Muppet Comic Mondays: Sesame Street #1

 Sesame Street Comic Book #1

James Gannon - In the fall of 2011, Ape Entertainment announced it had acquired the license for a Sesame Street comic book series. After BOOM!'s spectacular job with The Muppet Show and Muppet Classics, and Archaia's wonderful Fraggle Rock comics, it's great that the last of the major Muppet franchises finally has a series of its very own. Told in an anthology format with different writers and artists, this issue features seven... seven stories! AH AH AHHHHH!

Every issue will feature a different overall theme. This issue features different stories about imagination. As this is a comic geared for the younger crowd, Elmo introduces the issue with "How to Read a Comic Book" (Jason M. Burns/Scott Ball), with the issue's only appearances of Big Bird and Murray. This will be a recurring feature in every issue. The comic's main story, "The Anatomy of a Hero" (Jason M. Burns/Amy Mebberson) stars Elmo as he takes Super Hero lessons from Super Grover. Beautifully rendered by the fan favorite artist, Elmo learns an important lesson about what a hero is.

The one page short, "Little Castle Built by Prairie" (Jay Fosgitt) features Snuffy pretending to be a dragon, trying to knock down Prairie Dawn's castle. Prairie is also features in the next story, "Smog Day Afternoon" (Paul Morrissey/Scott Underwood), where Oscar fantasizes about the delightful possibilities of a weird stench that's wafting in. A miscolored Moishe Oofnik and Bodoque appear in Oscar's daydream, as does Irvine with his grouch family. In a different take on "If Moon Were Cookie," we see "A Dip in the Galaxy" (Patrick Storck/James Silvani). This time, Cookie isn't all that guilty to actually eat the cookie moon, and is quite happy it's not made of cheese. The key is, he doesn't finish it off, because it's a "sometimes food." Yeah, they reference that.

Rounding out the issue are "The Count Counts" (Jay Fosgitt) and "Imagination Runs Wild" (Jason M Burns, featuring stills of "Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures"). In the former, Count von Count daydreams of counting car parts, and buys a car at Nelson motors from a certain car salesman (a nice tribute). In the latter, Bert doesn't appreciate Ernie's overactive imagination, through re-purposed stills of the Sesame Street television segment. I personally prefer original artwork, though.

This issue is a great start to the series so far. Mercifully, the writing isn't in the form of Easy Reading, despite the obvious preschool audience. True to show and character writing is once again hand in hand with top quality artwork. It fits perfectly into the Muppet comics collection. Especially since Muppet artist mainstays Amy Mebberson and James Silvani contributed to this issue. Amy even provides artwork for the chase covers that expand to show the whole street and every single popular character currently on the show.

This comic also sees something that is rare in Sesame Street print media, background humans (including Alan and Maria). You usually see Sesame Street books with Anything Muppets in human roles. This adds a layer of realism, connecting it better to the show. Maybe in subsequent issues, some of our favorite non-Muppet cast members will contribute to the plot. While I'm on that subject, the one thing I'd like to see in future issues is a better presence of fan favorite characters that are no longer on the show, if only as background characters.  Prairie Dawn was in two consecutive comics. That's more than her presence on the show in recent years.

One last thing, if you didn't get the Free Comic Book Day reprint, it just features a reprint of the first story.  But I recommend tracking it down anyway. Not only is it a fun collectible, but it comes with an exclusive pin up of Super Elmo and Zoe.

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

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Four Seasons - Fall

 The Muppets: The Four Seasons - Fall

written and illustrated by Roger Langridge

The Fall issue of The Muppets: The Four Seasons is here. I need to point out that, while this is the penultimate issue of the Marvel release, it really was the last issue of the comic out of order. There's still Winter, which was supposed to be the first issue left. Brace yourself, though, I'm going to bring it up a few times in the review.

Pops the doorman has reached the mandatory retirement age. As bad as the group wants him to stay, he has no choice in the matter. Pops is grooming his nephew, Nat Crochet, to be the new Muppet Theater doorman. Among his duties are rejecting unwanted talent that constantly harassed Pops. Meanwhile, Gonzo comes up with an idea, that only Gonzo can, which is just convoluted enough to work. Switch birth certificates, and do his usual crazy stuntman Gonzo thing before they realize the name on the certificate is wrong. And the best part? No one in the theater has a birth certificate (Animal ate his) except for Piggy. We have a lot of excellent character development on the part of Pops, a character that was low key on the original Muppet Show. According to this comic, he was in the military--we never saw that in the series. Even his Palisades action figure was based on his appearance in The Great Muppet Caper.

This issue has some pretty interesting sketches, considering how obscure the references are. Notably, Rizzo stars in a parody of a Windsor McCay comic strip, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (in Rizzo's case, Gorgonzola), which would be the basis of the Little Nemo in Slumberland comics. I don't expect anyone but animation and comic history scholars to get that one; I barely did (college tuition well spent, I suppose). Meanwhile, Pigs in Space takes on a Flash Gordon style of its story telling. And one of the comic's original characters, Topaz the Dwarf from all the way back in Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson series returns to tell another one of his terrible poems.

This is a very good issue, almost seems like a fifth act for the Family Reunion arc due to the inclusion of the original character of Nat Crochet. But (as I stated earlier) as a grand finale of The Muppet Show Comic Book, it leaves me just a little unsatisfied. This was the last issue penned by Roger before he decided to leave the comic. Other than Pops sort of going to retire in this issue, nothing really says "Goodbye, and thanks for reading." That leads me to think Roger left it open to either pass on the comic to another artist and writer or to fit into the continuity of The Muppet Show. Either way, the bright spot in these being released out of order is that there's no continuity in this arc, making it episodic. Not even a small, continuous gag. So the last issue, which will have a much less satisfying ending to the series anyway, won't read as out of order. As far as I can tell, anyway. I'm really warming up to the cartoony, juvenile, dizzying covers. At least having someone draw them instead of using stock pictures is a big effort. They did manage to pop out of the rest of the comics on the shelves. But the real improvement in Marvel's handling of this comic? Other than one movie poster advertisement for The Avengers, there are no intrusive ads, leaving a smooth read this issue.

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

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Four Seasons - Summer

James Gannon - Summer hits the Muppet Theater in issue 14... errr... Limited Series Issue 2 of The Muppet Show Comic Book, or rather "The Muppets." Kermit is taking the venue to the beach for the Muppet Show Beach Party Extravaganza, while Fozzie mulls a summer season stint at a different theater. Scooter has built the end routine on a dancing bear number (a reference to the Simon Smith number from the original Muppet Show), and the idea hinges on Fozzie staying with the Muppets. When he decides to leave, Scooter is forced to cast another dancing animal in his place.

Being the Muppets, chaos ensues on the beach show. Wayne and Wanda make a terrible opening act, singing a song that invites a rain storm. Then seasonal rainstorm turns to freak snowstorm, causing Gonzo's "diving into a swimming pool full of custard" into "diving into a swimming pool of FROZEN custard," which is a great lead in for a Vet's Hospital skit. Meanwhile, Fozzie arrives at the Whatnot Theater. Here we meet yet another gang of Muppet Doppelgangers, who thankfully are much friendlier than the Moopets or Kismet the Toad. Fozzie's stint would fill in for their own comedian bear, Ozzie, who's having a summer season stint of his own. Ozzie points out a few things that get to Fozzie, and Fozzie gets a huge moral dilemma.

This is a much stronger story than the last issue, with quite a few short sketches in between. We get a strong A and B story that tie each other up very nicely, and all that Muppety Chaos and Murphy's Law we all love. I wish there was more time spent with Fozzie at the Whatnot Theater, though. We only met a few of their crazy crew. The giant carrot that obsesses about spoons knocked me out of my seat. I'm really looking forward to Fall (the issue of the comics, not necessarily the season of decaying plant life).

