- Comedy
- Pluto Rocket collection
- Ages 5–8
Pluto Rocket
Part of the collectionPluto Rocket→Best for newly independent readers who loved Elephant & Piggie and want longer, gag-packed comics with a big warm heart.
- Books4
- Arcs1
- Span2023–2025
- StatusOngoing
The series
At a glance.
An early graphic novel comedy series by Paul Gilligan, following the odd-couple friendship of Joe Pidge, a stylish, wise-cracking pigeon who has never strayed far from his neighbourhood, and Pluto Rocket, a friendly alien in disguise on a mission to find out whether Earthlings are really nice. Told in short, speech-bubble-driven chapters, the books are fizzing fish-out-of-water comedy, personal style, local slang, an unshakeable love of tacos, that steadily widen in scope: Joe conquers his fear of the wider world, the pair become accidental heroes, and by book four they blast off to the moon to win over Pluto's three sceptical dads. Beneath the slapstick and gags Gilligan threads real warmth and reassurance about identity, self-worth and giving people a chance. Expressive cartooning and relentless jokes make it an ideal, confidence-building stepping stone from picture books into longer comics.
Best for newly independent readers who loved Elephant & Piggie and want longer, gag-packed comics with a big warm heart.
Primary themes
Overall tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Adventurous
- Warm
Read in order. Each book stands alone as a comedy, but the friendship and adventure escalate, from Joe's own block out to a new town and finally to the moon, so publication order pays off best.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcLow sensitivity
Pluto and Joe's mission
A pigeon and an undercover alien become best friends and adventure from one city block all the way to the moon.
The Pluto Rocket run reads as one escalating comedy of friendship. It opens with Joe Pidge cheerfully guiding a newly arrived alien through neighbourhood life, tacos, slang and personal style included, and grows from there. Book two keeps the pair close to home while Joe learns, via a lost hat, that he is one of a kind with or without it; book three finally coaxes them out into a new town, where a casual stroll spirals into a chase and accidental heroism; and book four sends them into space to convince Pluto's three doubtful dads that Earthlings really are nice. The stakes stay gentle and the jokes constant, but the throughline, Pluto's secret mission and the widening world the friends dare to explore, gives the series real forward motion beneath its non-stop speech-bubble silliness.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 5–8
- Read aloud · 4–7
- Independent · 6–9
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Very high
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Adult crossover
Low
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Low overall, and consistent.
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
About the author