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

We'll Miss You, Mr. Langridge

James Gannon - News broke out last week on Roger Langridge's blog, The Hotel Fred, that he plans to leave The Muppet Show Comic Book. While there are some very personal reasons (which are his own business and I think we should keep it that way), he also feels that it’s time he moved on from the project anyway, feeling he’s done enough with the characters. Highly respectable, since I’m sure everyone would rather be left wanting more than seeing a stale, redundant project done joylessly by all involved (I wish The Simpsons wasn’t the first example that came to my mind).  While I do respect his wishes, I also feel a little uncertain.  After all, there are two obvious and completely different choices BOOM! has to make now. The Muppet Show Comic Book could go on with a different writer and artist, or they could end the comic with the last issue Roger penned. While we still have the Langridge's "Four Seasons" arc to look forward to (which is delayed because of aforementioned personal reasons) I’m just wondering about that future.  

Now, if it were to continue, this question arises... would the new writers and artists have to copy Roger’s style or would they be free to go on doing their own thing? In all my years of reading licensed character comics, I’ve seen some pretty shabby results. Generic situations, poor handling of the characters in writing and art, rigid looking artwork copied off of model sheets (some that actually USED cut and paste features from model sheets), unfaithfulness to the source material, and my personal NOT favorite the “heck with it, let’s just copy a story from the show and take any of the fun parts out if they get in the way” adaptations. Roger’s Muppet Show not only avoided that, but I have rarely seen someone take to the essence of a series AND manage to let his own voice come out at the same time. It was a perfect balance. Roger was free to do as he wished, and I hope the same can be said if they decide to find a replacement. I especially do NOT want to see someone laboriously copy his style character by character. That was a huge problem with the art in the Muppet Robin Hood series. Kermit looked exactly like someone trying to draw like Roger rather than Roger’s Kermit.

If they do decide to end the series on mutual terms, that gets me to wondering. We haven’t heard much about the Muppet Classics line in a while. There have been no plans after Muppet Sherlock Holmes that have been leaked, and one could either assume they have a big surprise, or there’s nothing after it. It would be a shame to see the Muppet titles vanish, as great as they were (for the most part). Frankly, I’m going to be a bit more upset when Darkwing Duck ends, because... well, Darkwing doesn’t have a bunch of viral videos and a movie coming out next year. If they do chose to end the series, though, I’d really like to see another direction taken with the Muppets.  Something that takes them away from the theater entirely, and utilizes more new era characters like Sal, Johnny, Pepe, and Dr. Phil van Neuter (who has yet to make a comic book appearance of any kind).

Don’t get me wrong... like all of you, I actually have no idea what the next step is. Those are both hypothetical scenarios. I really hope that we get to see the Muppet comics continue, be it with a new writer, a new series, or whatever. But in any case, Roger’s madcap, perfect representation of The Muppet Show will be missed, as will his wacky style of art. I was one of the first to actually LIKE that style, and it never needed  to grow on me. So, good luck with whatever is going on, Roger, we all thank you for those wonderful comics that were even better than we deserved.

Ryan Dosier - For over a year, Roger Langridge has been sitting at the helm of the Muppet comic book kingdom being grown by BOOM! Studios and Disney. From his first short comic strip in the now out of print Disney Adventures Magazine, Langridge has always been the go-to guy for Muppet comics--and with good reason! His writing of our favorite characters is better than a lot we've seen since Jerry Juhl stepped down as head writer. He understood the characters almost immediately and it showed through in his wonderful writing and his even more expressive illustrations. The Muppets became zany and expressive in their eyes and facial regions--something that most Muppet fans got used to seeing, but will now have to grow accustomed to not seeing... because Roger Langridge is stepping down from his post as writer/artist of The Muppet Show Comic Book.

The next arc, "The Four Seasons" will be Roger's last on the comic for personal reasons that we should all respect. It's just a crying shame... because he'll be sorely missed. It's truly incredible to think that this little gem of a comic has been going on continuously under Roger Langridge for a staggering 24 issues. Considering the release schedule of most of these issues (monthly), by the time Roger's final issue comes out, we'll have gotten two years of The Muppet Show Comic Book. That's nothing short of staggering for a comic series adapted from a 35 year old television show.