But the one major improvement over the first issue? Better overall layout. The credits page is now at the end, and it only takes three pages of comic to get into the first three pages of story, rather than last issue's five. Even the ads are more strategically placed. The color situation is slightly better. Wanda is a blonde now, for some reason, and there's some inconsistency when summer comes back to the beach, as it's still colored wintery. Just not quite as inconsistent as last issue. Also, I'm not really a fan of the magazine paper stock used here, but that's a cost control thing. I'd gladly pay the extra dollar for the sturdy glossy pages we had when BOOM! was in command, but that can't be helped.

But the one issue I must address is the cover situation. I kind of both like them and dislike them. They are certainly colorful, vibrant, and have a great movement that helps it jump off the store shelves. Though, the cartoony Muppet renderings are more Disney than Muppety, and I'm not a fan of the big-lipped Kermit-gator on the Summer cover. Though, I like the reference to the giant octopus that's only in the opening splash panel. But the new covers mean that they bothered to make new covers. They could just as easily have slapped on some stock photos on instead. I'd rather have dizzying cartoony Muppets to seeing them in sunglasses from those overused 90's photos. You know the ones I'm talking about.

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

The Return/Beginnings of Muppet/Sesame Comic Books

James Gannon - It's been a couple weeks of inexplicable Muppet Comics news. That's a phrase I haven't been able to say in a while.

Last year, BOOM! Studios' Muppet license (soon followed by the rest of the Disney licenses) expired, just before the final arc was ready for publication. Roger Langridge, the writer/artist for The Muppet Show Comic Book, was too busy with more important matters to get the comic done on time, but finished it before the license ended. Months later, kid friendly magazine reprints of the first few arcs of the comic were published by Marvel Comics to tie into the movie. These reprints were a great boon to those who weren't lucky enough to follow the line from the beginning, but many of those who caught every single issue were left wondering if we were ever going to get the last of the Langridge Muppet comics. After all, he planned to finish his tenure with the "Four Seasons" arc anyway.

Good news, everyone! Marvel is finally publishing the Four Seasons arc this July as a four-part miniseries, the way they were originally intended starting in July. That's all I ever hoped for, myself. I'm sure other fans of these wonderful comics agree. If this leads to new Muppet comics, that's great. If it doesn't, I'm fine with that too. What's important is closure. Better late than never, especially since many comic book storylines, even finished ones, go into limbo when licenses expire, titles get canceled, or the direction of the title changes. Meanwhile, Roger Langridge has moved on to new projects. If you love comics and you're not reading Snarked yet, do so.

But more inexplicable than the return of the Muppet series is the announcement by Ape Comics that they will be publishing a line of Sesame Street comics. Unsurprisingly, we're getting some of the same great Muppet comics talent in Amy Mebberson (her artwork graces the preview cover) and James Silviani. This will be the first actual Sesame Street comic book series. It's too early to say what we can expect out of this comic series, but keep in mind that Sesame Street's target demographic is just learning how to read. This means that it will either be an easy reader with less complicated language for the young ones, or it could be written with adults in mind to share with their kids.

Either way, with such fan involvement, you can almost assume there will be some great nuggets for the older readers and fans. It's too soon to say if we'll see some classic, fan-favorite characters, but there's no doubt we'll get some cameos at the very least. Remember, you don't have to recast characters when you're just drawing them. It's great that the last of the Muppet Big Three finally gets a shot at comics. I've been calling for a Sesame Street comic since the Fraggle Rock comics were announced. I just didn't think it was too likely.

All I can safely say is, it's going to be an exciting few months for Muppet Comic Book fans.

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

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock Classics Vol. 1

James Gannon - Last year, Archaia announced the first of two volumes reprinting Marvel's 1986 Fraggle Rock comic book. After a couple delays, it's finally available in the form of Fraggle Rock Classics, Volume 1. The first four issues are collected in this soft cover graphic novel, digitally remastered, and recolored, plus with a wonderful new cover by Jake Myler. In this volume are the two original stories ("The Magic Time Machine" and "#1") as well as the first of six comic adaptions of actual television stories ( "The Monster that Could be Anything" and "The Doozer Who Wanted to Be a Fraggle"–adaptions of "Believe it or Not" and "All Work and No Play' respectively). This will be an overall review, with specific looks into the first two issues to come later.

Like I've said with my Muppet Babies back issue reviews, time wasn't too kind to the original 1980's printing technology. This sullies the artwork with blotchy colors, bleed through of red ink, and dusty black outlines.  Not to mention the size of the colored ink dots and limitations of how many colors you can recreate with them. With a digital cleaning and recoloring, Marie Severin's art shines through. And what art it is. Other than a few awkward angles and small eye issues, the Fraggles, Doozers, Gorgs and Sprocket all look well drawn, allowing for puppet-like expressions from time to time. Much better than the animated series designs, anyway. Not to mention the skillfully rendered Rock itself. Beautiful backgrounds are present in each panel. And the new coloring gives it all the clarity that it didn’t even have back when it was first published. There's even a field of depth with gradations that were impossible with 1980's technology.

There are a couple little ticks, though. The color seems to have been lifted from the original comic source, leading to miscolorings (Pa Gorg's white mustache, a purple Skenfrith for example). Some of the colors are a little muted and there are a few nagging fuzzy shading and coloring dots still present, despite the thorough job cleaning the source material up. The only alterations to the comics were erasing Marvel logos on the covers (Spider-man's face on the UPC signs were replaced by The Jim Henson Company logo), and the price panel was replaced with chapter numbers. While the original comics will crumble from their thin, waxy yellow paper, these issues have been printed on a sturdy, clean white paper stock. Though the faux dust jacket cover does make it a little clumsy to read the beginning and end of the book (but then again, I'm VERY careful with the spine on these things). The book also includes profiles, though the same ones written and made for the Archaia comics. Strangely enough they include Marjorie the Trash Heap who doesn't appear in any of the comics present.

As for the comics themselves, Stan Kay did a good job with the original stories. He has the basic understanding of the Fraggle characters down. Marie Severin does a great job with the all around Fraggle look, though it seems that so far Stan and Marie aren't aware of Fraggles outside of the main five and Uncle Matt. There are some generic background Fraggles (that seem smaller than the rest of the Fraggles), but no recognizable faces like Large Marvin, Storyteller, or World's Oldest. Also, they've taken an approach that would later be adopted by the animated version, and portray Doc in Nanny-style (from the shoulders down).  I wonder if that was a licensing issue or just trying to give it a more uniform look with Muppet Babies in mind. I know that Doc's face was shown in one of Archaia's own series. As for the adapted stories, I have yet to see the episodes adapted here, so I can't give a partial comic by episode comparison of what's been changed and what's been added (though it's safe to say the musical numbers aren't present). And it is a shame that Archaia didn't add any credit to the writers of those episodes as Marvel surely forgot.

Overall, while I really did enjoy reading these old comics, can't wait for the second volume, and highly recommend tracking these graphic novel reprints down, it does make me all the more appreciate Archaia's own Fraggle Rock line. While 1980's pen and ink and modern era digital paint techniques are an unfair comparison, the writing of these newer comics shows a sign of daring and fan level understanding of characters and themes. And while having the same artist and writer for a series gives a level of consistency, Archaia's motley crew of different artists and writers give a sense of exciting difference to each issue. But that doesn't mean these old Marvel treasures aren't a fun read either. And at $9.99 for a sturdy reprint as well as the luxury of not having to go mad looking for the issues at different comic stores it's just as easy for those who never seen these comics in the first place to first experience them.







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

Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock Volume 2 - Issue 3

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

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

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

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

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

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

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

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

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

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

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

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

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

Fraggle Rock Comic Book 

Volume 2, Issue 2

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

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

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

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

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

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

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

Fraggle Rock Comic Book

Volume 2, Issue 1

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

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

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

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

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






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier