Muppet Comic Mondays: The Four Seasons - Winter

 The Muppets: The Four Seasons - Winter

written and illustrated by Roger Langridge

 

James Gannon - So, it's come to this...

The final issue of Roger Langridge's The Muppet Show Comic Book has been released, and a month shy of two years after it was due. The Winter issue, which was to be the first story in the arc under BOOM!, now completes the collection on a certain holiday the Muppets know all too well: Christmas. You just can't make Muppet anything and not eventually do a Christmas version of it. There have been special edition Muppet Christmas Palisades action figures. You can't punt a football and not hit Muppet Christmas something or other. So, it's about time they did it in comic book form.

Basically, it's a Christmas only the Muppets can have. The Chef tries to make a Figgy Pudding that goes horribly wrong, Gonzo tries to wrestle the Figgy Pudding which goes horribly wrong, Sam the Eagle reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that goes horribly wrong, and Pigs in Space is made of horribly wrong. Piggy wants to put up Mistletoe for obvious reasons, Kermit has to get her a gift, Rizzo eats Gonzo's trained yogurt, and a refrigerator gets busted. Yep! Roger Langridge and the Muppets. You know the drill by now. It's wacky, Muppety fun that Roger Langridge is so spectacular at delivering.

With that, the era of the Muppet Comic book has ended. From the promise of short 1-2 page comics in the completely defunct Disney Adventures magazine, to BOOM! Comics' dual running Muppet comic lines, to the disappointing near loss of the final story arc, to the year of the magazine reprints that were a boon for those who had no access to the original issues and a bane to those who managed to grab every single one. What's next for the Muppets in comic book for are for Disney and Marvel to decide. I would be ecstatic if we saw a Marvel produced Muppet comic series, but I'm fine if we don't. Of course, I could also say how lackluster this release was (not a fan of the stock of paper they used), but that's biting the hand that released it. Marvel could have just left the series unresolved.

If there's one thing I took away from these comics, it's that I wouldn't have discovered Langridge without them. Snarked just ended last month, his stint on Popeye is ongoing, but he retired from the Muppet Comics with this arc. It makes you wonder if that was one of the key factors in BOOM! ending the license or if it was the other way around. As I said last time, it almost seems he left things open ended in case someone else takes up the Muppet pen.

Well, now that's over, we just have to wait for whenever the heck those Ape published Sesame Street comics come out. And Archaia... please PLEASE PLEASE do another volume of Fraggle Rock.

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

Muppet Comic Mondays: The Muppets - The Four Seasons, Spring

 

THE MUPPETS Issue #1 of 4

The Four Seasons: Spring

 Written and Illustrated by Roger Langridge

James Gannon - Back in October of 2010, the last issue of The Muppet Show Comic Book's "Muppet Mash" arc was released. During a delay in the production of the last arc, "The Four Seasons," BOOM! lost the license, and the rights disappeared into Disney owned Marvel in February of last year. Months later, they pledged to reprint everything that was already released in magazine form, leaving "The Four Seasons" once again lost in Marvel's hands. Almost two years from the last issue, Marvel has FINALLY given us the last story arc. Without any fanfare, Issue 1, "Spring" was released on July 4. Marvel started with the second issue written, "Spring," for some reason. Hopefully nothing gets hurt (running gags, or some big payoff at the end) by it being out of order.

Tonight, the Muppet Theater welcomes their special guests Colonel Marmaduke Bunch and Meredith, the Mountain Mama of Mgahinga, the greatest primate-based song and dance act in showbiz. Meredith is a gorilla, to the surprise of Pops and the delight of Animal. You see, Animal becomes quite smitten with her.  Rizzo has a conniption because of the interspecies relationship (until he realizes Kermit and Piggy are standing right behind him, that is). But he's not the only one unhappy about this revelation; Meredith's longtime admirer, Bruce (another gorilla) isn't pleased. Once again, we're treated to special segments intercutting the plotline, including Pigs in Space.

I really can't think of say anything to say that I haven't said about these comics in the past. They're still phenomenal, and while I think Jason Segel and his movie writing team brought in a new, classic energetic feel with The Muppets, Roger Langridge brought twice that much to The Muppet Show Comic Book.  He's moved on to the equally amazing IDW "Popeye" and BOOM! "Snarked," which I still goad you to all check out. He disappears as flawlessly into the spinach eating sailor as he does with frogs, pigs, and weirdos.

I'm completely grateful Marvel is taking the time to publish these last four issues, rather than losing them to eternity. However, there are a couple problems I have with this release. First off, there are advertisements interspersed into the issue, while it ruins the aesthetic BOOM! had when they published it (the credits are now on the first page instead of the inside front cover, but thankfully the two page spread isn't monkeyed with), that's just a reality of moving from a smaller company to a mainstream one. Hopefully that doesn't mean anything was edited out to make room.

Secondly, the new coloring company managed to be inconsistent and make some mistakes. While there was the occasional yellow beak on Sam or something, Colonel Bunch is colored differently in his number than he is the rest of the issue, and a simple internet search would show the Pigs in Space uniforms are not red. Also, we have new covers for these comics by Elisabeth Melaranci and Silvano Scolari, which have a wonderful sense of movement on them, but it makes me miss Amy Mebberson, James Silvani, et al. Those are just mild nitpicks, I assure you. If anything, at least the Marvel name will equal better distribution.

If this means Marvel will publish more Muppet comics, I'd be happy if they did. However, I'm just happy to see the last of Langridge's work finally coming out for fans who have been rabidly waiting longer than they needed to.

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

News Update: July 5, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: July 5, 2012
Back in March, 2009, the Jim Henson Company announced that they would be producing a brand new children's television series starring the Doozers of Fraggle Rock. And, like many Henson projects unfortunately, the series never came to fruition, with only a 30 second computer-generated clip being produced. Now, however, the Chronicle Herald is reporting that the series is finally going into actual production. This could be great news, or it could end up falling through again, but I like to hold out hope that one day we might actually get to see this thing. Putting the Doozers in their own show relieves a lot of the unavoidable high expectations Fraggle Rock fans have of a Fraggle-themed project. Fingers crossed!

The Muppet Show Comic Book by Roget Langridge is back! The final four Langridge-written issues, The Four Seasons are being released sporadically throughout the year. The first issue, "Spring," just happened to be released yesterday and is available in stores now! For awhile the first issue being released was presumed to be "Summer" (since, you know, it is summer), but our friends at Muppet Stuff have found the issue in stores and it is indeed "Spring." (See picture at right.) Whatever the case, get out there and buy it for yourself!

Archaia Comics, the company that distributes Jim Henson Company projects in comic book form, has scored six major nominations in the 2012 Harvey Awards, which honor excellence in comic books. Five of these nominations are Henson-related, with honors for Fraggle Rock, Jim Henson's The Storyteller, and Jim Henson's The Tale of Sand. Fraggle Rock is nominated for Best Original Graphic Publication for Young Readers, The Storyteller for Best Anthology, and The Tale of Sand for Best Graphic Album Original and Best Single Issue or Story. Congratulations to Archaia and all the talented people who contributed to these wonderful books! The Harvey awards will be presented on September 28th.

Finally, click on over to the Hostess with the Mostess blog for a look at the most incredible birthday party I have ever seen. This Muppet themed bash looks like an amazing good time, with so many gorgeous decorations and everything you might want sans actual Muppets showing up (but looking at these pictures, I wouldn't be surprised if they had). Enjoy!

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

The Muppets Move to Marvel - Another Viewpoint

In response to yesterday's post in which James Gannon gave his opinion on The Muppets' move to Marvel Comics where the first for issues of The Muppet Show Comic Book by Roger Langridge will be reprinted, repackaged, and resold. As we said, here at The Muppet Mindset we attempt to showcase both sides of the opinion spectrum so today we are happy to bring the opinions of one who finds the move to Marvel to be a good thing.

Ryan Dosier - I'd like to start off by saying that I am the last person to ever even attempt to make the claim that what BOOM! Studios did with the Muppets in the comic book form was nothing short of revolutionary. What the talented people at BOOM! did with The Muppet Show Comic Book and Muppet Classics was fantastic. It brought to the forefront the talent of numerous artists and writers all while inherently capturing the spirit of the Muppets on the printed page.

But, at the same time, I am also the first person to say that BOOM! comics are sometimes incredibly hard to find. Sure, you can find month-old copies of The Incredibles or Cars comics at Barnes and Noble, but how often do you find the latest copy of The Muppet Show Comic Book "Monster Mash" or Muppet Sherlock Holmes waiting for you in the comic book section of your local bookstore? Well... how often do you find X-Men, Spider-Man, in all their numerous incarnations, in said bookstore comic book sections? Quite a bit more often than Muppets, I should say.

Well, that's the beauty of synergy when Disney owns both Marvel Comics and The Muppets, it only makes sense to see the Muppets move to Marvel for a much wider exposure. I completely understand the dissatisfaction people have with not receiving new Muppet stories right away from this deal... but the four issues included in Roger Langridge's "Meet the Muppets" are some of the best, are they not? So it only makes sense to start off introducing a brand new, much wider audience of readers to these characters with these stories--that also conveniently act as introductions to who the four main characters are.

As disappointing as it might be for some, the reprints of these comics are not exactly intended for us--the dedicated fans who have already purchased them. They are intended to grow the audience, spread the world of the Muppets to the masses, and entertain with them before a massive big-budget feature film comes out this fall. These Marvel reprints will be able to go places that BOOM! comics never could: Disney Store shelves, bookstore marquees, grocery store check-out lines... loads of places that loads of people look every day.

Reprinting The Muppet Show Comic Book is a way to provide a huge audience--the audience that is reached by Marvel Comics (one of the two largest comic companies in the world)--with cheap ($5.99 for 96 pages), quality, award-winning entertainment that has already proven itself to be a knockout hit. By ensuring that the Muppets can reach a wide audience--even in their comic form--Disney is essentially saying that they want these characters to be known and appreciated before they try to make it big with a feature film in November.

It is this Muppet fan's opinion that the Muppets' move to Marvel is essentially Disney saying that they do care about the dedicated fans like us--heck, they printed these comics for us in the first place--but they are extremely interested in finding a wider audience for these characters. If we want The Muppets to be a success this fall, it is widely-available, affordable, quality decisions like this that we have to expect--and appreciate--from the Mouse House.

They have to build their audience further before expanding it with new material. It's business, it's entertainment. There's no saying that this Marvel deal won't yield new material. No one has made that claim and I would say that there is quite a good chance of seeing new stuff down the line. We'll just have to wait and see.

On another note... how awesome are these Muppet comics, huh? I'm gonna go re-read all of mine now, I think.

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: 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

News Update: March 11, 2011

NEWS UPDATE: March 10, 2011

Parks and Recreation's Rashida Jones, one of the human leads of the upcoming The Muppets movie, talked to MTV's Movies Blog about the picture and her involvement. She called the experience "...surreal and awesome and really fun." (Duh.) Jones also mentioned her special involvement with Kermit in the movie, saying that she even requested for him to be off-camera with her, treating him like a real person on and off camera. (You mean he's not a real person?) But what really excites this Muppet fan is this paragraph: "They have successfully addressed the fact that [the Muppets have] kind of been gone a while and the fact that this generation doesn't really know who they are...I think they did a great job of balancing what was and what should and will be." If that isn't a fantastic endorsement for the movie, I don't know what is!

Roger Langridge's final arc of The Muppet Show Comic Book, "Four Seasons," has been tossed around with release dates since Christmas time with very little in the way of actual updates on the likelihood of seeing the arc released. Well, unfortunately, our good friends over at ToughPigs have a reluctant and disappointing answer. It's all very complicated and annoying, but the main point is that at this time there are no plans to release the arc. The best way to possibly see this arc released is to send a bunch of tweets to Disney Comics on Twitter (@DisneyComics), telling them how much we'd love to see this final arc of this fantastic book released.

Remember a few weeks ago when Neil Patrick Harris interviewed Brian Henson at the San Francisco SketchFest? Well, photos of said event have finally surfaced over on the Henson Alternative Wiki. There are some incredible pictures of both Brian and NPH fooling around with some Henson puppets and they both appear to be having a fantastic time. (Once again, duh.) This once again makes me wish I could have been there for this awesome event!

Friend of the blog and fun guy Cory Edwards has an incredible charity auction going on now on his blog. He is auctioning off a signed copy of the Fraggle Rock Complete Series set, autographed by Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and Karen Prell, along with their Fraggle characters including Boober Fraggle, Wembley Fraggle, Red Fraggle, World's Oldest Fraggle, Large Marvin, and more! If I had the money I would most certainly bid on this incredible collector's item... so I really hope a caring Muppet fans gets this great piece to add to his or her collection!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier