comic is that it has everything for everyone. It's like a Disney movie, the basic plot is kid-friendly, and then you have the weird hidden stuff for adults. We need more comics like this! This first part is just a glimpse into the real plot and I'm quite interested in what will happen and I do hope Gigi will keep this awesome approach filled with weirdness the size of an asteroid.

The art is awesome and cute at the same time. The rich and deep colors fit well with the candy and sweetness theme and at the same time there's even humor in the colors. The colors are a good counterpart to the oddness, so that this works for kids too. The naivety is awesome. Somehow this reminded me of Powerpuff Girls and Steven Universe. The comic combines retro well with everything and the panels are clear but with a twist. Especially the expressions on the faces of the characters are perfect! The written and drawn humor together mend an interesting piece surely.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this landed so well with me but OMG I absolutely loved loved loved this.

Cucumber is a rabbit boy who just wants to go to school to learn to be a magician. Too bad his dad is forcing him to go on a heroic quest to stop an evil queen from taking over! With the help of his younger sister Almond (who yearns to be a knight) and a disgraced knight, the trio embark on a quest for the legendary Dream Sword.

The biggest and most obvious draw to this book is the art. D.G. uses a stunning painterly style (which eskews line work) to create her magical world. The character designs (which are all based off of food) are A+ - the way she incorporates the food themes into her designs are so well done and adorable!

The plot is a bit meandering, but I didn't mind. It reads like the plot of an RPG and has a similar structure which I enjoyed (mostly because of the familiarity/nostalgia) and I think it will go over well with the intended younger audience. Mileage may vary with the writing/dialogue, but I thought it was pleasantly cheeky and self-aware.

The production value of the book is wonderful too - First Second is releasing these are cute little naked hardbacks and I can't wait to start collecting them.

[Juan Naranjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

#PepinoHéroeDeLeyenda es uno de esos productos culturales que pueden maravillarte tengas la edad que tengas. Las aventuras de un conejito empollón al que se le endilga la misión de salvar su mundo es tierna y divertida a partes iguales, y es capaz de crear una iconografía y una estética absolutamente propias. Recuerda a maravillosas creaciones recientes para todas las edades: #Hilda, #HoraDeAventuras, #MásAlláDelJardín... Es uno de esos libritos que hace que alguien se enganche a un género.

[francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cucumber Quest is one of the best webcomics out there, and while the online version currently isn't really doing it for me, looking back at the first arc is very sweet, and reminds me why I feel in love with the comic in the first place.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the cutest graphic novels. The whole thing takes place on an island kingdom known as the Doughnut Kingdom. Literally everyone and everything is named after food. From what I’ve seen each book in the series is going to take place in a different kingdom of the world of Dreamside! So excited to see the Ripple Kingdom
next!

Ok so this story follows a young citizen of dreamside called Cucumber. He’s just about to set out to magic school when he gets an urgent letter from his dad telling him it’s time he became a hero. There’s only one problem. Cucumber isn’t the hero type! Luckily he’s got his heroic sister Almond, who will do basically anything for adventure, to back him up. As he tries to go on his quest he finds new friends along the way. These include two bakers, a cowardly knight, and a friendly monster. I loved all of the characters so much. Even the villains were funny for their over the top villainy.

I loved the art of this graphic novel too. It’s incredibly colorful and bright. It’s also a lineless style which I thought worked really well. There’s also colored thought bubbles for each character so it’s simple to keep track of whose speaking across different panels.

I’m so glad that I picked this up from the library. I’ve been pretty stressed lately and this was like the perfect answer to that. I can’t wait to continue the series as soon as possible.

[Gabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutest thing I've read this year!

I'm so excited to continue this adventure! Cucumber a nerdy magician just wants to live and enjoy the prestigious academy of magic he's been accepted to when his father whose idea of a man is vastly different from cucumber let's him know he will partaking a quest to save the world! He's not really down for that but lucky for him his younger sister, almond is battle ready! Together they embark on a quest for a magical sword to defeat the power-hungry "queen" Cordelia.

