- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 7–10
- Comedy
The Bad Guys in Dawn of the Underlord
Book 11 of 20 in The Bad GuysView the full series
A second-arc opener that pushes The Bad Guys into stranger, darker comic-book territory while staying silly and highly readable. Best for readers already invested in the gang rather than as a fresh entry point.
- Best for7–10
- FormatIllustrated
- Length192 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr15 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
- Onomatopoeic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Exciting
- Suspenseful
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
After the explosive early run, The Bad Guys in Dawn of the Underlord starts pushing the series into a bigger ongoing saga. Mr Wolf, Mr Snake, Mr Shark and Mr Piranha are still recognisably the same chaotic team of wannabe heroes, but the threats around them now feel stranger, more cosmic and more connected than the one-off missions of the first books. Aaron Blabey keeps the format extremely friendly to young graphic-novel readers: short bursts of text, bold panels, exaggerated expressions and a constant stream of jokes. The story works best for children who have followed the earlier arc, because the series mythology and character shifts now matter more. It remains funny, fast and accessible, but this is less of a standalone rescue caper and more the start of a larger comic adventure about whether this ridiculous team can survive its next phase.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 7–10
- Read aloud · 6–10
- Independent · 7–11
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Dog man fans
- Captain underpants fans
- Reluctant readers
- Series arc
- Fast reads
Avoid if
- Prefers calm books
- Needs realistic stories
- Needs standalone books
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
In the classroom
How it works in school.
The wildly funny Bad Guys series — a legendary reluctant-reader hook and classroom-library staple.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific shift is the series getting darker — a new villain rising from underneath the city, the Bad Guys descending into bigger fantasy-comic mythology than the early rescue capers. A reader who's followed the gang since book one gets the satisfying sense of the saga expanding.
- Breaking the rules safely
- Having a nemesis
- Making a difference
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
The Bad Guys that opens the second major arc — Underlord, deeper mythology, the series moving from rescue capers into a longer comic-book saga. Best for readers who've been through the first ten volumes; the world-building only pays off if the team already feels familiar.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Conversation starter
In the series
The Bad Guys.
20 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Aaron Blabey.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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