I don't consider it a stretch at all to say that Langridge's comics were one of the greatest Muppet things of 2009 and 2010. They didn't have the immense awesomeness power of, say, guest appearances on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and America's Funniest Home Videos and "Bohemian Rhapsody," but each issue was always consistently wonderful. The art was always gorgeous and expressive and Muppety, and the writing was all of those things and then some. Every month The Muppet Show Comic Book was a great treat to read and enjoy thanks to the hard work and dedication of Roger Langridge and his respect for The Muppets, Jim Henson, and The Muppet Show.

But Langridge's leaving does beg the unfortunate question... What next? Does the comic continue under a new team of writer and artist? Does it change after every arc like the line of Muppet Classics? Or does it, heaven forbid, end all together? My hope is that we see already-established Muppet fans working on the series after Langridge departs. I would love to see the series taken over by Amy Mebberson (Muppet Peter Pan, Family Reunion, Muppet Sherlock Holmes) or James Silvani (Muppet King Arthur) in the art department and Jesse Blaze Snider (Muppet Snow White) handling the writing. Between the three of them, I think we see the best grasp on the Muppets out of anyone. I believe Mebberson and Snider have both expressed their keen interest in taking over the project on their respective Twitter accounts... while Silvani's duties are needed elsewhere in the wonderful Darkwing Duck comic from BOOM! Either way, I just want to see this comic continued and these out-spoken, unbelievably talented Muppet fans are the perfect candidates to do so.

But no matter what happens with The Muppet Show Comic Book, one thing is for sure: Roger Langridge's contribution will never be forgotten. Who can possibly forget that gorgeous cover of the first issue featuring so many Muppets spread out on the page and Kermit's joy to have the whole family back together? The Muppet comics may not always be the biggest or most hailed project in the Muppet stable, but, quite frankly, they should be. Thanks to Roger Langridge, the comics are quality products and probably the best Muppet things you can buy.

Thank you, Roger Langridge. Jim Henson would be immensely proud!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: December 2, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: December 2, 2010

The latest news from the set of The Muppets with Jason Segel is that there are, well, Muppets on the set! Yes, a few days ago, On Location Vacations posted quite a few new pictures from the set featuring Jason Segel, Walter (who is looking wonderful), Miss Piggy, Kermit, Gozno, Janice, Zoot, Beaker, Bunsen, part of Scooter, and more! This is hugely exciting and the Muppets look AMAZING. More please!

There have also been three more celebrity cameo announcements for The Muppets: Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais, and Emily Blunt. Mickey Rooney was pretty much confirmed when a close friend of Rooney's posted a picture of two directors chairs; one that said, simply, "The Muppets" and another that said "Mickey Rooney." One would have to assume that means he's in the movie. Gervais and Blunt have been reported as being in the film by The Hollywood Reporter... but who knows what that means. What are your thoughts on these possible cameos?

Unless you live under a rock, then you've surely seen Cookie Monster's brilliant audition tape to be a host of Saturday Night Live. If you haven't (or if you have and just want to watch it again), check it out now...



The video has over one million views and the Facebook campaign page has over 100,000 members. With numbers like that, it seems highly likely that we'll be seeing Cookie Monster on SNL sometime in the near future. I for one am thrilled by this prospect and think that it would be an awesome, awesome outlet for the Sesame Street characters. Let's make it happen!!

Have a wall? Like the Muppets? Well then, you should consider ordering some Muppet FatHeads! What are FatHeads, you ask? Good question. FatHeads are basically a cross between stickers and posters. They're high-quality materials and are shaped like sports players, movie stars, and more. And now, there are Muppets! Check out the picture and see for yourself! As you can see, there are plenty of Muppets included: Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, Swedish Chef, Bunsen, Beaker, Rizzo, and Pepe. The cost is over $100... but if you have the wall space, it's definitely worth it!

There is some sad news for BOOM! Studios and The Muppet Show Comic Book as Roger Langridge announced that he is leaving the comic after the upcoming next arc ("The Four Seasons"). Langridge cited his reason for leaving as just wanting a change and a readjustment in his life which is entirely understandable. While we'll miss Roger an extreme amount, we at The Muppet Mindset would like to wish him a smooth transition and we sincerely hope he continues to make people happy with his incredible talent.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Mash #4

The Muppet Show Comic Book #11

Muppet Mash Part Four: The Curse of Beaker

Written and Illustrated by Roger Langridge

James Gannon - As the werewolf bays to the blood red full moon, and the vampires get set for Daylight Standard Time (earlier hour for them to skulk around, you know), our "Muppet Mash" journey comes to a close with Part Four: The Curse of Beaker.

This time, some weird science is going down at the Muppet Theater, care of one Bunsen Honeydew. Which wouldn’t be too much of a bother on anyone else, but the theater suffers blown fuses and power outages from his latest project. For once, Bunsen actually feels that the work load is overstressing Beaker. Something it apparently took years of explosions and sharpened bananas to do. So, Bunsen decides it’s time for a more robotic assistant. 

After multiple failures with bad artificial computer brains, Bunsen realizes the only way the robot won’t malfunction is if he puts Beakers brain in the robot instead. Of course, Beaker has to make do with putting a Poob named Hugh in his brain’s place (justified only because it says “meep”). And that’s not all... Gonzo has a mishap with his Morris dancing while being shot out of a cannon that leaves him a little hunchbacked, and Miss Piggy gets a shocking new hair style when fidgeting with the fuse box. Add chickens with pitchforks and you get... well, you should know by now.

I’ve seen stories before that focused on Fozzie, Scooter, Kermit, Piggy, and even the band, but this time Bunsen and Beaker get a turn in the spotlight. I don’t even think they managed to get an actual episode of The Muppet Show to become their character piece.  Bunsen is quite mad, but in a logical sense, and deep down, you can tell he does care about Beaker (funny way of showing it trying to remove his brain).

The one thing you won’t find in this issue is "Link Hogthrob, Monster Smasher." Which is a shame, since it was a nice variation on Pigs in Space. A much more subject matter appropriate Vet’s Hospital takes its place, but all the rest of the skits have significance to the plot. Plus, after the Vet’s Hospital skit, Piggy was holed up in her room for a good portion of the issue, refusing to go on--similar to last issue’s Howlin’ Jack story line. 

The Muppet Mash story arc really doesn’t connect outside of being a series of themed issues, though there was a Poob in the Calistoga Cleo arc. I don’t know exactly what a Poob is, if we’re ever going to see them again and how they’ve managed to live without them for so many years. It didn’t really need any major story connecting force (like On the Road, The Treasure of Pegleg Wilson, or Family Reunion had), but it wouldn’t have hurt it too much either if there was some small gag that unified everything.  But it's still a frightfully good read nonetheless.

 

As a whole, this has been a good theme based arc, even though two of the monsters were misunderstandings (one was actually founded, but that’s just Kermit and Scooter’s secret). And it really seemed that two of the issues experimented with guest stars more akin to the actual human guest stars on The Muppet Show. There were other guests before, but they felt like the weird Muppets that just happen to be in one episode and never again (like Angus McGonagle the Gargling Argyle Gargoyle). So, until November’s start of the "Four Seasons" story arc, goodnight out there, WHATEVER you are!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Motion Comics Coming Soon

Greetings, Muppet fans! Needing a pick-me-up on this, the first Monday in October? Well, look no further because for you, we have said pick-me-up! We present a preview of the newly-announced Muppet Motion Comics coming soon from BOOM! Studios and The Muppets Studio. The preview video showcases The Muppet Newsman, Statler, Waldorf, and Kermit, all fully-animated with Roger Langridge's gorgeous artwork and voiced by the two and only Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz. See for yourself!

Currently there's no word on if BOOM! Studios will be starting with The Muppet Show Comic Book #1 or if the stories will be new. There's also no word on how many of the comics they plan to adapt to the motion format, but whatever the case it's sure to be amazing with the Muppeteers on-board to give Langridge's words the real Muppet voices.

As soon as more information on these exciting motion comics surfaces, including when they will be released, you'll find it here on The Muppet Mindset! Until then...

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Mash #2

Congratulations to James Gannon, one of the best comic book reviewers around and our go-to guy for Muppet Comic Mondays, for being quoted on the back of the Fraggle Rock Comic Book #1 trade paperback collection!! It is a huge honor for The Muppet Mindset as a whole and, I assume, for James as well. Congratulations my friend. No one deserves it more!

The Muppet Show Comic Book #9

Muppet Mash #2

Written and Illustrated by Roger Langridge

James Gannon - After that whole messy fiasco of thinking Gonzo was a vampire, now Kermit and the gang have to deal with the next monsters in Muppet Mash, Mummies. And it promises to be even more fun than that Brendan Frasier movie. I’m talking of course about George of the Jungle (see… I made a Brendan Frasier Universal Studios Mummy movie reference… you know who you are). Well, the issue itself doesn’t so much focus on The Mummy, but rather an entire Egyptian theme.

Kermit has booked the legendary Calistoga Cleo and the Pharaohs (no relation to Sam the Sham) to be on the show. Of course, they can just barely afford her after intense haggling with her manager, Mrs. Kippel.  Little does the Frog in Chief know, he is about to really make the day of his two harshest critics, who in an amazing coincidence were just talking about her in the cold opening. In fact, they were so excited by the announcement of their favorite old time Vaudeville act, they even apologize to Fozzie for heckling his act.  Cleo also has a way with the older men, as her opening number will tell you. Yessir… not only do Statler and Waldorf love her act, but they have deeply amorous feelings for her too. This, of course, causes friction between the two of them, leading up to a rotten tomatoes duel, throwing them at the first time at each other.  Fozzie must’ve loved that. What they don’t mention is that Waldorf is a married man. But I’m sure Waldorf would say “Hey, I won’t mention it if you won’t.” Of course, their deep crush on Cleo fizzles out when they learn her ghoulish secret.

Meanwhile, we have a very brief subplot involving Miss Piggy’s vanity. The negative human characteristic that is, not the furniture with a mirror of the same name. Cleo manages to get Piggy to think about her own mortality, worrying over age lines which may or may not exist on her. And of course, Piggy manages to over-react as only Piggy can. Of course, us Muppet fans know she gets a face lift every so often. After all, they carve or cast a new one out of foam all the time.

Now, I have to admit, this is a very good issue, really great character vehicle for Statler and Waldorf, but it isn’t really all that monstery, except for the fact we get another Link Hogthrob Monster Smasher sketch and the fact that one of the characters becomes a Mummy himself. Though, not in the way you’d expect. Above that, Calistoga Cleo has a distinctive look to her. While Roger manages to give a unique spin on certain characters, making them look a little more human (Statler, Waldorf, and the Chef are pretty prime examples), they still have a Muppet flavor to them. Even with special guest characters like Clint Wacky and Creepy McBoo, Cleo looks very human here. It goes without saying, this was clearly a story salvaged from the scrapped “Guest Stars” arc. She even manages to be in two numbers and later to have a backstage conversation with the Muppets, giving it a true Muppet Show guest star feel. It doesn’t even seem to have been altered all that much, especially compared to the fourth installment of Family Reunion, where unused Sherlock Holmes guest star elements were used (which seemed to come out of necessity to recycle an otherwise unused cover).

Speaking of covers, this issue only had one. I’m sure that there’s some economic reasons that started to be the downfall of multiple collectible covers that took effect, awkwardly, the second issue into an arc. While I never bothered getting both covers myself of any BOOM! publications (not even out of choice, in most cases when only one issue remained in the store), I’ll still miss having that option.  

Oh, and apparently I took a quick gander through the newly released Fraggle Rock hard bound comic collection.  Apparently one of my reviews seen here was used as a blurb. I’d probably be flattered, but somehow I feel that they’re desperate for some reviews and there weren’t enough people reading them. And as far as the Fraggle series is concerned, I think a LOT more people should be reading them--and these BOOM! published Muppet ones.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier