Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Muppet Show #6
Boom! Kids Comics
Langridge, Mebberson, Cobain & Bennett
The latest Muppet Show comic book uses the theme of adoption and/or foster care to wrap the stories of the issue together. The idea is more heartfelt than the usual slapstick type themes but there generally is a certain sweetness to these issues and this one is no different. Robin, Kermit's nephew, is feeling unwanted and gets some advice from Scooter's sister to live life on the run. This is fueled because a mysterious older woman is hanging around the theater and the paranoid thought is she is there from an orphanage to collect Robin. It's a good issue but doesn't quite hit the funny bone as all of the previous ones have.
Statler and Waldorf are still playing chess, seemingly in heaven, and introduce a new piece to their game. The older woman, who appears nameless, shows up in the theater looking around and constantly taking notes. Scooter's sister, who is also nameless, gets in Robin's ear and the issue gets under way from there. Robin is feeling unwanted mostly because he ends up taking on all of the tasks in the theater that no one else wants to do. It's a bit of a reach but it works for the issue.
Once the theme of adoption is established, some of the skits and behind the scenes interactions in the issue generally surround around the idea of babies. Pigs In Space is really the only regular skit that makes an appearance in this comic book which hurts the joy of reading the Muppet Show somewhat. Familiar skits appearing issue after issue somehow make the series feel more connected. Other skits make appearances like Wayne and Wanda and Gonzo's Walk Like a Chicken, which shows a level of creativity but don't tie everything together as previous issues had done.
The art delivers very well in this issue as it is relied heavily on with a number of silent skits. The characters look crisp and the colors look sharp as if the Muppets were literally coming out of a TV set from a cartoon. This particularly comic has a lot of characters that don't normally get a lot of page time and the artwork helps give them personality as if they were long time veterans. This is a great visual comic book.
This is an entertaining read and I do think that fans of the Muppets would enjoy the issue. I'm not sure a newcomer would latch on to this issue because it is a little light on the laughs. However, the issue does a good job with a theme and telling a nice, self contained story. This was a good comic book but not quite as good as we've seen in this series.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
