Reviews from the Muppet Back-Issue Bin: Muppet Babies Comics #16

James Gannon - A while back, I discovered a Star Comics Digest that had a great old Muppet Babies comic reprinted in between some pretty mediocre/decen comics. Since then, I vowed I'd dig up the old Muppet Babies comics I had and review them right here. I cleaned that closet out and I’m ready to start, so I’ll begin with my favorite issue, #16.

Star Comics Digest Muppet Babies Issue #16

"We Spy" (or "The Spy in Striped Socks!"):   Seems that the Muppet Babies have taken a shine to pretending that they’re secret agents. But when Nanny declines to join in their games to pick up a few things, they get suspicious that she really IS a secret agent.  Animal takes the term undercover literally, tosses a large blanket over Kermit, and sets off the famous Muppet Babies fantasy sequence. Kermit becomes agent Double O-F (OOF), and is sent on a mission to track down the stripy socks wearing Agent "N," who was last seen at a Secrets Convention. There, Kermit meets up with Mata Piggy (who is later revealed to be Agent OOP), who shows how the world leaders trade their secrets. Dr. Gonzo is outside with a faster than sight airplane that Kermit, frankly, can’t see. A familiar pair of stripy socks walks by, causing Kermit to think he’s following Agent "N," but in reality is the evil Agent "V" ("as in villain"), who wants the secrets of the world to be made public (insert Wikileaks joke). After a non-violent kid friendly struggle, Agent V is captured, the secret files are accidentally dropped by Kermit into the sea ("At least they’re still secret," he adds), and Agent V vows revenge on "N." Of course, it’s hard to find a secret agent only recognized by a certain pair of socks when everyone at the Convention is wearing them. Piggy romantically advances on a reluctant Kermit, as she’s known to do, and the fantasy ends. There are some clever references to spy media, including Kermit’s Maxwell Smart style shoe phone, but none of those obvious James Bond catchphrases (thank goodness). And some nice little background gags, courtesy of penciller Marie Severin (including a romantic candle lit dinner between Khomeini and Quadaffi... this WAS written in the 1980’s, after all).

The Big Mess-Take:   Nanny enters another splash panel to ask what the babies are doing (just like in the last comic!), this time to comment on the huge mess they’ve made during a pillow fight. After telling them to clean up the mess, Piggy ponders, "There’s got to be someplace where people appreciate a good mess." And to the surprise of no one, Gonzo knows. He leads the rest of the babies into the closet to the Center for Mess Enlightenment, a place where they’re encouraged to create the biggest mess possible. After making a huge disaster area out of a test kitchen and a test living room, they are given low scores. The head of the center, a nameless human dressed in stereotypical artist clothes, bemoans, "No one can make a good mess anymore!  It’s becoming a lost art." While he claims to see a raw talent in Animal, he praises Gonzo’s inspiration. Gonzo then proceeds to turn on a fan and create a perfect 10 worthy pigsty. Unfortunately, his friends get lost in the ruckus, causing him to frantically search, fall out a clothes basket, and break the fantasy. Piggy insists that they have to clean up this even bigger new mess they started, and Gonzo agrees. "We need to know where everything is so we can mess it up another day," he says.

Overall, this is very similar to the style of the cartoon series, with some small changes. The fantasy sequence often is the story, unlike the show using the fantasy sequences in context of the story. Plus, there isn’t any educational or social values content like most of the episodes have. The character personalities seem pretty genuine from the show, though Fozzie talks exclusively in puns. Laura Hitchcock manages to keep the comic as imaginative and clever as the show is, but also adapts it to work in comic form. Marie Severin’s artwork is perfectly Muppety, even making some of the characters look more puppet like than the animators ever did (Kermit’s expressions in the first comic are priceless). As I said last time, the art unfortunately suffer the technology of the time, and it would be great to see a well done digitally colored reprint to really get the art to shine.

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

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

The Muppets Move to Marvel and James Gannon is Not Happy

The opinions of our friend James Gannon do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Muppet Mindset as a whole. As always, we attempt to showcase all sides of the spectrum, so we are happy to display James' thoughts on Marvel's republishing of The Muppet Show Comic Book.

James Gannon - Months ago, BOOM! Studios lost the license to and stopped publishing The Muppet Show Comic Book and the Muppet Classics series. Word of this broke glacier slow, giving fans faint and dying hope that the last four part story arc by Roger Langride, "The Four Seasons," would still be published at some point. The final nail in the coffin was an announcement Monday, which said Marvel would be publishing the Muppet Comics. However, instead of publishing the end of the series and new, future issues, the announcement was that the first four stories of the “Meet the Muppets” arc would be republished (for fourth time now) in a kiddy friendly magazine. To quote Charity Bazaar of the cartoon series Histeria!, “I’m not happy.” Really, if this wasn’t a family site, I’d let loose like a drunken sailor who dropped a large hammer on his foot. Let’s see if I can get through this rationally.

Sure, this is a boon to all of those who missed out on the first issues, the news stand reprints, and the graphic novel (and if you did, you’re either in another country, absolutely broke, or don’t care), but to someone like me who did everything he could to get every single issue since it was released, this couldn’t be a bigger insult.  Disney did announce the same fate with its Pixar titles, also previously published under BOOM!, cancelling the license and moving to Marvel to only reprint old stories--which makes me glad I didn’t get involved with The Incredibles comic like I wanted to (that ended mid-story). Now, I could put all the cute refercens to Mr. Spock saying “Highly illogical, Captain,” but this isn’t the time for sarcastic jokes (plus, I never even watched Star Trek). Why would anyone take the license away from a company that was doing a great job on all counts to bring the license to a company (granted, one they own) that has its own worldwide instantly recognizable characters they have to kill off and revive? Marvel couldn’t even spell Fozzie’s name right in the press release. Does that sound like they care the way BOOM! cared? Somehow, I’m suspicious that the Muppet and Pixar license was married to each other. Even then, BOOM! was doing great stuff with Pixar titles reprints in magazines can’t offer.

Now, I admit, I’ve moved on from the disappointing ending of Muppet comics (Muppet Sherlock Holmes, as decent as it was, was unsatisfying as the end of an era). I get the same excitement over their new Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck (a personal favorite cartoon) series, and I’m looking forward to their DuckTales series--I strongly suggest you all check these out--but the least Disney could have done, however, is to have granted BOOM! the extension (as something went down with Roger, and the comic was delayed) and had the last arc published before the magazine came out. I mean, I know it’s late and you want to close the restaurant, but come on! Let me order dessert first before you try to push me out the door. We would have all accepted the fact the comics were ending if we saw the end. 

That’s really the worst part. They have the prime opportunity to finally print that, and they blow it to try to “re-introduce” the characters before the movie for kids. That’s the only bright spot in this whole mess, at LEAST it can help out the movie a little.

Meanwhile, there’s a Phineas and Ferb magazine that runs original comics. New stories, new material. Who here wouldn’t rather see new Muppet stories and art being produced instead of just getting the same stuff in a different format? That’s what the TV series and movies on DVD are for. The only advantage I can see is not getting more fingerprints on the comics if I want to reread them. I bet the only extras will be simple kid’s word searches or something. That’s no improvement. And even if these do lead to further magazines, if this is quarterly, it will take them two years to get to the unpublished arc.

Over all, other than consolidation and going around the middle man as far as licensing goes, there is NO real advantage to pulling the license from BOOM! when they were doing a MUCH better job with it. The Muppet Show Comic Book got me back into caring about comic books again. Thanks for taking that away.

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

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Sherlock Holmes #4

Muppet Sherlock Holmes #4

"Musgrove Ritual"

Written by Patrick Storck

Illustrated by Amy Mebberson

James Gannon - And so we come to the end of the Muppet Sherlock Holmes with Issue 4, "Musgrove Ritual." Now, I’m doing things a bit different. Rather than a brief rundown of a plot, I’m just going to go right into the opinion part, referring to certain plot points. First off, I STILL didn’t manage to read any Sherlocks in the past four months (I can’t find my old library card), but I am looking up important plot points so I can point a few things out. I did see that new PBS series, though.

Anyway, Sherlock must solve the mysterious disappearance of a butler with an old cryptic message as the only clue. Unlike the last two issues, this story focuses almost exclusively on actual detective work and jokes therein. And I feel that’s what made this issue, as well as the first, strong. Issue 2 fell into infiltration gags fast and long, and issue 3 spent more time mocking interoffice politics than real crime solving, but managed to get the job done near the end anyway. Also, we see Kermit’s Inspector LeStrade character batting cleanup for Sherlock, pointing to very obvious clues in a portrait and generally reacting negatively to Sherlock’s eccentricity. Again, something that was explored in the first issue that sort of petered out in the second and third. Kermit almost seemed like a third wheel in those issues, going with Sherlock’s plans, and by no means reluctantly. And there are some clever character related gags in this issue, like Fozzie’s confusion about how it’s a period piece. It really seems this issue is what the last two SHOULD have been.

I don’t know if I’d call this a spoiler, but... well, this issue FINALLY introduces the character of Moriarty (Uncle Deadly) whom they were foreshadowing at the end of the first issue. Apparently the events of the first three issues were all part of his massive conspiracy. His appearance as the head of the Red Headed League is revealed to be an alias. Unfortunately, this issue is also a mash up of two Sherlock Holmes stories, the second one being “The Adventures of the Final Problem” where in... well, Moriarty makes his final appearance. So basically, he reveals himself at the very end of the series, just before everything’s over. It’s a shame Moriarty didn’t reveal himself sooner, giving this last issue a sharper edge for a cliff hanger.

All things considered, this was a pretty good mini-series, but so much kept it from being great. I’d say quite the opposite happened with Muppet Robin Hood than with this series. In that comic, it almost seems like it was played straight, and the jokes and Muppety bits were awkwardly added in, only to finally become solid in the last issue. Here, the action took a back seat to jokes. And if some of them were omitted, there would have been a better balance between comedy and action. I did really enjoy Sherlock being both oblivious AND competent, and wish that was played out a little more. After all, a parody demands a klutzy version of the character they’re parodying. That said, it’s not that this series seemed rushed as it needed a little more time to gestate, and it’s not so much a blown opportunity as it could have had a LOT more in it. Patrick Storck did a very good job trying to get this series away from the stereotyped Basil Rathbone movie portrayal, and not once in four issues did Gonzo say, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” (Although, that was a staple joke in The Muppet Show Comic Book issue #6) It really seems this should have had a second writer, though, someone to punch stuff up and remind everyone how important the plot was. Muppet King Arthur and Muppet Snow White had multiple writers, and they were the strongest of the Muppet Classics line.

That said, this time I really, REALLY wish this series wasn’t over, or at least that it could be revisited. There was a lot of potential that just didn’t fit into the format chosen. Though I still think the one case per issue format worked. The cases picked seemed to be the weirder, less popular Holmes cases that fit in with the Muppets well, but maybe a more popular case would have been great down the line. I’d love for them to continue this series, but the ending isn’t left all that open. Plus, we have no news on if the Muppet Classics line is continuing or not. That would be a shame, especially since the future of The Muppet Show Comic Book is in limbo.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

We'll Miss You, Mr. Langridge

James Gannon - News broke out last week on Roger Langridge's blog, The Hotel Fred, that he plans to leave The Muppet Show Comic Book. While there are some very personal reasons (which are his own business and I think we should keep it that way), he also feels that it’s time he moved on from the project anyway, feeling he’s done enough with the characters. Highly respectable, since I’m sure everyone would rather be left wanting more than seeing a stale, redundant project done joylessly by all involved (I wish The Simpsons wasn’t the first example that came to my mind).  While I do respect his wishes, I also feel a little uncertain.  After all, there are two obvious and completely different choices BOOM! has to make now. The Muppet Show Comic Book could go on with a different writer and artist, or they could end the comic with the last issue Roger penned. While we still have the Langridge's "Four Seasons" arc to look forward to (which is delayed because of aforementioned personal reasons) I’m just wondering about that future.  

Now, if it were to continue, this question arises... would the new writers and artists have to copy Roger’s style or would they be free to go on doing their own thing? In all my years of reading licensed character comics, I’ve seen some pretty shabby results. Generic situations, poor handling of the characters in writing and art, rigid looking artwork copied off of model sheets (some that actually USED cut and paste features from model sheets), unfaithfulness to the source material, and my personal NOT favorite the “heck with it, let’s just copy a story from the show and take any of the fun parts out if they get in the way” adaptations. Roger’s Muppet Show not only avoided that, but I have rarely seen someone take to the essence of a series AND manage to let his own voice come out at the same time. It was a perfect balance. Roger was free to do as he wished, and I hope the same can be said if they decide to find a replacement. I especially do NOT want to see someone laboriously copy his style character by character. That was a huge problem with the art in the Muppet Robin Hood series. Kermit looked exactly like someone trying to draw like Roger rather than Roger’s Kermit.

If they do decide to end the series on mutual terms, that gets me to wondering. We haven’t heard much about the Muppet Classics line in a while. There have been no plans after Muppet Sherlock Holmes that have been leaked, and one could either assume they have a big surprise, or there’s nothing after it. It would be a shame to see the Muppet titles vanish, as great as they were (for the most part). Frankly, I’m going to be a bit more upset when Darkwing Duck ends, because... well, Darkwing doesn’t have a bunch of viral videos and a movie coming out next year. If they do chose to end the series, though, I’d really like to see another direction taken with the Muppets.  Something that takes them away from the theater entirely, and utilizes more new era characters like Sal, Johnny, Pepe, and Dr. Phil van Neuter (who has yet to make a comic book appearance of any kind).

Don’t get me wrong... like all of you, I actually have no idea what the next step is. Those are both hypothetical scenarios. I really hope that we get to see the Muppet comics continue, be it with a new writer, a new series, or whatever. But in any case, Roger’s madcap, perfect representation of The Muppet Show will be missed, as will his wacky style of art. I was one of the first to actually LIKE that style, and it never needed  to grow on me. So, good luck with whatever is going on, Roger, we all thank you for those wonderful comics that were even better than we deserved.

Ryan Dosier - For over a year, Roger Langridge has been sitting at the helm of the Muppet comic book kingdom being grown by BOOM! Studios and Disney. From his first short comic strip in the now out of print Disney Adventures Magazine, Langridge has always been the go-to guy for Muppet comics--and with good reason! His writing of our favorite characters is better than a lot we've seen since Jerry Juhl stepped down as head writer. He understood the characters almost immediately and it showed through in his wonderful writing and his even more expressive illustrations. The Muppets became zany and expressive in their eyes and facial regions--something that most Muppet fans got used to seeing, but will now have to grow accustomed to not seeing... because Roger Langridge is stepping down from his post as writer/artist of The Muppet Show Comic Book.

The next arc, "The Four Seasons" will be Roger's last on the comic for personal reasons that we should all respect. It's just a crying shame... because he'll be sorely missed. It's truly incredible to think that this little gem of a comic has been going on continuously under Roger Langridge for a staggering 24 issues. Considering the release schedule of most of these issues (monthly), by the time Roger's final issue comes out, we'll have gotten two years of The Muppet Show Comic Book. That's nothing short of staggering for a comic series adapted from a 35 year old television show.

I don't consider it a stretch at all to say that Langridge's comics were one of the greatest Muppet things of 2009 and 2010. They didn't have the immense awesomeness power of, say, guest appearances on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and America's Funniest Home Videos and "Bohemian Rhapsody," but each issue was always consistently wonderful. The art was always gorgeous and expressive and Muppety, and the writing was all of those things and then some. Every month The Muppet Show Comic Book was a great treat to read and enjoy thanks to the hard work and dedication of Roger Langridge and his respect for The Muppets, Jim Henson, and The Muppet Show.

But Langridge's leaving does beg the unfortunate question... What next? Does the comic continue under a new team of writer and artist? Does it change after every arc like the line of Muppet Classics? Or does it, heaven forbid, end all together? My hope is that we see already-established Muppet fans working on the series after Langridge departs. I would love to see the series taken over by Amy Mebberson (Muppet Peter Pan, Family Reunion, Muppet Sherlock Holmes) or James Silvani (Muppet King Arthur) in the art department and Jesse Blaze Snider (Muppet Snow White) handling the writing. Between the three of them, I think we see the best grasp on the Muppets out of anyone. I believe Mebberson and Snider have both expressed their keen interest in taking over the project on their respective Twitter accounts... while Silvani's duties are needed elsewhere in the wonderful Darkwing Duck comic from BOOM! Either way, I just want to see this comic continued and these out-spoken, unbelievably talented Muppet fans are the perfect candidates to do so.

But no matter what happens with The Muppet Show Comic Book, one thing is for sure: Roger Langridge's contribution will never be forgotten. Who can possibly forget that gorgeous cover of the first issue featuring so many Muppets spread out on the page and Kermit's joy to have the whole family back together? The Muppet comics may not always be the biggest or most hailed project in the Muppet stable, but, quite frankly, they should be. Thanks to Roger Langridge, the comics are quality products and probably the best Muppet things you can buy.

Thank you, Roger Langridge. Jim Henson would be immensely proud!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Star Comics #12 - Muppet Babies

James Gannon - This week, as no Muppet comics graced the shelves, I’m gonna do things a little different. I found an interesting item, Star Comics Magazine #12, at a comic shop and picked it up a week ago. Baby Piggy is on the cover, riding a roller coaster with, ironically enough, Flintstones Kids own Freddie Flintstone. Star Comics was a kid-friendly imprint of Mavel Comics. While there were a few original characters like Top Dog, they specialized in licensed character comics, such as Muppet Babies and Fraggle Rock. This was, of course, long before the comic companies decided to just make kid-friendly comics with their own characters, dramatically saving on licensing fees. (Really? Baby Teen Titans?) In 1988, they just absorbed any surviving comics into the general Marvel banner. As this is a Muppet blog, I’m only going into detail about the reprinted Muppet Babies comic, but I’ll give a brief rundown of the others. There are several pretty good Heathcliffs (though I had them all from a Heathcliff Annual I bought years back), a fun early ALF comic (closer to the sitcom than later issues), two surprisingly readable Flintstone Kids comics, and a REALLY REALLY REALLY bad Madballs comic book/infomercial blend which was wall to wall unfunny puns, bad writing, generic characters, and illegible art.

The Muppet Babies comic in question is a reprint of the second story from issue #13, “Out of this World.” The babies are engaging in one of their classic pop culture satire imagination sessions, this time as a parody of Star Trek (completely inconsistent with the one from the show, mind you), and Captain Kermit vows to bring Princess Piggy to her home world. Their spaceship, which suspiciously looks like the Swinetrek and was apparently designed by Fozzie, runs completely on banana peels being slipped on by a robot, which keeps the engine laughing (HEY! I told you Fozzie designed it). Anyway, a “do not push” button is pushed, it jettisons its fuel supply and lands them on a crazy alien world. But, well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it? Anyway, they land on a wacky, comedy based planet called “Jokerville.” (Isn’t that suffix exclusively for cities, not planets?) After greeting them with Banana crème pies (not quite a Magrathean defense mechanism), Gonzo points out they have to have the banana peel fuel they need. So they experience giant chattering teeth, giant plastic snakes, growing squirt flowers, and pun after pun. Stuff you’d expect… Yadda yadda yadda twist ending?  Someone who looked exactly like Fozzie founded the planet. And Animal must be taking a nap, since he’s nowhere in the story.

The story is eh, the writing’s alright, seems like a fantasy sequence right out of the show, the character’s are more or less themselves (as themselves as these generic 80’s kiddy comics go). Bill Prady does a serviceable job, though Laura Hitchcock’s stories were stronger in the ones I’ve recently read. And it was virtually the only thing in the magazine NOT written by Michael Gallagher (he wrote a LOT of Star Comics, but mostly ALF and Heathcliff). What  REALLY stands out is Marie Severin’s artwork. The characters look, dare I say, BETTER than they did on television. Even when detail oriented Toei animated it (don’t get me started on Akom). Even the human inhabitants of Jokerville have a demented almost Muppety, but almost 50’s Mad Magazine look to them. Unfortunately, the 1980’s printing keeps it from shining. The old days of smudgy dots are thankfully long gone, but it really has a curious effect of bleeding and fading (while the paper gets waxy itself) on old comics. The last page of the ALF comic was almost impossible to read. Not to mention the smaller than a manga digest size doesn’t play kindly either, making it pretty hard on the eyes when reading. I almost wish BOOM! would reprint some of the best stories from the Muppet Babies Marvel run in a graphic novel, but with new smooth digital re-coloring so Marie's artwork can shine. Of course, if I choose to review more Muppet Babies comics, I’ll go into greater details.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier