Fartboy Books in Order

At first glance, Fartboy looks like pure gross-out chaos, and to be fair, it is very happy to be gross. But the series has a clean little superhero premise under the stink. Martin Kennedy is the tidiest boy in the tidiest town in the world. He is neat, careful, orderly, and deeply offended by anything messy. Then a freak accident leaves him with fart-powered abilities, and his life becomes the exact opposite of what he wants.

That is the joke that keeps the books moving.

Martin is not a kid who wants power for the thrill of it. He would much rather stay clean, stay calm, and never discuss bottoms again. So every time trouble shows up, the real conflict is not just the villain of the week. It is Martin's own horror at the fact that the only way to save the day is to use the thing he hates most.

The setting helps the comedy. A hyper-tidy town makes every puff of chaos feel bigger. It also makes Martin stand out more, which is important because these books are really about embarrassment as much as heroics. He is trying to manage school-age worries, keep some dignity, and stop disgusting disasters at the same time. That is a lot for one very reluctant hero.

Across the series, Wallace and illustrator James Hart lean hard into comic-book energy. The chapter-book format keeps things quick, the illustrations punch up the gross moments, and the villains tend to be just as silly as the premise demands. There are outrageous names, escalating messes, and a steady sense that the next page might get even yuckier than the last one.

Still, Fartboy is not just a parade of bodily noises. Martin's story has a nice underlying shape. He has to accept that something weird has happened to him, and that being useful does not always look cool. He learns to work with what he has, even when what he has is deeply unfortunate.

That is why the series lands with readers who like humor and action but still want a character to root for. Martin is brave, but only after a lot of complaining. He is heroic, but never glamorous. The books know exactly what kind of fun they are offering, and they deliver it with total confidence.