It seems like there is a lot of Odyssey news being announced lately. As we count down the days until Album 71: A Slippery Slope releases on the Adventures in Odyssey Club, we also keep an eye out for news. Some of this news in this post isn’t technically related to Odyssey, but I thought it was interesting and worth reporting.

Album 70 Back Cover Revealed
First off, the back cover design of Album 70: Finding a Way was released on Tyndale!

The Back Cover

There is also a new album summary on the back of the album.

Mysteries lurk around every corner in Odyssey, and the town’s citizens must find a way through the confusion to arrive at the truth. When Wyatt winds up at the hospital after a crazy stunt, Mr. Whittaker searches for answers about what really happened. When Connie’s car is stolen, Detective Polehaus’s investigation leads him on a surprising path from one familiar face to another. And when Emily Jones is falsely accused of a crime and winds up in detention, she must decide if she will solve a case with two others who could be guilty as well: Morrie and Suzu Rydell. And as the truth comes to light in each situation, the folks in the town of Odyssey learn timely lessons about confronting fear, true heroism, and new beginnings.

Album 70 Back Cover

The back cover features Emily Jones, hooray! I believe that this is the first time that Emily has been starred on the back of an album. Be sure to buy the album from Focus on the Family, CBD, Mardel, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Walmart, or wherever you buy your Odyssey albums and admire the newest back cover design!

Captain Absolutely
Captain Absolutely, a comic book character created by Wooton Bassett in the Truth Chronicles episode “Truth Be Told”, first appeared in Clubhouse Magazine in 2012. It was quite a popular feature. In 2017, a Captain Absolutely comic book was released. The book compiled all the comics which appeared in the magazine and added an introduction by Wooton, character profiles, and new panels to the story.
Four years later, a revised and expanded edition of the Captain Absolutely comic book is about to be released!

The Cover

Here is the summary which goes into detail about what is being expanded:

First featured in Adventures in Odyssey and Clubhouse magazine, Captain Absolutely is an award-winning comic that engages young imaginations while helping kids understand eternal truth. Readers will enjoy this explosive adventure that is full of action, humor, and thought-provoking face-offs, all the while learning how to stand firm in their faith in today’s world.

Our story takes place in a town with no right or wrong, a town that needs a hero―and that’s where mild-mannered librarian Josiah King comes in. After a computer explosion at the library, Josiah takes cover in a room full of Bibles. He reads God’s Word for the first time, and (with the help of mysterious radioactive fumes) is transformed into a superhero―Captain Absolutely. Now he must battle colorful villains with twisted worldviews and defend God’s truth.

This updated and revised edition equips readers to fight for truth in their own lives. It includes nearly 40 pages of biblical instruction and insights from children’s experts at Focus on the Family. Kids will learn what Christians believe and how these truths frame our perception of reality and give us hope for the future.

Many topics are covered, including God’s design for family, the truth about beauty, why reality matters, emotional prisons, loneliness, peer pressure, moral relativism, and much more. Kids are bombarded with confusing messages every day at school, on social media, and from their friends. Captain Absolutely doesn’t run from hard conversations but tackles them with wisdom rooted in Scripture to help readers grow in spiritual maturity.

Amazon

This sounds interesting. Although it doesn’t look like the story will be expanded, I’m still interested in the additional information that will be included. The revised book will release on January 11, 2022. Be sure to pre-order the book from Amazon!

New Average Boy Book
In Clubhouse Magazine, there is a monthly Average Boy story, written by Bob Smiley. The stories are about the hilarious experiences of Bob Smiley, aka Average Boy. Two devotion books with Average Boy stories have been released in the past and were advertised in Clubhouse Magazine. It looks as though it was recently revealed that a new, third Average Boy book will be released on February 8, 2022.

Come along with Average Boy, the longtime popular character from the Clubhouse magazine feature, “Adventures of Average Boy,” in his hilarious journey through the school year. In this middle-grade fiction book, readers will follow Bob (Average Boy) and laugh at his antics as he seeks to set goals and reach them with varying success. One of his big goals is his youth group’s yearlong challenge to stand up for God.

Amazon

From what I understand, this is not a devotion book, but an actual chapter book. I have not read any of the Average Boy devotional books, but I am a fan of the Average Boy stories in Clubhouse Magazine and the Average Boy Podcast (which is co-hosted by Jesse Florea, host of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast). I am very interested in seeing what this book will contain. Be sure to pre-order the book from Amazon! While you wait for it to be released, buy book 1 and book 2 of Devotions for Super Average Kids and give them a read.

Last Chance Detectives Book Series Re-release
A bit of background for those who aren’t familiar with The Last Chance Detectives. Created by Focus on the Family, the Last Chance Detectives series consists of three movies: “Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa”, “Legend of the Desert Bigfoot”, and “Escape from Fire Lake”. The series is about Mike Fowler and his group of friends. Together they make up the Last Chance Detectives. There is also an audio series, consisting of three episode, with the episode “The Day Ambrosia Stood Still” featuring Adventures in Odyssey character Jason Whittaker.

The three movies were adapted into a book series with the same titles as the films. There was also a fourth book which came out later called “Canyon Quest”; a prequel telling the story of how the team was formed. This book is available to read on the Adventures in Odyssey Club, but none of the others are. The Last Chance Detectives audio series and all three movies are also all available on the Adventures in Odyssey Club.

I had always been intrigued by the book series. It seemed to be out of print. I can’t find them being sold as new by any major sellers. Quite recently, while browsing Christianbook.com, I stumbled onto Focus on the Family’s pre-order page and found the entire books series available for pre-order! It seems as though Focus on the Family is going to be re-releasing the Last Chance Detectives book series! The books are all renumbered, have new artwork, and a new logo. There is also a new book being added to the series called “Terror From Outer Space”.

I was quite excited about this. I posted about it on the Soda Shop and Town of Odyssey Message Boards. Austin Peachy, who runs the AIO Blog and the Odyssey Geek Podcast found more information about the re-release of the series and discussed it in a recent episode of his podcast. Be sure to give it a listen and subscribe to his podcast! And don’t forget to pre-order the series from CBD and from Amazon!

Avery Awards
And now to close with some Odyssey news. The Time Has Come (no pun intended) for the Avery Awards!

Avery Awards


Album 69: Best Kept Secrets and Album 70: Finding A Way have both been fully released. That means that it is time to be voting for the Avery Awards! Voting is up on the latest episode of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast. You can vote for who you think was the best actress, actor, scene, overall episode, surprising moment, and more! Be sure to visit the page for the latest episode of the Official Podcast and cast your votes today!

Whew, this was a lot. There seems to be a lot of books being released these days. Any thoughts on any of these news items? What do you plan to vote for in the Avery Awards? Be sure to leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’ll be making another post as soon as I am able… hopefully something other than news. (I’ve been saying that for a while, haven’t I?)

-Signed, Polehaus53