Archaia to Republish Classic Fraggle Rock Comics

James Gannon - Word broke out last week that Archaia Comics, the studio behind various adaptions of Jim Henson properties, is going to reprint the old 1980’s Marvel comics Fraggle Rock series into graphic novels.

Among the stories being reprinted are “The Magic Time Machine,” “The Trouble With Being #1,” “The Monster That Could Be Anything” and “The Doozer Who Wanted to Be a Fraggle.” All those and more will be bound in a softcover book retailing for $9.95. Fraggle Rock Classics vol. 1 will be available on August 31, 2011. (via ToughPigs)

 

While I admit the 80’s Marvel Fraggle comics weren’t the greatest thing, I still find this a great boon to fankind! Here’s why:

1)      These have been long out of print, and finding them at comic stores is a roll of the dice. I was lucky enough to find one issue (reprint of #5, "The Mean Genie" episode adaptation) for a buck a few years back, but it’s safe to assume you’re probably NOT going to walk into your local comic shop and find them. And if you do, they’re probably not going to be in good condition or have the complete collection. 

2)      Speaking of bad condition, these comics will be digitally remastered, recolored, and nice and polished.  Anyone who has early 80’s comics can vouch for me, they tend to deteriorate. They had to use newsprint stock paper and very greasy ink that would bleed through the paper and make the artwork look muddy and murky. And that’s even before the paper yellowed and the ink rubbed off onto other pages. Marie Severin’s Fraggle Rock comic art is spectacular, and needs to shine. The cleanup will do it worlds of good. Face it, the digitally printed, glossy stock of today’s comics spoiled us. And for good reason.

3)      Above all, HEY! It’s Fraggle Rock! What Muppet collector wouldn’t want more Fraggle stuff to collect? And at a reasonable 10 bucks too!

This is what I’ve been calling for since the Great Muppet Comic explosion. Graphic novel reprints of long lost, hard to find material, all remastered to look all sparkling clean and beautiful. I wish that Marvel/Disney takes the hint and clean up and rerelease the Muppet Babies comics in due time. If nothing else, I could see Archaia reprinting the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth comic adaptions published by Marvel as well. I also hope this means that the Fraggles will be a staple of the Jim Henson Company/Archaia Publishing license that they’ll revisit in time with new stories and issues. Having the old comics is great, but having new comics is even better.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock Volume 2 - Issue 3

 
James Gannon - What comic can come out a month early the second issue, and a month late the third and let it not detract at all from its super-coolness? Why, Archaia’s Fraggle Rock Volume 2 - Issue 3 of course! Okay... you find a way to address that without sounding like it matters.

The issue leads off with “My Gift is My Song” by Katie Cook. She usually handles the cute little craft activities at the end, and this is her first story since Volume 1 - Issue 1, and her first lead over all. Much like Langridge made the Muppet designs completely his own, so does Katie, giving them a fresh, bubbly, cute but not sickeningly so look that completely fits the characters. I especially like how she handled the Trash Heap, bringing out the character’s inner sweetness. She does look quite a bit different, but there’s something so unique about the design, yet keeping with the character (though, she does tend to move around a bit more, almost slug-like). Story-wise, we get Boober, worrying as always. This time, he wants to give a gift that comes from deep within him to Mokey... and someone else decided to give her socks. The title... well, aside from being an Elton John reference, kinda acts as a spoiler, but we finally get the first comic appearance of Cantus and his wandering band of Minstrels. Everyone from Storyteller Fraggle to Convincin’ John appeared before, but this is the first (and hopefully not only) time we got to see Cantus grace the pages of this fine publication.

Another great Traveling Matt postcard gets read by Gobo in “Shopping with Silly Creatures” (Katie Strickland/Lindsay Cibos ). Matt, curious about the Silly Creatures’ shopping habits infiltrates a Laundromat, and misunderstands things only the way he can. There’s a great aside by Boober to make sure the Fraggles misunderstand the point, as it should be. These are so close to the show, I can’t help but hear the familiar background music that accompanies the show segments as I read.

