Keeper of the Fun: Just Peachy

Peach Fuzz is a nifty little ameri-manga series written by husband and wife team Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos. This short-lived series, which was the winner of Tokyopop's second Rising Stars of Manga competition, chronicles the adventures of sweet fourth-grader Amanda Keller and her wacky, lovable pet ferret, Peach.(No relation.)

Volume One:

The first volume establishes the story and characters. Nine-year-old Amanda's mother has finally consented to let her have a pet, but Amanda doesn't want an ordinary one, such as the usual dog, cat, fish, hamster et al. One look at the ferrets, however, and she's instantly smitten. She picks one and names her Peach(due to her fuzziness), little knowing that Peach is a very prissy ferret who fancies herself a princess(Princess Peach?), and has the Walter Mitty-esque tendency to fantasize ordinary things as extraordinary, such as envisioning her cage as a dungeon, Amanda's toys as monsters, and Amanda's hand as a vicious, five-headed beast called the Handra!

Worse still, when set upon by this "Handra", Peach bites in defense! It's up to Amanda to train Peach to behave...but will she be successful?

Volume Two:

Amanda has successfully trained Peach(Finally!) and plans to take her to school for show-and-tell. Amanda isn't very popular in school, and hopes that her new pet will stack the odds in her favor;unfortunately, while Peach is quite popular with the class, Amanda herself still gets left out. :-( A plan is hatched by Amanda's popular(and sometimes sassy) friend Kim Chang(pictured on the cover, above) to get her in good with the class: a ferret costume, made by Kim herself!

Unfortunately, after Amanda gets good props from the teacher for her costume, the(VERY nasty!) school bullies Phil and Tim conspire against her. These guys are really mean, but fortunately, they get their well-deserved comeuppance in the end.

Also introduced in this book is Kim's pet ferret Pavaratty, or "Pava" for short.(Pictured with her on the cover.) Pava is a conceited sort who fancies himself a famous actor/singer/dancer; he rudely chides Peach, denying that she could ever be considered a princess, at which she then gives him what for!

Volume Three:

After Peach escapes from her cage yet again, Amanda's athletic(and rather superstitious) friend Mimi Santini(pictured on the cover, above) suggests that Peach may simply be lonely. At Amanda's request, her mom consents to let her buy a second ferret; Amanda selects a fancy ferret(Peach is a sable) whom her mom names Edwin(after a hero in her favorite novel). Peach is elated by Edwin's presence, fancying him the ferret prince she's been pining for...an emotion that's quickly shattered once she gets to know him. Edwin is very klutzy, goofy, ill-mannered, overly dramatic, and very, very loopy(He believes that vets are aliens, 'nuff said), far from the prince she'd envisioned.

Amanda pays a visit to Mimi's house, where she meets Mimi's equally superstitious family, who are all unnaturally obsessed with mushrooms(...Huh? Mushrooms?), as well as Mimi's albino ferrets Truffle and Spore, with mention also made of the late Puffball(All three of whom are pictured with her on the cover). Like their owner, Truffle and Spore are very superstitious sorts(But also somewhat creepy!); they warn Peach of the curse plaguing their land, and suggest that she and Edwin might be its next victims. Peach, however doesn't believe them...at least, not at first!

Have mercy, those albino ferrets are creepy...but sorta' creepy cool, though.

My thoughts:Overall, this is a very cool, interesting, hard-to-put-down series of comics, with a very clever concept(A comic about a ferret). The comics are well-written, with ginger-peachy artwork, and likeable, relatable characters; the ferrets in particular are cute, funny, and lovable. Each of the books also have some very nifty extra features, such as:

-Peach's Monster Compendium, chronicling the various "beasts" Peach has encountered throughout the story.

-Pavaratty's Ferret Terminology, in which Pava educates the reading audience on various ferret facts.

-Bios of each major character, complete with sketches.

-Sketches diagramming each major story location(Amanda's house, Mimi's house, the school et al.)

My only major beefs about this series were:

-The series didn't last very long, which IMHO was quite a shame, considering how good it was. :-(

-Although the storylines concerning the ferrets were given closure, the storylines concerning the humans never were.

-It would have been nice to see Edwin and the white ferrets a little more. (I may be slightly biased because I like Edwin, though.)

-We never get to know Puffball before he dies, save for the snippets of information given about him in book three.

Overall, this is a very cool manga series, worth plenty of re-reads. As the ever-quotable Brighteyes once said, it's "Super peachy-keen!" :-D

Buy Volume One on Amazon!

Buy Volume Two on Amazon!

Buy Volume Three on Amazon!

Here also, though not related to the books, is a(very cute!) ferret princess plushie, perfect for those who might want a "Peach" of their own, or knows someone who does.

Aurora Princess Farrah plushie

Aurora Princess Farrah plushie with carrier

A couple of things I just had to add: