Attack of the Mutant by R. L. Stine is the 25th Goosebumps in the regular series order. Attack of the Mutant definitely goes after that comic book audience. There’s so slight horror but more of an adventure. This is one I think I would have liked as a kid, I was a big comic book reader, but now as an adult that cares about story, this goosebumps has one heck of a gapping plot hole. This story is all about tease until you get to the end. The tease is good but it goes too far with just having jump scares and nothing solid. I did like the final twist at the end. When the do talk about comics in this novel it brings up Jack Kirby’s Captain America and Todd McFarland’s Spawn. I was a big fan of this episode of Goosebumps it featured Adam West and was a double episode, I rewatched it for this review, thank you Netflix. I love what the episode added the mutant trying to burst of of the comic was terrifying, the seeing his family as a comic book, they had a scene with a bus driver that I liked that added to the creep factor and casting Adam West as the hero is never wrong and a nice homage to Batman of the 1960’s.

The Plot Synopsis: Skipper is a huge collector of comic books, we must go the the comic book store every week and has some delivered to his house. His favorite comic is The Masked Mutant about a villain that can change his molecules. Skipper is obsessed, he wonders if his obsession has gone to his head after he sees the Masked Mutant’s hideout on a trip to the orthodontist. He makes a friend in Libby who is a comic book collector (not the Masked Mutant) and she sees the hideout as well. He plans to go to it the next time but when he does it is gone. The next issue it talks of the invisibility cloak over it. He and Libby figure it out and enter the hideout which is empty or so they think as they are soon trapped!

What I Liked: I liked the final twist a lot, I felt like I haven’t had a good final twist in a while. The comic book obsession I felt was right. I liked the comic book references Spawn and Jack Kirby’s Captain America, even though they are picks of a grown man in the 90’s not a kid. I like the comic book scenes of the Masked Mutant.

What I Disliked: The plot holes to how Skipper was found to be a foe, The secret identity of the Masked Mutant was extra creepy when you think of it. In the conclusion Skipper has knowledge that no one else does and that The Masked Mutant apparently forgot, it was way too convenient.

Recommendations: Attack the Mutant is not the best I will recommend seeing the far superior tv episode than this novel. I think as a kid I would have enjoyed this one just because I was the comic book obsessed character and would have loved the twist not realizing how dumb they are and don’t fit. This is not the worst Goosebumps but far from the best. I rated Attack of the Mutant by R. L. Stine 3 out of 5 stars.Here’s my full ranking of the 25 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite: 1) Stay Out of the Basement, 2) Ghost Beach, 3) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 4) The Haunted Mask, 5) One Day At Horrorland, 6) Night of the Living Dummy, 7) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 8) The Phantom of the Auditorium, 9) The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, 10) Say Cheese and Die, 11) Let’s Get Invisible, 12) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 13) Welcome to Dead House, 14) Monster Blood II, 15) The Girl who Cried Monster, 16)Deep Trouble, 17) The Ghost Next Door, 18) Be Careful What You Wish For… , 19) Return of the Mummy, 20) Why I’m Afraid of Bees, 21)Attack of the Mutant, 22) Go Eat Worms!, 23) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 24) Monster Blood, And 25) You Can’t Scare Me!