[Jeimy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was too cutesy for my taste: While bookworm Cucumber is expected to become a hero, it is his sister Almond who is ready to save the day. Its audience is supposed to be for middle schoolers, but I think it is better suited for elementary.

My favorite part came at the end when readers get a better view of the entire world created by D.G. I was inspired to go back to the story to look at each character's ears and determine where they hail from.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was DAMN ADORABLE and I loved that almost all the characters were named after food!! While overall I enjoyed its lightheartedness and its ability to make fun of itself/point out flaws, sometimes it pointed them out too obviously. Regardless, a super cute, quick read!!

[Mii · Rating 3 out of 5]

My eyes have been blessed by the cute and colorful characters

[Caitlyn G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute art and a cutesy story but I don’t think I’ll continue this series

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cucumber is excited for his first day at magic school, but his dreams are cut short when his annoying father pulls him away and insists he become a legendary hero destined to defeat the nightmare Knight and some other bad people. Cuco isn't very good at being a hero, but fortunately, he has some friends to help.

This book is dumb, which is absolutely perfect for it. I chuckled and chortled at every chapter, and while I have no hope that this series will have any deeper meaning than "wow, don't listen to dumb people," it's a lot of fun, and I cannot wait for the next one.

[La Colección de las Letras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que más he disfrutado del primer libro es lo fantástico, adorable y humorístico que parece todo, desde los nombres de los personajes hasta la propia historia. Me ha recordado tanto a "Hora de Aventuras", sobre todo por lo mucho que me he reído y por la dulzura de los personajes.

Pepino es un joven mago que se ha pasado la vida estudiando para conseguir una plaza en la escuela más prestigiosa, pero no es un amante de la aventura y del peligro como su hermana pequeña.

Almendra es todo lo contrario que su hermano, sobre todo es una joven de armas tomar y de decisiones rápidas. Por eso, cuando le prohíben ir con su hermano, es la primera en seguirlo para demostrar al mundo que ella es merecedora de ser un Héroe de Leyenda.

Desde el principio encontramos con personajes de lo más peculiares y en situaciones que te sacan una sonrisa sin quererlo. No te esperas para nada que las situaciones tengan un giro tan inesperado y mucho menos que los personajes sean todo lo contrario de lo que pensabas. Me ha fascinado, sorprendido y maravillado.

Por otro lado, el mundo de Onirolandia me ha enamorado por completo. La autora ha creado siete reinos que son habitados por adorables conejitos y que cada uno de ellos se caracteriza por algo. Esto me ha generado muchísima curiosidad acerca del resto de reinos y de sus habitantes, por lo que espero que la editorial pueda sacar pronto el siguiente libro (en inglés están publicado 4 libros).

El primer libro, además de tener una primera parte de la historia que te atrapa por completo, tiene también pequeñas historias simultáneas a la trama principal, una guía de los personajes, los reinos y una sección de los primeros pasos de Pepino y Almendra. Me ha gustado mucho ver la evolución de los personajes y de su mundo, le da mucha personalidad al libro y ese toque de familiaridad; como si la autora te estuviese contando un secreto a voces enseñando sus bocetos.

Es una historia fresca, mágica y divertida que te atrapará desde la primera página hasta dejarte con ese gusanillo para seguir la historia de Pepino y Almendra. Además de ello, las situaciones son tan inesperadas que te sorprenden y las reacciones de los personajes aun más. Sin duda es un libro para disfrutar cualquier tarde, dejarse enamorar y sonreír por la dulzura que desprende.

[Sylwia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm down with this trend of meta-stories. I'm down with the gender commentary. I'm down with taking tropes and norms of older stories and twisting and changing them. This was fun to look at and enjoyable to get lost in and felt too short! I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Very cute and silly, sure to win over young readers. Would probably make a great read-along with an adult for younger kids, too.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is really great, very cute and bright. I do sort of like the themed kingdom concept, with everybody in the Donut Kingdom named after food. The dialog isn't the greatest in the world, though there's some really good lines skewering standard heroic narratives. The plotting seemed a bit loose to me, a bit meandering. But I'm having fun anyways, flaws and all. It's just cute enough and just pretty enough and just fun enough to make me want more.