Finally, my favorite of the already amazing bunch, “Red’s Chomp-a-Thon” (Paul Morrissey/Nichol Ashworth). Being jealous of a Doozer winning a Doozer construction competition, and therefore not being the center of attention, Red Fraggle comes up with another cockamamie contest for to win for herself. A Doozer stick eating contest, mutually benefiting Red and the Doozers (who have to construct things for them to eat).  Red, being Red, makes sure to pick the weakest competition (her friends, who each have a different problem with the game) so she’s bound to win. Only there’s one Fraggle who she purposely ignored as a contestant, Large Marvin. I swear, Large Marvin has been in more comics than episodes of the show at this point. Hilarity ensues when the World’s Oldest Fraggle is the judge. Above all, a madcap, Fraggley end to an amazing volume.

What more can I say that I haven’t said five other times already? The comic is great, the art is great, the stories are great... so much time and care went to making this, they did a good thing making this an anthology series, differencing it from The Muppet Show Comic Book and Muppet Classics line. The only thing I can add is that I really hope this isn’t the end completely. Archaia’s got big plans for The Dark Crystal and A Tale of Sand (resurrecting a long-lost Henson screenplay), but I hope they consider at least one more volume of Fraggle Amazingness. If nothing else, these wonderfully done, original stories and beautiful art should outnumber the slapdash, contractual obligation “Oh, it’s just merchandise” Marvel comics of the 1980’s (I don't have anything against Marvel, but the Muppet Babies series was far superior as you'll see sometime).  What an injustice that would be if they didn’t.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: ToughPigs Fraggle #3 Preview and Muppets Going Marvel

Please forgive the lack of excitement in today's article due to limited internet connectivity and issues therein at the house of Ryan.

Our good friends over at ToughPigs (so called because they don't seem to mind us piggy-backing off them) have posted an exclusive preview of the upcoming third issue of the Fraggle Rock Comic Book Volume 2. Check out the awesome preview for this issue which includes contributions from Katie Cook (one of our favorites), Paul Morrissey, and Nichol Ashworth. Plus, Cantus is on the B-Cover. It doesn't get much better than that! The Fraggle Rock Comic Book Volume 2 Issue #3 will be available this Wednesday, April 13th at comic book stores near you!

Other big news in the world of comic books was revealed today as Newsarama revealed that Marvel Comics (owned by Disney) will be reprinting issues of The Muppet Show Comic Book by Roger Langridge, starting with the first four issues ("Meet the Muppets") under the new title Disney • Muppets Present: Meet the Muppets. Since BOOM! Studios lost the Muppet license (and most of its other Disney licenses), the idea of Muppets going to Marvel has been tossed around more than once as a viable option. Oddly enough, the collection will be packaged in a "Giant-Sized" comic with dimensions of 8" x 10 3/4", much different from the size of BOOM!'s comics. It is unknown at this time which, if any, of the other Muppet comics Marvel will reprint or if new comic stories will be written under the Marvel banner. Only time will tell! The new Marvel compilation will be released in July.

Be sure to check back later this week when our own James Gannon writes to us with his thoughts on the Muppets' move to Marvel.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock Comic Book, Volume 2 Issue 2

Fraggle Rock Comic Book 

Volume 2, Issue 2

James Gannon - When I say I can’t wait for the next issue of Fraggle Rock, I don’t mean it that literally. Only a week after Issue 1 of Volume 2 was released, Issue 2 came out. Now, to my understanding, this was just a goof up with the distributor, and we should expect the next issue back on schedule in two months. But let’s get on with the show anyway.

This issue opens up with one of the greatest stories that appeared in the comics, “The Meaning of Life” (Joe LeFavi/ Heidi Arnold). Gobo finds his Uncle Matt’s old journal, and reads an entry about the one quest Matt could never complete. It is said that whoever completes the journey will find the meaning of life, and Gobo feels such an important exploration should fall onto him. His friends reluctantly follow suit, caring mostly about the prestige they’d likely get for making that discovery (though Boober comes along to make sure their clothes don’t get horrible stains on them). Ultimately, they discover such discovery comes with an ultimate price.

Now, I’ve been saying since the first issue that the stories all feel so real to the characters and themes, it’s like reading lost episode scripts. Even that odd little story where Red invents the Segway Scooter felt like a throwaway gag from the show. This story especially felt like a long lost episode, and it had a heartfelt, emotional deepness some of the best episodes of Fraggle Rock have. It even managed to have a similarly themed Uncle Matt postcard, and Gobo sings a few lines of “Follow Me” as well. All that was missing was the Doc and Sprocket wraparound. Heidi adds to the emotional thrill ride with great Fraggle expressions, giving them more animated facial expressions and even tears. All and all, a powerful story with the heart and soul of Fraggle Rock.

Later, Gobo tells scary stories in “The Fraggle Who Cried Monster” (Jason M. Burns/Chandra Free).   Stories so scary, Boober can’t sleep and suddenly sees monsters. Or is it just some character we’ve seen before? Finally, “The Perfect Words” (Tim Beedle/Ross Campbell) escape Mokey when she tries to compose the perfect poem to describe her relationship with the other four. She works so hard, her eyes bug out, causing her to look like one of those Fraggle plush released by Tomy (couldn’t help that reference). And Katie Cook shows you how to make fingerprint Fraggle art. Of course, the word “fingerprint” was too great of a jinx for this comic collector, so I quickly shoved the comic back in the bag and hid it in the back of my closet before it were to further depreciate in value.

Something I’ve noticed about this go around, the stories so far focus exclusively on the Fraggle Five. While in the first volume, there was occasionally a short about the Doozers or the Gorgs, this one just focuses on the core characters. The strange thing is, covers for Issue 1 (David Peterson) and Issue 2 (Heidi Arnold) both feature Junior Gorg, and he’s also in the inside front cover. He has yet to make an appearance so far (Ma gets a one panel cameo in last issue’s laundry story). These are still great stories, but I hope to see the Doozers and Gorgs in the next issue. Also of note, there are a lot of references to past episodes in this issue, so keep an eye out for them.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock Comic Book, Volume 2 Issue 1

Fraggle Rock Comic Book

Volume 2, Issue 1

James Gannon - It’s been a month after the Muppet Classics line ended with Muppet Sherlock Holmes and several after the end of "Muppet Mash," but thankfully the void has been filled with glorious news. Archaia’s Fraggle Rock Comic Book has started up again, and with the same amount of Fraggley wonder and amazement as the last volume.

This issue starts with an intriguing story written by Grace Randolph (Muppet Peter Pan) and illustrated Chris Lie, “Wembley and the Great Dream-Capade!”  Wembley can’t sleep. Instead of dreaming, he sees nothingness, all the while hearing how great the other Fraggles’ dreams were. So Gobo, Red, Mokey, and Boober decide to help him out by sharing their dreams. There’s even an appearance by a wonderfully handled (in both art and writing) Trash Heap. And I’m sure she references a past episode. You’ll know what I mean when you read it. Other than a few issues with eyes on certain Fraggles (Red has strange eyelids in one panel for instance), the art fits perfectly and has a wonderful storybook feel.

Of course, we also get two more wonderful shorts as in every issue. “Boober and the Ghastly Stain” (written by Jake Forbes, illustrated by Mark Simmons) shows the almost uncharacteristically brave strides Boober will go to in order to remove a superstain from Gobo’s shirt. That’s what I call obsessive compulsive motivation! And there’s even a very Fraggley original song in there too. Not since Roger Langridge have I seen the riskiness of putting music in a visual medium pulled off so well.

Boober’s back to his cowardly ways in “Brave Sir Wembley” (written by Joe LeFavi, illustrated by Cory Godbey), where he psyches out Wembley on his way to pick up a postcard for Gobo and Storyteller. Both with such wonderful varying art, but unifying Fraggle themes. And let’s not forget Katie Cook’s activity corner. We get a standard coloring page (well drawn, though) but we also get Red Fraggle’s tips on stretching before exercise. Not only helpful, but in character as well. I’ve always felt meh about comic activity pages (especially in Muppet Sherlock Holmes) but there’s something about the use of them in the Fraggle comics that make them work.  Maybe the kid’s book shape and size of these comics?

I always felt that Fraggle Rock was a very special series (more so than even Sesame Street or The Muppet Show), and it’s good to know that four issues later, all contributors channel what made it great into every story. In every review I state that I’ve read some slapdash, generic comic adaptations of cartoons and TV characters. I’ve even read some that were spot on, but missing something intangible.  But with The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock comics we’ve seen recently, it does a Henson fan proud to see them flawlessly adapted in comic form, even taking advantage of the new medium. There is a concern that, by renumbering them starting back with one, some buyers may get confused, especially since each issue has multiple covers. A Volume 2 tag would have been helpful. I really, truly hope these do well enough to get us Volume 3. It would be an injustice if this didn’t outlast the Marvel series from the 80’s.






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: January 11, 2011

Archaia Comics will be releasing its second volume of the Fraggle Rock Comic Book on January 19th (next Wednesday). Issue #1 has stories written by Grace Randolph (Muppet Peter Pan), Jake Forbes, and Joe LeFavi and art by Chris Lie, Mark Simmons, Cory Godbey, and Katie Cook. One of the covers is done by the amazingly talented David Petersen (see right). Our good friends at ToughPigs.com have an exclusive preview of the first issue!

The Tonner Doll Company is releasing even more high-end Muppet dolls. This time featuring Miss Piggy and Kermit as road hogs--of the biker kind. The "Hog Wild Miss Piggy" doll is available for $199.99 and the "Wild Frogs Kermit" doll is available for $69.99.

Jim Henson will be a major part of the television program Pioneers of Television on PBS. The program airs on Tuesday, February 8th at 8:00 EST (but you may want to check your local listings anyhow). The DVD of the program will also be available the same day for purchase on the PBS website.

The New York Post has a new spotlight on Kevin Clash, Elmo, and the two filmmakers working on Clash's documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. The article is a great spotlight on Kevin and has some great information about the upcoming documentary debuting at the Sundance Film Festival.

Our good friends at ToughPigs have linked us to a great deal of awesome old Muppet appearances featuring Miss Piggy, Kermit, Clifford, and Bear (from the Big Blue House, of course). Be sure to watch the videos because, quite frankly, they're wonderful (go figure). It'll take up about an hour or so of your time, but I promise you it is SO worth it. Enjoy!

Lastly, the fine folks at Ain't It Cool News have named The Muppets their most anticipated film of 2011, which, quite frankly, is a rather big deal. The article they wrote includes a huge, touching look into their fandom of The Muppets and Jim Henson. It's awesome and reminds me of something one of us would write... so I highly recommend enjoying it and reading it!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: News Update

The great folks over at Archaia Comics made the announcement official on Thursday that the Fraggle Rock Comic Book series will be continuing with a second series. The second installment will be sticking with the same format as the first three issues--one long story and two shorter stories in one book, along with activity pages such as "Draw Your Own Fraggle." Click the link above to read a great interview Comic Book Resources conducted with Archaia's Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy about the Fraggles.

Comic Book Resources also has coverage of the Muppets and Roger Langridge spotlight panel at Comic Con. Langridge talks about his beginnings with The Muppet Show Comic Book and Disney Adventure Magazine and sheds some light onto his creative process and what is to come from The Muppet Show Comic Book in the future. (And the article writer misspells Fozzie... but that's another story.)

In other comic news, friend of the blog Amy Mebberson, "Muppet Peter Pan" and "The Muppet Show: Family Reunion" artist, has some awesome pictures on her blog, My Blue Sky, from her time at Comic-Con--including she and Roger Langridge with homemade Kermit and Gonzo puppets!











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: July 9, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: July 9, 2010

It was announced this morning that the Sesame Workshop special, "When Families Grieve" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. The special that starred Katie Couric and Elmo, which showed families some coping mechanisms for dealing with the loss of a loved one, was nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Children's Program. Its only competition is Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, so there is a good chance that Sesame Workshop will be bringing home yet another shiny statue to put on the mantle.

If you're planning to attend the San Diego Comic Con this year, be sure to stop by Archaia Comics' booth. According to Comic Book Resources, Archaia will be hosting five panels at this year's convention, one of which, on Sunday, July 25th, is dedicated to their work with The Jim Henson Company. The panel is scheduled to discuss the Fraggle Rock comic series, what's next for Archaia's partnership with Henson, and upcoming work with the worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Guests on the panel include some of the Fraggle Rock Comic Book team (including editor Tim Beedle) and Brian Froud, who worked with Jim Henson to develop The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. So if you're in the San Diego area and plan to attend Comic Con 2010, be sure to stop by Archaia's presentation!

Renowned Disney sculptor and artist Jim Shore is taking on The Muppets! The artist has sculpted stone resin figures of Animal, Statler and Waldorf, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, and Kermit, on sale now. The figures cost $40  each ($50 for Statler and Waldorf), plus shipping, and seem to be great quality and look pretty darn good too.

A new set of Vinylmation Disney pins is now available at the Disney Parks. The set includes Vinylmation pins of Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Statler, Waldorf, Bunsen, and Beaker, and a mystery pin that can be either Bean Bunny, Sweetums, Rowlf, Rizzo, or The Swedish Chef. These pins are not only a lot cheaper than buying the Vinylmation figures, but they're also a lot easier to find.

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock #3

 Fraggle Rock Comic Book #3

Comic Book Review

 

James Gannon - It really has been a treat, hasn’t it? For the past three months, we’ve had two Muppet comics earlier in the month, while a Fraggle Rock comic has rounded it out. Having a rough week, this issue really made my day, I can assure you. Especially when you see what Fraggle Rock #3 has in store.  

The lead story, through the magic of just being an illustration, as opposed to the logistics nightmare the puppet building and filming would be for the actual show, two sanctions of Fraggle Rock that have  never met, finally do. That’s right; Doozers and Gorgs. The whole issue features stories mainly focusing on them. All is wrong in Fraggle Rock when the Doozers, and more importantly, their Doozer sticks, are nowhere to be found. Even Large Marvin is stumped, and if he can’t find food, you know something’s up. Turns out, all the Doozers, led by Cotterpin, are erecting the grandest Doozer stick construction ever… right on the Gorgs’ property. There is a little scale cheating, whereas the Fraggles are rat sized to the Gorgs, the Doozers really should be the relative size of a large beetle. But that should be of no concern. After all, this scenario feels like a story that very well could have been used on the show, if only it weren’t so complicated in scale and scope for them to actually have done.

Ever wonder what it’s like for Doozers to throw a party? The second comic solves that mystery. Cotterpin introduces this foreign concept something she obviously learned from the Fraggles. Finally, Junior Gorg tries and fails at building the better Fraggle Trap. Oh, and we get not only one, but two different Katie Cook activities, one that actually uses RADISHES!

This is the last of a three-part miniseries. The plan is to release further issues and put three issues into a graphic novel collection, similar to BOOM!’s Muppet (and entire Disney) line up. It was revealed in ToughPigs' interview with editor Tim Beedle that the next miniseries would begin in October.  

I like to think that they will keep the same or a similar format, but somehow I’d like them to do things a little different (as I said in an earlier review).  Maybe having all three comics connect with a common theme like this one kinda did with the Doozer and Gorg stories. And maybe mix it up, with a short comic lead in before the main story. Whatever they do, I really hope they continue with these. They have been amazing so far.

Oh, and a quick shout out to this issues two contributors that have previously worked on BOOM! Muppet comics. Amy Mebberson’s B cover will make you wish that they could pull her away from the Muppet Classics and Muppet Show comics to do some more Fraggle comic art. Grace Randolph is just as adept at working with the Doozers and Fraggles as she is with Kermit, Piggy and company. I’d love to see other Muppet comic artists and writers contribute to this anthology series as well. If there’s one thing I can say the Fraggle Rock comic has over the Muppets is that each and every issue gives you more takes on the characters, in both and artistic and writing sense.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock #2

Fraggle Rock Comic Book #2

James Gannon - I have to be brutally honest here, due to the fact that Fraggle Rock was a cable show, a premium station no less, it took me almost 20 years to finally see it on DVD. Looking at it with a more critical adult eye, you can pick apart things you can truly appreciate and see how deep the program really is. And those same great things, I feel, are in these Fraggle Rock comics by Archaia Comics. As I said last time, there is just no comparison between these and the admittedly weak Marvel Comics series. I almost wish it was possible to send a copy to my childhood self so I could really get the Fraggle experience. These seem to capture the series even better than the pretty good but not the same thing cartoon series I had to make do with.

The first issue started with a bang, and the second one continues with it. This comic series does something that the last one didn’t: Doc appears fully drawn in the first story. Doc did appear in the other comic, but similar to his animated counterpart, his face wasn’t shown. Yeah, just like Nanny in Muppet Babies. Doc takes in a stray kitten until he can find the owner. A fight between the cat and Sprocket breaks out, causing the cat to flee into the Rock. Naturally, the monster from Outer Space causes panic, especially since it seems to hang around Wembely. And each Fraggle deals with getting rid of it their own way, leaving Mokey to get distracted and start writing poetry. This is really a story line that could very easily have been lifted from the show itself, featuring dead on character personalities and great painterly art.

Rounding out the issue, we get two more short comics. In the first story, Gobo gets a postcard from Uncle Matt where he encounters garbage and recycling trucks for the first time. I really hope this is a recurring segment. Even though he was on the B cover of issue 1, Uncle Matt was nowhere to be found inside. He’s pretty much my favorite character outside of the main five, and it’s his wonderful observations that are the reason why. And it’s executed wonderfully here, mimicking the TV series perfectly. Closing the issue off, Wembley gets stage fright, causing Convincing John to tell about his origin. Or rather, sing about it in his signature tune. Music in comics rarely works, unless you know the song’s tune of course. Though, if it is coming from Convincing John himself, you wonder if it actually is true. And of course, a cute little activity for the younglings, Mokey’s instructions for a mock Doozer tower construction (though I’m still waiting for someone to devise something so I could make a real one).

I usually close with a critique of the art, but I find it would take far too long at this point. They ALL do a great job and they all have their different style. And I always like to see that in an anthology series like Fraggle Rock is.  Jake Myler, Joanna Estep, and Fernando Pinto all adapt Fraggle Rock into different styles that are perfectly fitting with the characters and the artists themselves, and Leigh Dragoon, Adrianne Ambrose, and Neil Kleid clearly know the show and characters inside out and upside down. This is indeed a Fraggle Rock comic, and not a comic that just so happens to have Fraggle Rock in it. I will say this though… I like the idea of two short stories and one long, but I have to wonder... Wouldn’t it be something to see them mix the format up a bit, leading and ending with a short comic, while the main story is tucked in the middle?  I have to say, if the two shorter stories are broken up, it might have a different flow, provided it’s not in every issue.  Ah well, I can always read the comic that way myself.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock #1

Before we get started with the regularly scheduled comic book review, I have to point out something. Yesterday, our good friends at ToughPigs posted five page previews for both The Muppet Show Comic Book #5 and Muppet King Arthur #4.

\I would like to direct your attention to page 5 of the Muppet King Arthur preview. First frame. Lower right corner. See it? YES! It's Angus McGonagle the Argyle Gargoyle who Gargles Gershwin! As fans of the blog are well aware, Angus has become a sort of mascot for our interviews with Muppet comic artists and writers. Our good friend, the extremely talented James Silvani answered the call (which was a muffled gargle) and brought Angus to life in glorious 2D!

So anyway... James Silvani is awesome! He asked me to tell my readers to "pick up the issue on Wednesday and all of your gargling gargoyle dreams will be answered." Also, be sure to check out James' upcoming Darkwing Duck comic series, which is released in June from BOOM! Studios, as well!


We now return you to your regularly scheduled Muppet Comic Mondays article.

James Gannon - What a time to live in. Not only do we get a regular Muppet Show based comic (as well as 4 issue literary miniseries sides), but now we even have a Fraggle Rock comic as well.

There is a difference, though. While the Muppets have had comics, a comic strip, 2 hard bound storybook type comics, and a recurring series of parody comics in Muppet Magazine, they never had a real regular comic book series until now (I, of course, don’t count The Muppets Take Manhattan movie adaption, and Muppet Babies is something different entirely). The Fraggles have. An 8 issue Marvel comic series was printed in 1985. However, the writing was so lacking that they apparently decided to stick to the worst thing about outside media based comics… the dreaded adaptations of TV episodes. Not terrible for people without HBO who didn’t see the series, but a bother to people who have. For the record, I say Marie Severin’s artwork was leaps and bounds better than the writing. I’d actually compare the two, but there’s no contest.

Archaia Comics, the company behind the 2010 series of Fraggle comics, have brought their A game and made an ACTUAL comic featuring ACTUAL original stories. While Boom’s Muppet lineup features different artists and writers for its back up literary series (and the occasional “guest artists” for the main series), Fraggle Rock has several different writers and artists in a single issue. This is something I actually prefer in a comic based on outside media because you get to see different artistic interpretations of the characters. And what a variation we get. Jeff Stokely’s semi-realism that really gets the puppet look down (though, it seems a bit stiff in some places, especially when he is capable of some great movement and expression. I especially like his interpretation of the Trash Heap), Katie Cook’s cartoonification of the characters, giving them a nice flow of cartoony movement, and the woodcut like style of Jeffrey Brown. They all fit very nicely and none seem to be out of place for the writing as each compliment their stories nicely. Indeed, Katie and Jeffery wrote and illustrated their own stories here.

As for those stories, this is presented in an anthology style format. One longer story, two shorter ones. First up, Gobo gets dared by Red to spend one night out in the Gorg’s garden, after she loses it when Gobo brings up his uncle’s exploration. In the first short story, Red invents a new game when silly creature technology falls into the Rock (dropped by Junior Gorg, of course). The second short features Red quite literally struck by inspiration, and (with Cotterpin’s help) invents a device that will change the way Fraggles live (at least, to her). This really seems to be an issue that focuses on Red, so I’d say that subsequent issues might also focus on one character. Either that or the writers get that Red is the most outspoken and proactive of the group. The writing here is very true to character (very important in these sort of comics), even managing to sneak in Gobo’s Canadian “eh” in the first story. And you’ll see quite a few favorites in these stories.  Marjory (complete with Philo and Gunge) and Cotterpin, you can also expect Sprocket.  But even Large Marvin gets a small speaking role. 

Unlike The Muppet Show Comic Book, this doesn’t so much give the feel that you’re watching an episode of Fraggle Rock so much as you get the feel that you’re seeing smaller, more candid moments of the characters.  It doesn’t need all the same segments and structure that the show did to make it great, and there’s no attempt at trying to get musical number in. But the stories themselves FEEL like they’re right out of the show (sans the Doc framing devices and Uncle Matt’s Postcards), I can’t really remember Red being an inventor, but it works so well here I didn’t even notice.

Even the odd 8 x 8 shape (think those larger paperback Golden Books) gives the comics a nice feel. Though, as a comic book collector, it’s a pain in the neck to find something to protect it. The paper stock is very high quality too. It’s much sturdier than the average comic, and when you have something as kid friendly as this, that’s important. There’s even a better use of the inside covers than the Muppet comics; instead of just reusing art from the inside of the book, the inside back has a nice little activity. Now, I’m not really big on activities in comic books if they’re inside in place of a story, but the inside back cover seems like a great place for it. This time, we’re treated to Mokey (with Katie Cook as the Ghost-artist) giving a Doozer drawing lesson.

Archaia Comics are committed to only three issues at this point (plus the half comic that was given out for Free Comic Book Day on May 1^st), but I would definitely buy this every month if it becomes successful enough to go beyond the miniseries point (much like The Muppet Show Comic Book did).

These Muppet and Fraggle comics are exactly what comic book versions of outside media are SUPPOSED to be like.  Now who’s arm at Sesame Workshop do we have to twist to get a Sesame Street comic around here?

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier