"It's The Sopranos for 7-year-olds." - Anselmo "Sweat Beak" Rossi

A misfit mafia of seagulls try to stay the top birds in Shoretown despite their many blunders and bonehead decisions.

The Gullfather, Birdsy Seagull, rules the roost with a fistful of feathers. And with a little help, but not much, from his ragtag crew-the salty-mouthed Joey "One-Wing," the handsome slacker Vinny, the glamorous and dangerous Birdabella, and Birdsy's well-fed enforcer, Quack Quack.

They say they will stop at nothing to be the top crime birds on the boardwalk, but they pretty much stop at everything, snack time, nap time, or any other reason, much to Birdsy's ire. Well, actually, Birdabella will stop at nothing, and that is a bit of a problem in the other direction.

In "A Seahawk Situation," Birdsy and his crew are at war with the owners of the boardwalk eatery, Zen and Out, after they erect a wooden security seahawk to scare the gulls of Shoretown. Things escalate quickly after One-Wing battles Seymour the Wooden Seahawk and Vinny starts an indoor fireworks display. In retaliation, One-Wing gets birdnapped, and Vinny is almost made into curry, but just when Birdsy has nowhere left to turn, Birdabella, the wild card, enters. Will Birdsy remain "king of the boardwalk" or will the humans get the upper hand and start to encroach on the empire he and NonnaBird built?

The first book in this new series, The Gullfather is filled with absurdity, action, silliness and adventure-and characters young readers can't get enough of. Central to the story, however, is the heart of an oddball family, all brought to life in a dynamic, arresting visual graphic novel format. The book will appeal to readers of Bad Guys, Last Kids On Earth and Dogman.