Muppet Comic Mondays: Not Easy Being Mean

S.O.S.

Help. When I originally signed the contract to take over the blog for a week, I thought it would be fun. Particularly as it meant that I got to spend the week at Ryan’s house...although maybe he didn’t realise that was in the small print. (Ryan...it’s NOT true that I accidently broke that vase...it was like that when I got here. I promise!)

But now my regular column has gotten jealous and locked me in a small box with only a laptop for company. Who knew a column about the Muppet Villains would develop a villainy of its own?

The column is taking over and I don’t know how to stop it!

Please send help!

- T.B.C.

P.S. I'm writing this message on the back of a photo postcard I received today from the Ryan in Disney...He wanted to add that he has arrived safely and that he is planning to pack the Live Sweetums from the Vision 3D experience into his suitcase to bring back with him...(Okay, I made up that last part, but shh!)

Muppet Comic Mean-days

The Treasure of Pegleg Wilson

So, all my Muppet Villain columns have spent a considerable amount of time (and money...hey, copy-editors don’t pay for themselves) suggesting that all the Muppet Villains are so brilliantly designed and played because at their heart (if they have hearts) they reflect an important truth about the Muppets. Doc Hopper, for example, reflected the Muppets' drive but drove himself in the wrong direction (maybe because he didn’t take a correspondence course?). Ed reflected Gonzo’s unique loneliness, and Nicky reflected Miss Piggy’s motivations. But there is one villain who reflects the Muppets in a way that no villain has before. His name is Kismet the Toad, and he’s an exact replica of our beloved frog.

Kismet the Toad appears in the Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-leg Wilson as the main villain (accompanied by some Dwarves and a Genie, or some such hysterical nonsense). Aside from wearing a big coat and dark-glasses, Kismet is a picture-perfect image of Kermit the Frog (literally picture-perfect...these are perfect pictures from Roger Langridge we are talking about here).

In fact, the only real difference between them is that he’s evil. And not just because he called Scooter a sweaty orange dude. Kismet the Toad is a no-nonsense con-man and sets out from the start to trick everyone into believing he’s the real Kermit, and even once Scooter the Boy Detective has uncovered this secret, Kismet continues to con those around him by persuading Miss Piggy he loves her...and that he would love to see her wearing all her jewels.

Kismet also struck up a deal with Rizzo the Rat, who was searching the Theatre for buried treasure, but when Rizzo realised that he was tearing down his own home, Kismet refused to end their partnership.

Although Kimset turned out to be quite an accomplished singer and dancer, he got his comeuppance in the end...and ending which involved fake diamonds, a robot Piggy in a sailor outfit and a pig policemen. (Oh! I literally JUST got that joke...a pig is the policeman. Haha! *ahem*).

Kismet may have been almost identical to Kermit in looks – but the Toad was utterly unlike the Frog in character.

Ruthlessness: 7 (Kismet used Muppet Rats to accomplish his own evil plans...but if anyone is going to scheme and sneak about the theatre looking for ways to make money...it should be the Rats themselves!)

Sidekick: 4 (Kismet didn’t have a specific sidekick, but made good use of Rizzo, some out-of-work Dwarves and a Rumplestiltskin lookalike!)

Evil appearance: 0 (Hey! There’s nothing evil-looking about Kermit the Frog!)

Talking the talk: 10 (Kismet gets tons of extra points for calling Scooter the sweaty orange guy!)

Likability: 2 (Despite having a rather good sense of humour, there’s little to like about this slimy toad.)

Returnability: 10 (I’d love to see this charlatan return to the Muppet comic books. I could see him reappearing in a story where he could cause endless love-tangles between himself and Miss Piggy. Just don’t tell her it was my idea...)

Likelihood to look just like you plus a coat and dark glasses: 10 (Actually I made rather good use of a lookalike agency myself recently...my column has no idea that it’s actually locked up my dark-glasses wearing lookalike in a small box instead of me while I remain on the loose raiding cold chicken-wings from Ryan’s fridge. HA! See ya tomorrow. - T.B.C.)








The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4

The Muppet Show Comic Book

The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4

Comic Book Review

It's Muppet Comic Mondays again! For the first Monday, we welcome a guest reviewer, James Gannon (Drtooth at Muppet Central Forum) who brings us his review of The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4

Issue #4, "Be it Ever So Humble..." was released in November 2009.

James Gannon (Drtooth at Muppet Central Forum) - As soon as we open up “The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson” issue 4 see the damage the events of the last 3 issues have done. The theater has been torn asunder by the greed of Rizzo, his rat brethren, a shifty Kermit the Frog impersonator named Kismet the Toad, and an odd bunch of fairy tale folk that grew in numbers since the last couple of issues. However, the show must go on. Our plot is interspersed with the on stage escapades, as it has been the past 7 issues.

The show opens with little Robin, calmly speaking his quiet, dignified hobby: Stamp Collecting. While telling the story of the rare Splotvian Blue (featuring the hideous King Humphrey), Sweetums stumbles into the scene in a daze. He then precedes to eat Robins book of stamps, the sheet of stamps he was just talking about, and anything else that isn’t nailed down. Not only does Langridge include the famous recurring Muppet sketches, but he also adds in sketches that could have been.  If I didn’t know that I was reading a comic book, I could swear I’m watching an old episode of the Muppet Show right now. As there is so much going on backstage, we see shorter skits (and less of them) than previous issues. But there’s just enough time for Muppet Labs and Vet’s Hospital.

In the previous three issues, I’ve seen the Electric Mayhem painfully watch on as Animal got meeker and meeker. Who wouldn’t? The drummer was the soul of the band, and with his feral, uncivilized tendencies suppressed by experimental medication, so too is his talent.  Here, the Mayhem seems to have come to terms with his new life choice, replacing Animal with a very obscure character that appeared in only one issue. I will not reveal it, but I’ll give you a hint. It was an accessory in the Palisades line, and it was a source of pain for the Mayhem Band (all the more reason why this was a painful choice by the members involved). This leads to a very powerful scene, with an ambient rainstorm, where Animal finally chooses the life he really wants. Meanwhile, Piggy confronts Kismet, Kermit tries to appeal to Rizzo’s soul over Rizzo’s avarice, and the theater’s property value rapidly deteriorates, along with its structure. Even Gonzo gets in on the act, pounding the rubble to the tune of the 1812 Overture. And Statler and Waldorf… FALL ALSEEP!

Everything gets revealed with the treasure, and we get a nice little moral (a bit corny and a little predictable, but fitting and satisfying nonetheless)… all before our heroes drive off for their next epic.  The action on stage even ends with a closing number.  After all, this is a dead on adaption of the Muppet Show, and you can’t have the Muppet Show without their wild musical numbers.  A lesser adaption would cringe at the very idea of music in a medium that doesn’t quite support it, but Roger takes on this challenge with a smile.  Most importantly, he makes it work.

I have to admit, my comic book collection is mostly comprised of adaptations of various cartoons and TV shows, and I’ve seen them range from spot on to generic storylines with interchangeable dialogue.  Not only does Langridge get it dead on, he makes the chaos his own.  This saga doesn’t just feel like the Muppet  Show, it has the depth of a Muppet Movie.  As for the artwork, I have always been a fan of his stylization of characters, but he found the perfect balance of self style and character likeness, making them his own.  My only little gripe with the ending of this epic is that I was hoping to see Ninja Rogers and Creepy McBoo have something to do with the plot.  But there is just so much else going on, there wouldn’t be enough room.  And I would have preferred it if they kept printing these comics in all glossy pages.

BOOM! Studios has awoken the comic book fan in me with their line of Muppet comics (even Robin Hood), effectively pulling me away from the Franco-Belgium Cowboys and Japanese wrestlers I’ve been reading as of late.  And I give The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson 5 Wows! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!

Special thanks to James Gannon for the review! Pick up your copy of The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4 today!











 The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier.

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3

The Muppet Show Comic Book
The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3
Comic Book Review

Ryan Dosier – Welcome back, Muppet fans! Here to find out what happens in the next installment of the Peg Leg Wilson saga? Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place!

The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson # 3 – “Follow The Money” was released in September 2009.

PLOT
This issue pulls no punches. It immediately thrusts us right back into the action of the ongoing story with only a three frame summary from Statler and Waldorf to suffice as back-story.

The issue opens with Animal, still dressed in his suit, running through the alleys and banging on garbage cans with drumsticks. This is odd for the rampant drummer, considering he has appeared refined and well-mannered in the previous two issues. Very mysterious, indeed!

Next, we find Kermit telling Gonzo that the closing number will be a pirate theme to go along with all of the treasure hunting mayhem that is gripping the theater. Kermit introduces Gonzo to an impersonator of Peg Leg Wilson from Kismet’s lookalike agency. Floyd comes in and asks the frog if he’s seen Animal, explaining to Kermit how the drummer has been “acting screwy lately.”

We soon catch up with Gonzo at the library. He finds a book about Peg Leg Wilson and discovers the story of the vaudeville daredevil who also engaged in a “picaresque” life. When he died, he took the secret location of his huge treasure with him to the sod.

We soon catch up with Kismet and Rizzo, who have formed an unlikely alliance in attempt to find the treasure. Kismet reveals to the rat that he’s planning to heist all of Miss Piggy’s jewels while Rizzo and the rats search for the Wilson’s treasure.

The Electric Mayhem is still having trouble getting Animal to play the drums like he used to. They even try to make him hit some trained fleas they place on his drums. But, of course, Animal is Buddhist now so he refuses to harm another living thing.

Miss Piggy comes out of her dressing room wearing every piece of jewelry she owns (which is a lot), and is immediately bombarded by the treasure-hungry dwarfs in the theater. Soon, Topaz the Dwarf reveals that Piggy’s jewels are all fakes and she karate chops the dwarfs away. Unfortunately for her, she’s immobilized by the weight of her jewels and stuck behind a wall where no one can find her.

As Kermit prepares the cast for the closing number, the fact that Miss Piggy is lost leads to Kermit being forced to use a robot Piggy previously used in Pigs in Space for the closing number. Fozzie mentions to Gonzo that the set they’re using is way out of their budget and on loan from a movie production. As you can probably guess, the set does not get returned in one piece.

The issue ends with Bunsen watering his man-eating petunias, Animal sighing at his predicament, Kismet admiring some stolen jewels, Scooter adding up the damages, Rizzo and the rats calling it a day, Link flirting with the robot Piggy, and the real Miss Piggy angry under the weight of her jewels.

Sketches in this issue include: “Animalopoly,” The Perils of Piggy, Pigs in Space, and “H.M.S. Pinafore.”

TONE
I don’t know why I keep discussing the tone in these comics. With Roger Langridge, it’s always spot-on perfect.

WRITING
The writing is also just awesome here. I really enjoy Kismet and how Langridge writes him. Rizzo is really the only one who I don’t really think Langridge can “voice.” This is probably because Langridge’s sensibilities have always come from the classic Muppet Show days and Rizzo didn’t really rise to prominence until later. Even though Rizzo doesn’t sound perfect, he’s still good.

ART
The art is so much fun here. Langridge really lets himself have a good time in this issue—especially in his “Animalopoly” page. The art is also very, very cool when Gonzo is reading through The Legend of Peg Leg Wilson. And when I laugh hysterically just seeing the angry lump of jewelry that is Miss Piggy, you know Langridge has done his drawing well.

CONCLUSION
The third issue is my favorite so far. Nothing significant or important happens, but at the same time it seems like tons of stuff did. I think this is the funniest issue of the three and I’m extremely excited to see how it all ends in issue #4.

CAST
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Animal, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Janice, Statler, Waldorf, Rizzo the Rat, Scooter, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Sweetums, Kismet the Toad Uncle Deadly, Wayne, Mildred Huxtetter, Julius Prune’s Amazing Flea Circus, The Seven Dwarfs, Aladdin, Indiana Jones, Rats, pirates, and other various Muppets.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #2

The Muppet Show Comic Book
The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #2
Comic Book Review

Ryan Dosier – The second series in Roger Langridge’s The Muppet Show Comic Book series, “The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson” continues with Part Two: You May Meet a Stranger. As you’ll remember from Part One, Kermit had begun acting too hip for the room—and Miss Piggy loved it. Also, Animal, under the scientific influence of Bunsen and Beaker, has begun acting refined and well-mannered. Rizzo and the rest of the rats have also started to dig up the entire theater in search of buried treasure.

Part Two was released in August 2009. The book does little more than move the plot along—but it does so beautifully!

PLOT
The story continues with cool “Kermit” under fire from Miss Piggy. She “asks” the leather-clad amphibian to join her on a date in her dressing room. “Kermit” is intrigued by the idea of Piggy’s best jewelry and lowers his shades to reveal eyelids and normal, non-Saturn-like pupils. (A rare character-design flaw on Langridge’s part, or a purposeful hint? Let’s find out, shall we?)

The two Kermits meet in one of the old Marx Brothers mirror routines, and the real Kermit doesn’t bat an eye at it (probably because it’s physically impossible for him to bat an eye). Next we meet up with Dr. Teeth and the rest of the Electric Mayhem, who have hired a hypnotist named Creepy McBoo to try to bring Animal out of his funk. Unsurprisingly, it does little to bring the crazed drummer back to his normally abnormal self.

After that, we finally get some more elaboration as to how Bunsen is making Animal more refined. He is literally zapping Beaker’s higher brain activity and transmitting it into a serum which makes Animal smarter (and Bunsen’s geraniums healthier). While the Muppet Labs sketch is going on, three rat audience members are watching from above adding in hilarious comments throughout. One of them asks if the others have seen a rat named Sherman—none of them have, but Animal does have Sherman’s hard hat in his pocket.

Scooter, the ever-suspicious go-fer, decides to do some detective work to figure out what’s been going on with Kermit. He emerges from his searching perhaps even more confused than before.

Piggy soon meets fake-Kermit in her dressing room, where he charms the sow and steals her diamonds without her noticing. As he walks off, Scooter is on the phone with the “Looks Like You Like Lookalikes Agency” to ask if they have any doppelgangers of Kermit—unfortunately, most of the agencies have never heard of him. That’s until the “You Won’t Believe It’s Not Sinatra Agency” tells Scooter that they have one Kermit impersonator: a Kismet the Toad.

After the Electric Mayhem hosts auditions for a new drummer, they choose Creepy McBoo after being under his hypnotic influence.

Kermit soons join another rat in his search for Sherman. They soon find the little Sherman under a bucket. The rat moans and claims that Animal tied him up and made him listen to drums in the storeroom of the theater.

Before the closing number, Scooter reveals Kismet to Kermit. Kermit tells the go-fer that he hired Kismet for an All-Kermit closing number full of his impersonators—unfortunately, there were no other impersonators at the agencies.

The issue ends with a romping closing number and an unlikely (yet, at the same time, very likely) friendship.

Sketches include “Machu Picchu,” Muppet Labs, “From the Top Secret Casebook of Scooter, Boy Detective,” Bear on Patrol, and “The McMuppets and the McCoys.”

TONE
Langridge’s tone remains Muppety and perfect throughout. Creepy McBoo, especially, exudes a Muppety air and seems like he could easily be a one-shot character on The Muppet Show. The Electric Mayhem auditions are also very Muppet-like and the whole issue just keeps up a goofy, fun tone.

WRITING
I love Roger Langridge’s writing. It is always extremely clever and funny at every turn. He really gets to shine in Peg Leg Wilson thanks to an ongoing plotline. He develops his story very well, and the loose-ends start to come together as more unfold—it’s brilliant.

I also just love Creepy McBoo. He is a fantastic character that blends right in with the Muppets.

ART
The art is continually awesome. Langridge is even able to make a few subtle differences to Kismet the Toad when he’s put next to Kermit. Langridge is an incredible artist and he has a fine-tuned grasp on the Muppets in every sense.

CONCLUSION
This book carries on the great story of The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson. I’m very pleased by how this issue and this story is turning out, and I can’t wait to see how the story continues and finishes!

CAST
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Statler, Waldorf, Scooter, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Animal, Zoot, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Sam Eagle, Rizzo the Rat, Sweetums, The Newsman, Creepy McBoo, Crazy Harry, Beauregard, Robin the Frog, Big Mama, Link Hogthrob, Mahna Mahna, The Snowths, Annie Sue, Gloat, The McCoy Family Jugband, Rats, Penguins, Chickens, and other various Muppets.

Muppet Comic Mondays: "The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson" #1 Review

The Muppet Show Comic Book
“The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson” #1
Comic Book Review

Ryan Dosier – Following the extreme success of the first four issues of The Muppet Show Comic Book, extremely talented and funny writer and artist Roger Langridge returns to the Muppet stage on the comic page for the next series of The Muppet Show Comic Book, “The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson.”

Part One: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral was released in July 2009.

PLOT
The story hits the ground running as we join Scooter who is tidying up one of the Muppet Theater’s old storage areas. He soon accidentally comes across a treasure map in the storage area, much to Rizzo the Rat’s extreme pleasure. Pops then tries to deal with someone named Ninja Rogers who is trying to get into the theater (and succeeds).

Once Kermit enters he’s acting suspiciously and completely unlike himself. For starters, he’s wearing shades and a black leather coat and calling Scooter “sweaty orange guy” (which, while descriptive of him, is not his name). As if Kermit acting odd wasn’t enough, Animal is also acting distinctly unlike himself. The usually ravaging drummer is wearing a pressed suit, pressing proper grammar and only lightly pressing his drumsticks to his drums.

The rest of the Electric Mayhem is confused and perturbed by Animal’s newfound sense of refinery. Ninja Rogers attempts to audition for them with his very impressive tap-dancing moves, but is turned down in favor of trying to bring Animal out of his unfunky funk.

Meanwhile, Miss Piggy has grown extremely attracted to the weird Kermit. Unfortunately for her, weird Kermit avoids her advances just like normal Kermit does.

Once the Mayhem realizes that their attempts to sway Animal back to his old ways are no use, they turn to the one place you should always turn to (apparently), Muppet Labs. Dr. Honeydew tells Dr. Teeth and the gang that he does indeed know what’s wrong with Animal. He’s been developing higher brain levels thanks to a pill made by Bunsen and Beaker. The worst part of this inhumane treatment? It’s irreversible.

As Scooter attempts to tell “Kermit” about all of the rats in the theater (led by Rizzo) digging through the walls of the theater, “Kermit” simply shrugs it off and says that the rats are just helping them to find the treasure.

The issue closes with the Electric Mayhem falling back on Ninja Rogers for their finale and the whole band, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Scooter, and the rest of the Muppets signing a card for the ailing drummer.

Onstage sketches include “Muppet Sports Presents: Long-Distance Toast Hurling,” The Swedish Chef: “Presents Onion Soup His OWN Recipe!”, Wayne and Wanda: “When the Lusitania Went Down,” At the Dance, Fozzie Bear’s Monologue, and Pigs in Space.

TONE
The tone is perfect in this issue, as it is in all of Langridge’s books. He knows the Muppet sensibility and humor like the back of his hand by now. His tone is consistently perfect.

WRITING
Roger Langridge gets better and better with every issue. Each Muppet is written in their very specific, very well-refined “voice” and there’s not one that I have a problem with. Also… every line Zoot has is either one or two words. Absolutely brilliant.

I do have a slight problem with the story in this issue, however. It has nothing to do with how it’s structured by any means; I just feel that nothing really happens. I suppose that since this series has a continual plot (unlike the original series, where the plot “reset” in every issue), it’s understandable that once all four issues are released the story will read with great connectivity, but reading issue by issue can get rather annoying due to the lack of plot-happenings.

ART
Roger Langridge has truly mastered the Muppets. He draws all of them wonderfully by now. He stays on-model yet ventures wonderfully off-model on all of our favorite characters. The rats especially shine in this issue, as does Scooter and the Electric Mayhem.

He does draw someone who looks a lot like Mildred Huxtetter (purple face, glasses, curly hair), but her face is flat and round like a human. (Granted, a character actually referred to as “Huxtetter” appears in issue #3, so perhaps Langridge just created his own character that looks like her.)

CONCLUSION
As with the first four issues of The Muppet Show Comic Book by Roger Langridge, “The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson” does not disappoint at any… point.

Pick up your own copy of “The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson” #1 for yourself today and see what all the hubbub is about!

CAST
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Scooter, Statler, Waldorf, Sam Eagle, Beauregard, Robin the Frog, Floyd Pepper, Dr. Teeth, Janice, Zoot, Animal, Pops, Ninja Rogers, Rizzo the Rat, Louis Kazagger, Gladys the Cafeteria Lady, Mitch Dumpling (Long-Distance Toast-Hurler), Scorchy Brownfinger (Long-Distance Toast-Hurler), The Swedish Chef, Wayne, Wanda, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Bear, Lew Zealand, a Walrus, Mildred Huxtetter, Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork, and rats, chickens, and things.