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

News Update: May 7, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: May 7, 2010

• Big news from The Jim Henson Company this week as they released an official Press Release discussing the upcoming production of the highly-anticipated sequel to Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal entitled Power of the Dark Crystal. The press release doesn't mention too many important details aside from Omnilab Media being tapped to work with the Hensons to produce it and the fact that it will most likely be in 3D. It also mentions that Brian Froud is on board to do some of the designs for the film, so that's a very good sign.

• On The Muppets Studio side of the news, general manager of The Muppets Studio, Lylle Breier, was interviewed by the MTV Movies Blog. She discussed all things Muppety, including the Webby Awards nominations (and subsequent wins), "Bohemian Rhapsody," and more. The stuff she mentioned that we didn't already know include the next viral Muppet video, "American Woman," being released Memorial Day Weekend (May 28-31), and that the new Muppet movie is indeed Jason Segel's The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, and not The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Breier stated that Cheapest had  been shelved for the time being... Whatever that means!

• Speaking of the (four) Webby Awards that the Muppets won this week, The 14th Annual Webby Awards Ceremony (hosted by The Office's B.J. Novak) will be held on June 14th. I've been informed that the Muppets will be on hand (pun sort of intended) in some fashion to accept their awards and make their five-word acceptance speech.

• Yesterday, as Lylle Breier predicted, the Muppets appeared in a brand new online video with LOST's Carlton Cruse and Damon Lindelof, writers of the show. Rizzo and Bobo appear in LOST Slapdown, an online exclusive web series. In the video, the two Muppets lead a tour of fans through the LOST studio. Yes, it is as hilarious as it sounds. (Muppet fans outside the US watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYc0oLXy9Vg.) The video is labeled "The Muppets 1" so that can only mean more are on the way! We know for sure that Kermit and the Swedish Chef have recorded something as well, so be on the lookout for that!

• In comic book news, an exclusive scoop by MTV News (which we then stole) states that Muppet Sherlock Holmes will be the next Muppet Classics comic book adaptation after Muppet Snow White finishes this summer. The series will be written by Patrick Storck (Muppet King Arthur) and illustrated by friend of the blog Amy Mebberson (Muppet Peter Pan, The Muppet Show Comic Book - Family Reunion). Gonzo will play the famed sleuth and Fozzie will be his right hand man, Dr. Watson. I'll be sure to keep you updated as more information about this exciting new series becomes available!

• And, finally, it's our turn for an exclusive scoop. In the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine (#1102 - May 14, 2010) there is a brief article about the newly announced Muppet movie. The page features a fantastic picture of Kermit as well. The following are some excerpts from the article that mention some exciting news that you may or may not be aware of as of yet!

New Disney Boss Digs Muppets and Wizards
"As Rich Ross shakes things up at Disney after taking over as studio president last fall, he’s turning to some Hollywood stars who haven’t been on the big screen in more than a decade: Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear. An untitled Muppet movie is likely to become one of Ross’ first greenlit projects (after Pirates of the Caribbean 4, of course), and it says a lot about where the studio is headed.

When Ross grabbed the reins last October, he killed a lot of movies in the development pipeline, including a sequel to 2007’s John Travolta-Tim Allen-Martin Lawrence comedy “Wild Hogs” and a big-budget remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that McG was slated to direct. Instead, he fast-tracked a Muppet movie written by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel, whose 2008 hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall made puppets cool again. The duo’s plot is being kept under wraps, but sources say Segel (How I Met Your Mother) will star as the best friend of a new Muppet named Walter who will join a quest to save the famed Muppet studio. James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) is on board to direct, and Amy Adams has been mentioned as a possible costar. Mandeville Films (The Proposal) is among the producers. Next up is a table read with the Muppets and their puppeteers, and since merchandising opportunities are apparently limitless with such an adored property, sources predict production could begin as early as this fall. ~ Nicole Sperling"

Amy Adams? Filming this fall? Merchandise? Excitement, thy name is Muppets!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: March 19, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: March 19, 2010

Big news this week from our good friends at TVShowsOnDVD.com who announced this week that the Jim Henson classic comedy special, Dog City will be released on DVD on June 8, 2010. An early look at the DVD cover art (pictured at right) shows that Rowlf, a prominent player in the spcecial, will be in the special. This is a great sign for Disney/Henson relations for future releases. I'll keep you posted on any future updates about the DVD and its release.
 
Remember when the Muppets appeared on Christmas at Rockefeller Center on NBC this past December? As you'll recall, most of the country only got to see Kermit and the gang singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and missed out on seeing The Electric Mayhem's first television performance in years. Well, some kind soul has uploaded the video of Dr. Teeth and the band performing "Run, Run Rudolph." Be sure to check it out. It's fantastic to see the triumphant return of everyone's favorite band!

In other news, "Muppet King Arthur" #3 and "The Muppet Show Comic Book: On the Road" #3 have been released these past two weeks and are showing very positive reviews. Be sure to check your local comic book store for these great continuations of these Muppet stories.

Various Hollywood insiders are reporting that Jason Segel will officially play the human lead in the new Muppet movie. Which... is something that most Muppet fans have assumed since the script was announced (probably because Segel said he was going to play the human lead). Still no word on the official plot or title of the film (they're still fighting with marquee companies on how to fit "The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time" or "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made" onto their signs.












The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Interview with Muppet King Arthur #1 Artist Dave Alvarez

Lisa Alexander - Today on The Muppet Mindset we interview artist Dave Alvarez. Dave has been involved with BOOM! Studios and the Muppet comics since the very first issue of "The Muppet Show Comic Book" when he drew a variant cover for "Kermit's Story." Most recently, Dave drew the interior artwork for Muppet King Arthur #1.

Dave Alvarez Interview

LISA:   First of all, Dave, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with the Mindset. We really appreciate it. Do you prefer to be called Dave or David?

DAVE:   I got used to Dave. It’s different. I grew up listening to the name “David” attached to a “clean up your room!” way too many times.

LISA:   You did a beautiful variant cover for the first issue of Muppet Robin Hood. How did that come about? Did someone approach you to do it, or did you wave Semaphore flags around until someone noticed you were interested?

DAVE:   Why, thank you, I’m glad that you like it! I was “waving flags” like you said way before that to see if I could fit with their “Muppet Show” series at first.

Eventually, BOOM’s editor saw my Muppet fan-made- comic strips and asked me if I could do a variant cover for “The Muppet Show” and then they asked one for Muppet Robin Hood. 

LISA:   What about your variant covers for Kermit’s and Gonzo’s stories? How did those come about?

DAVE:   They came about the same way. Disney liked what I did for Muppet Robin Hood so they asked for variants as well. These were very limited since they were used for some specific stores but at least I got a couple of copies.

LISA:   How much did you know about the content of those issues when you did the covers? Obviously you knew Kermit and Sweetums were in Robin Hood… (Not that Kermit was much of a surprise…)

DAVE:   BOOM sends me all kinds of visual references and the script as well. I saw one cover sample of Kermit fighting with Sweetums on a bridge and it brought my attention. So I decided to go with that.

LISA:   Now you’re doing ALL of the art for Muppet King Arthur. How is it different, from your perspective, to do the entire series, as opposed to a few covers?

DAVE:   It’s way different. I’m only in charge of pencils and inks. Colors will be provided by another artist. It’s interesting because the story demanded the intervention of many “generic” Muppets, so I made my research and drew some obscure characters from way back. Let’s see how many of them can you recognize.

LISA:   Who picks the “camera angle,” so to speak, of any given frame in the comic? Do the writers choose, or do you decide what’s in the “shot”?

DAVE:   Although the writer gives you a guideline, like for example, “establishing shot of town” or “wide shot of castle”, sometimes, one as the artist needs to modify certain angles in order for them to fit the page.

LISA:   Building off of the last question a little, how much of a say do you have in which background characters appear, for example, in a group of spectators or passers-by?

DAVE:   I got a free hand in that. Sometimes the writer wanted certain obscure characters as well. Others I just chose by my own.

LISA:   Any chance we’ll see Angus McGonagle the gargling gargoyle?

DAVE:   Aaaah, maybe! Who knows?

LISA:   King Arthur requires a lot of period clothing, even for characters who don’t usually dress at all (i.e. Kermit, Fozzie…). Kermit’s, Fozzie’s, and Gonzo’s armor all look fantastic. Do you decide what the characters wear? Or do Benjamin and Storck say, for example, “Give Kermit a red cape, and put a chicken on Gonzo’s shield”?

DAVE:   Although I also got a free ticket on some of those many of them were beautifully rendered by Amy. Some sharp-eyed readers will notice the Disney reference that I chose for Kermit’s first clothes.

LISA:   Clothing aside, there’s a huge style difference between the cover art you’ve done and the comics you’ve posted on DeviantArt and Muppet Central, and even between King Arthur and your other covers. Was that your choice, or someone else’s? Do you prefer drawing one style more than another?

DAVE:   The cover arts were done entirely by me but the interiors will be colored by another artist so you might find a slight difference in style. In the covers I combine many composition elements and was given more time.

LISA:   Speaking of your own comics—which are hilarious , by the way—where do you find your inspiration for those? Would you ever consider writing a full story arc, if given the opportunity?

DAVE:   It’s easy once you know the characters. You just think of a situation and how the characters will react to them. I’ve been working on my daily comic strip Yenny since 2003, so it’s easy to think how Yenny or Zacha will react to certain situations.

With the Muppets is basically the same. I grew up with them so I sort of know what Kermit will say to a burned Gonzo.

LISA:   Do you look at anything as a reference when you draw the Muppets? Does what you look at vary for different styles?

DAVE:   I have a lot (if not all) of the Muppet movies, videos and books. The internet is very helpful when it comes to obscure characters. You can easily detect which Muppets have the Don Sahlin touch and which not.

LISA:   Which character, would you say, is the most difficult to draw? Which is the easiest?

DAVE:   Sweetums was the most…uhm… I won’t say difficult, but tricky. I doodled a lot first before choosing a final design. I will add myself to a list of people who say that Muppets were not meant to be drawn. That’s why I decided to go very cartoony. Just to feel as if I was making a parody of them.

LISA:   Drawing aside, who is your favorite Muppet?

DAVE:   Kermit the Frog. He always knows what to do and has the nerve to deal with millions of mentally impaired Muppets. LOL

LISA:   What’s your favorite Muppet production?

DAVE:   I would say The Muppet Movie because Jim Henson made magic when computers were not around. But somehow I love “Muppets take Manhattan” mainly because I was a small kid when it came out. I remember that my grandma used to keep all the newspaper movie reviews and pictures for me. There was even a headline that said “La Rana René por fin se Casa” which means “Kermit finally got married” and had a picture of him and Piggy in bride and groom clothes.

LISA:   You’ve done a lot of non-Muppet work, too. Tell us about some of that. What’s your favorite group of characters to draw?

DAVE:   I’ve been working in the Looney Tunes comics for 12 years now. I’ve also worked on other characters like Tomb Raider and some Paul Dini creations.  It’s difficult to say which characters are my favorite to draw. I like it when I can have a free creative input on them.

LISA:   You’re also a member of Muppet Central. What drew you into THAT insanity?

DAVE:   I don’t know. My psychiatrist says that is a good therapy. It keeps me from bungee jumping in Greek robes.

LISA:   Any suggestions for other fan artists who want to actually work for the Muppets?

DAVE:   Find your own style and show what you can do by just being yourself.

LISA:   Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview with us. Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

DAVE:   I think that’s all that we have for today so we’ll see you next time in The Muppet Show!! YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

Thanks again to Dave Alvarez for this fantastic interview! Check out Dave's work in Muppet King Arthur #1, on shelves now!











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Day Without Comics

Well, unfortunately, there are no new comics to review this week since both The Muppet Show Comic Book: On the Road #2 and Muppet King Arthur don't come out until this Wednesday (February 10, 2010). Thankfully, there is some comic-related news worth reporting!

Our good friends at ToughPigs have an exclusive look at the first five pages of both King Arthur and On the Road #2. We finally get to see Dave Alvarez's take on the Muppets in King Arthur and it's hard not to absolutely love it. Be on the look-out for a cameo from a Henson creature one wouldn't normally expect to see!

Archaia Comics has also officially announced and debuted cover art for their Fraggle Rock comic book, in stores this April. Confirmed Fraggle Rock Comic Book contributors include Adrianne Ambrose, Heidi Arnhold, Jeffrey Brown, Ross Cambell, Katie Cook, Joanna Estep, Jake Forbes, Sam Humphries, Neil Kleid, Chris Lie, Jeremy Love, Grace Randolph, Jeff Stokley and Heather White.

It's great to see that friend of the blog Grace Randolph is getting involved with the Fraggle Rock comics, along with artist Katie Cook, whose work has been featured on ToughPigs in the past. 

Look out next week for our review of either On the Road #2 or Muppet King Arthur #1 (or both, we haven't really decided yet) (because I know you all care so much).

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Peter Pan #4

Muppet Peter Pan #4

Comic Book Review

Ryan Dosier - After a delay of about a month, it's finally here. The final installment of "Muppet Peter Pan" written by Grace Randolph and illustrated by Amy Mebberson. When we last left the Neverswamp, Piggytink had been reduced to a seemingly-lifeless lump by the wicked Mr. Smee (Rizzo). Will she survive? Will Peter and Piggytink work out their height differences? Does Captain Hook ever fall in love? ...Let's find out!

PLOT
As expected, part four picks up right where part three left off. Sam Eagle reminds us of the cliffhanger from last issue as the increasingly impatient narrator prods him to move along. So he does, and we reconvene with Peter (Kermit) who has just found Piggytink laying lifeless in the Lost Boy's clubhouse.

When Piggytink won't wake up, Peter thinks she just mad at him and storms off. It takes Nibbs (Pepe) to explain to the naive frog that it's love that drives Piggytink and keeps her around, and it will likewise take love to bring her back.

So, with a little love power, Peter is able to revive Piggytink--which pleases her to no end, as you can imagine. For the rest of the issue Piggy remains latched onto her beloved Peter now that he has finally made his true feelings known--and there were witnesses!

After Piggytink explains what Mr. Smee did, Captain Gonzo/Hook, Peter, the Lost Boys, Wendy, Michael, John, and the Hippen Groovy tribe team up to set things right. First, Wendy and Captain Gonzo will try the peaceful approach. Peter is convinced that won't work, so he has his own plan B that involves a lot more swordplay and a lot less peaceful harmonizing.

As Wendy and Gonzo approach the ship, and we get a hilarious joke involving the captain's log and a brief, but fantastic cameo by Lew Zealand, it's obvious that Wendy's plee for peace is not going to be abetted by Mister/Captain Smee. He soon calls to his aide every single rat on the ship to engage in mutiny against Gonzo.

So with plan A failed, Peter and the Lost Boys begin plan B against Smee's rat army. Nana (Camilla) falls from the sky, Fozzie makes a deliciously awful joke, Louis Kazagger reports for Muppet Sports, and the Hippen Groovy act as highly-colorful Pied-Pipers.

The story has an extremely satisfying end that I won't give away for those of you who haven't had the chance to read it yet. Sure, it's not a traditional way for the Peter Pan story to end, but it is an extremely Muppety way.

TONE

Usually Muppet fairy tale adaptations have a difficult time of balancing the Muppety tone while attempting to tell the story. Thankfully, that is definitely not the case with Muppet Peter Pan. Thanks to the combined work of Randolph and Mebberson, this story is totally Muppety.

WRITING

It's hard for me to decide if I like the writing better than the artwork here, because they are both awesome and they work together perfectly. Grace Randolph has such a wonderful understanding of the Muppets. She knows even minor characters like Janice, Bean Bunny, and Louis Kazagger perfectly and I sincerely hope she returns to write more Muppet comics.

ART

Likewise, if there is one artist I would love to see back with the Muppets it is definitely Amy Mebberson. Her Disney-like illustrations capture the likeness of almost every Muppet perfectly, with Pepe being the odd exception. Though Amy has stated many times that her preference is with the Jim Henson-era Muppets so this one little bump in an otherwise perfect road is easily over-looked.

I think her best work is with Gonzo, Janice, Scooter, Kermit, and, undoubtedly, Miss Piggy. Her Piggy is one of the most gorgeous and faithful interpretations of her that I've ever seen and would love to see Amy draw more. Even if it was just a Miss Piggy calendar drawn by Amy, I'd eat it up!

CONCLUSION

After the unfortunate tone of Muppet Robin Hood, it is extremely refreshing and heartening to see that not all Muppet fairy tale stories have to be less than spectacular. Muppet Peter Pan captures everything great about the Muppets. It is written in such a way that they retain their uniquely brilliant personalities and drawn in such a way that is faithful to the actual puppets and just plain gorgeous.

I highly recommend this series of comics! Pick up the single issues as soon as you can or wait for the trade paperback to come out--whatever you choose, just make sure you pick this up!

CAST
Kermit the Frog as Peter Pan, Miss Piggy as Piggytink, Gonzo the Great as Captain Hook, Janice as Wendy, Scooter as John, Bean Bunny as Michael, Sam Eagle as Mr. Darling/the Narrator, Rizzo the Rat as Mr. Smee, Sweetums as Mr. Starks, Fozzie Bear as Tootles, Rowlf the Dog as Slightly, Pepe the King Prawn as Nibs, Dr. Teeth as His High Grooviness Dr. Goldentooth, Floyd Pepper as Firecheeks Floyd, Zoot as Zoot Runningmouth, Animal as He-Who-Runs-With-Sharks/Animal, The Swedish Chef as himself, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker as gunmen, Lew Zealand as a pirate, Statler and Waldorf as themselves in the crow's nest, Camilla the Chicken as Nana, Louis Kazagger as Himself, Rats as themselves.

Thanks to ToughPigs for the pictures used in today's article!

Don't forget to come back to The Muppet Mindset tomorrow for Part 2 of our interview with Bill Barretta!













The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays - Muppet Robin Hood Trade Paperback Review

Muppet Robin Hood Comic Book

Trade Paperback

Michael Wermuth, Jr. - “Muppet Robin Hood” was the first Muppet fairy tale comic book series from BOOM! Studios. I never found any of the individual issues in stores, so I bought the trade paperback that combined all four issues, and it probably is better reading them all as one story as opposed to individual issues.

If you’ve read the previous reviews, you’ll know that it’s the Muppets in their own version of Robin Hood (or maybe you’d know that by the title). Kermit stars as Robin Hood, while Robin plays a character called Squirt. Other roles include Miss Piggy as Maid Marian, Rowlf as Alan-A-Dale, Sweetums as Little John, Janice as Willa Scarlett, Fozzie Bear as Friar Tuck, Gonzo as Guy of Gisbourne, Sam the Eagle as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Johnny Fiama as Prince John, among others.

I would have cast either Fozzie or Robin as Little John as opposed to Sweetums, but it’s great that he gets a big role. Unlike Roger Langridge’s Muppet Show comics, Muppet Robin Hood heavily feature characters from Muppets Tonight, including Johnny Fiama, Sal, Pepe, Clifford, and Bobo. And a lot of minor and obscure characters make appearances, including Hilda, Mildred, Mahna Mahna, some of the jug-band members, and Fleet Scribbler. The archery contest in issue #3 features many obscure characters. This would have also been a great way to have used The Newsman, Louis Kazagger, and Fleet Scribbler (but at least they all do make appearances elsewhere in the comic).

Many fans have expressed dislike for the artwork, and have said that the characters don’t seem to be written right, but I’m not really bothered by the artwork or the writing. The Muppet Show Comic Book is better, but this is still a good read.

There seems to be a minor plot hole. At first, it seems like Maid Marian isn’t too interested in Robin Hood, but by the time of the archery contest, she’s interested (and not because Robin does anything adventurous or heroic at the contest, because he doesn’t). Even when the “trap” to lure Robin to the contest with the prize being a kiss from Maid Marian is planned, she doesn’t seem interested, but when unknowingly talking to Robin Hood, she expresses a desire in Robin Hood.

Unlike The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets trade paperback, this one does not have the covers between each issue, instead placing them in a cover gallery in the back of the book, while artwork from the comic is placed between each individual issue. I would have preferred the comic covers to be placed between each issue (and unless I read wrong, it seems that the trade paperback for The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson will have its covers in a gallery at the back as well).

Still, this is a good book. I can’t decide whether it’s better than the version of Robin Hood from the Lynn Redgrave episode of The Muppet Show, but it’s still good. It’d be great to see a video game based on this comic.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier.

News Update: January 5, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: January 5, 2010
Did you miss The Muppets on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Sunday? Well, luck for you, the wonderful people at Hulu.com have the episode up for viewing if you live in the US. Be sure to check it out and see this can't-miss Muppet appearance featuring Crazy Harry, Sweetums, Floyd, four karate chops, and "Just One Person"!



Muppet comic book cover artist David Petersen has posted all four of his covers for the new Muppet Fairy Tale series, Muppet King Arthur on his blog. And speaking of David Petersen, our good friend Joe over at ToughPigs interviewed the talented artist about his work with the Muppet comics. Another can't-miss interview from the wonderful folks at ToughPigs!

Damian Kulash, of the band OK Go, which is famous for the song, "Here It Goes Again" got the chance to do a brief interview with Kermit on the set of The Jay Leno Show. In the interview, Kulash reveals that he and OK Go will be covering "The Muppet Show Theme Song" for the CD of Muppet cover songs, Muppets: Revisited. Kulash also makes a really funny giddy fan-boy. (Because all of us would make very serious giddy fan-boys...)

Finally, our good friends over at Comic Book Resources has ranked Roger Langridge's The Muppet Show Comic Book the #27 comic book of 2009. This is a big honor for the Muppets, with all of the comics that come out in a year, and it only points to more and more good things to come from Langridge and the Muppets in the future!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Muppet Show Comic Book - Pigs in Space #0

The Muppet Show Comic Book

Pigs in Space #0 Review

James Gannon - Somewhere between the destruction of the Muppet Theater and the Road Tour of the theater troop lies Muppet Show issue 0. This stand alone story focuses on Rizzo and Fozzie trying to pitch a bold artistic vision based on the classic Muppet Show sketch series Pigs in Space. And uh… spoiler alert… you can kinda guess who they’re trying to pitch it to.  Right from the start something popped into my mind.  How come Rizzo has never been paired up with Fozzie before? The writing gives them a great chemistry as the shrewd Hollywood wise pitchman and his reluctant, nervous partner.

Now, Pigs in Space is my favorite segment of the Muppet Show, and I really liked how the animated version of the segment worked in the short lived Little Muppet Monsters series. The latter took them out of the same old set and put them on alien worlds, the fortresses of evil space fiends, and all those classic Sci-Fi standbys and clichés. This comic is more successful than that, giving it that great feel of the classic Muppet Show segment, blended of course with Langridge’s brand of Muppety humor. Link is just as vapid and vain as ever (the way he should be), and Piggy and Strangepork have to suffer his leadership. In fact, the action begins with Link wanting to flee the galaxy as soon as possible after accidentally insulting the Martian President’s daughter.

While this is a Pigs in Space based story, it still is a Muppet Show Comic Book. Breaking up the action is some of the usual skits, but with a themed twist. Muppet Labs features Dr. Honeydew with a Beaker-like Robotic assistant. Also breaking up the action is Rizzo and Fozzie trying to sell the story as hard as possible.  Even going so far as interrupting the actual “movie” to change a sequence where giant Chickens are going to boil them when the film producers complain about the instance of cannibalism.

And as this is a Sci-Fi story, we see a lot of nods to classic Sci-Fi movies. A scene in a bar resembling Star Wars (you can even see silhouettes of Han Solo about to shoot Greedo in the back ground) for example.  And the villain of the piece, Gonzo in a Ming the Merciless type role, who stole the Earth’s Moon to destroy his own planet. Apparently, he’s bored.  I thought that’s how that sort of thing works.

This issue sees a new artist, Shelli Paroline (apparently, she’s from Massachusetts! Yay us! ). She has an angular yet fluid look that gives everything a very animated look.  You could swear that if there was a Muppet Cartoon series on the horizon, it would at least look similar to this. This is what I wanted to see since the comic line was announced… different guest artists working on different stories.  Not that I don’t like Langridge’s work, that is.  But it seems that without the art work, his writing feels a lot more focused. The Pigs in Space segments of the regular comics are my favorite of all the comic adapted series, and this shows how amazing they’d be if they had the full issue to focus on this one sketch.  But I do have one little complaint.  If anything, this comic is too short. This really feels like it should be a 4 issue saga, or a side comic series instead of the fairy tale line. There’s just so much you can do with a Pigs in Space comic, and I think this only gave us a sample of what can be accomplished. But for one issue, it’s a heck of a ride anyway.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier.