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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The #1 Comic I Look Forward To At The Shop


1. It's a "kid's book," but doesn't talk down to them.

2. It's a "kid's book," but, like those classic Looney Tunes cartoons, I can still enjoy it.

3. The current Muppets rights-holders (Disney?) should hire Roger Langridge as the guy who singlehandedly makes this property fresh and relevant again. I like this stuff more than those recent Muppets TV specials & movies – closer to the original spirit.

4. I treat this comic completely as entertainment – not a commodity, not a collectible. I just get in there, fold the cover back with a nice big crease, and freakin' READ it. Then it ends up on my coffee-table, on top of a stack of magazines and newspapers, on my window-sill, in the bathroom. You will never see it in my house with a bag and board; in fact, you would never find bags and boards in my comic stacks, period.

5. Comic most in the spirit of the kid's comics I read in my youth, when you used to pick these titles off the spinner racks like grapes.

14 comments:

  1. Yeah, I enjoy it too.

    His Fing Fang Four comics for Marvel are also lots of fun!

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  2. When I first heard about a Muppets comic, I had nightmare flashbacks to Marvel's Star Comics from the '80s. But you've convinced me this is the real thing — I'm off to grab a copy of my own!

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  3. Anonymous12:57 PM

    I left behind my collector "let's check-the-Wizard-price-guide this-week" mentality somewhere in the back alleys of the 90s.

    Nevertheless, the floppies cost money (unless you're a reviewer) and some like to reread them while also preventing them from disintegrating into crumpled heaps of their former glory.

    Nothing wrong with taking care of stuff you enjoy and spend money on.

    And yes, the Muppets have always kicked ass. It's just a natural law, like Looney Tunes or classic Sesame Street (before Cookie Monster sold out to the health lobby), that requires no explanation or argument.

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  4. I know single issues are kinda expensive these days, but trust me you totally get your readings-worth with this comic. It even makes a great substitute for a children's book if you are looking for one for your child or relative; and new children's books can sometimes be really expensive.

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  5. It's a great, great book. I love it to bits.

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  6. Anonymous2:14 PM

    My LCS made the same rec with the first issue in their email newsletter. Another book to add to my backlog.

    To be clear, if I bought comics for younger relatives, and I have, I wouldn't care if they read them or colored in them or wore them as hats as long as they enjoyed them in some way.

    I'm just a bit more protective of my own personal stash where the tally for floppies and trades can be substantial so I just try to give them some TLC, but not to the point where I'm sealing them in an underground vault and getting RSS feeds from wizarduniverse.com about how much my 10 variant copies of Civil Crisis #1 are worth every 15 minutes.

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  7. Anonymous3:15 PM

    Agreed. I love this concept.

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  8. Yes! Hear hear!

    Judging from the interview he just did at CBR too, it sounds like it's going to be a regular gig. He's already working on the next four issues. Yay!

    I also hold out hope for the new Muppet movie being penned by Jason Segal. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was very underrated, and the man obviously has a love for puppets with the whole Dracula musical thing.

    If you loved Langridge's Muppets comic, I also highly recommend his Fred The Clown collection. It mines the same vaudevillian vein. ;o)

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  9. Anonymous5:58 PM

    It's a fantastic book. Miles above any of the other "Disney" books and as a loooooong time Disney & Muppet fan, its great to finally see it done right and keep the feel of what the original show had.

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  10. Star Comics were awesome, and I will hear no ill spoken of them.

    Well, I will, I guess. But I don't have to like it!

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  11. I've heard nothing but good things about this book. I may have to pick it up.

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  12. Yes! Hooray Muppets!

    As a long time comics and Muppets fan, I completely adore this book. And as a mom of two boys ages 3 and 6, who love watching the Muppet Show on DVD, I can tell you that kids love it too.

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  13. I liked the art on it since he was able to go 'off model', but the writing was not funny where I thought it should have been. Some segment didn't work with other ones though Kermit's A story was better than the B and C stories. I just read the first one and will wait for a trade... if they make one. Other than that, I applaud them doing kids comics for kids who won't be actually reading them... it's the adults who are reliving their past with these.

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  14. It's a decent read, although I don't get the same feeling I did from the show. I guess the perspective shifts take some getting used to. And the artwork isn't all that great either. Some panels, they just look weird.

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