I was wondering when Tod Emko would bring some of his background of stopping whale hunters into the mix, and he finally did with issue #3. Piggy is on a rescue mission to get a young whale reunited with his mother. But Piggy fears the worse, as hunters are after the mother. Once hunters get a hold of a blue whale, it is almost impossible to get her back to safety… almost. With brave souls such as Piggy and an organization named Sea Shepherd, the readers find themselves in a true battle. First and foremost, I love how educational Emko’s comic is. The plot is really geared for kids and any comic that can get kids to ask about animal cruelty is totally awesome in my book. I almost wish every issue started out this way. We could learn about a new threat around the world and how people treat these animals. We could visit rainforest destruction to dolphin hunting. All could be a short story where Piggy saves the day, but the readers still learn of global efforts. Either way, Piggy is teaching us so much just in his hometown. Every story takes on a tailspin of animals living on the streets.

So after the whale hunting, we are back to Piggy’s hometown where our villain is preparing a new creature to take on Piggy. It is heartbreaking to see Faydra, because this beast is going under electrical shock in order to follow Dr. Huntington’s every move. I think Ethan Young does a great job of balancing those cute moments with some powerful scenes. My favorite character that Young does though is Simon. He is so cute and such a tough kitten at the same time. I think a lot of kids could relate to Simon’s raw attitude. Melanie and Simon have this strong connection too. They both come from the streets in a way, so if Piggy’s Tale continues with more mini-series, I would love a focused Simon issue.

But let’s get to the real meat and potatoes of this issue. Dr. Huntington sets up a trap for Piggy, and Piggy just can’t ignore the traps because real pets may be getting hurt. So he goes anyway. Piggy gets himself in some deep trouble when Faydra shows up.

I couldn’t see any kid not falling for this pub and his sidekicks. It is a story about love with some awesome hero aspects through on top of it. I get excited to see Piggy’s new adventure every month. So you better catch up with this gang this week, because you are missing out on some animals and one punk chick fighting crime on the streets of New York and beyond.

Score: 5/5

Writer: Tod Emko Artist: Ethan Young Publisher: Bohemian Press Price: $2.99 Release Date: 10/8/14 Format: Ongoing; Print