Muppet Show

by Wayne Markley

As a youth, I was a huge fan of the Muppet Show. I loved the adventures of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and my personal favorite, Beaker. I found the show to be a unique mix of humor, entertainment, and downright fun. Over the last 40 years there have been very few attempts to adapt this quirky show into comic books, such as Marvel’s adaptation of the Muppets Take Manhattan. There are a couple of Muppet comics done in England and there is a Muppet newspaper strip (which someone should collect!), but there are not a lot of traditional American comics. Last year Boom Studios launched a series of Muppet comics.

Muppet Robin Hood

Boom has taken the approach of doing two different series. There is a monthly series, which started out as a mini-series but, due to demand, was made into a monthly series. They also have done a series of four issue miniseries with the Muppets telling classic stories in traditional Muppet style. For example they have done Muppet versions of Peter Pan, Snow White, Robin Hood, and King Arthur. These, like the Muppet movie versions of classic stories, tend to be a mixed bag with some being quite good and some being almost awful.

But the monthly Muppet Show comic, written and drawn by Roger Langridge (except for a recent 4-issue story that was drawn by Amy Mebberson) is fantastic. It is a unique mix of fun, brilliant pacing, and laughs. Langridge has been able to capture the zaniness of the original Muppet Show and translate it to paper. He takes a storyline that runs through the entire issue, such as Kermit’s nephew thinking he is going to an orphanage, or Fozzie’e Mom coming to visit, and uses the theme to string along a series of gags and stories, all running or page or two. The comic reads just like you are watching the television show, and it is just as funny. He uses the backstage area as the staging point for all the stories, and from there launches one page gags, such as Gonzo’s amazing act or Pigs in Space, as well as all of the other classic skits from the original television show. Each page is a perfect fit mix of Muppet humor and beautiful style. I cannot not recommend this book highly enough as it is one of the few books that is based on a licensed property and actually lives up to the quality of the work it is based on. And I’m not the only one who feels this way as it has been nominated for numerous Eisner and Harvey Awards this year.

Fred the Clown

Speaking of Roger Langridge, I would also recommend a few other books he has done. First is the Fred the Clown collection from Fantagraphics. It is a very funny, and sometimes sad, strip that, to paraphrase a review from Booklist, “is a mix of Max Flesiher animation with the best of classic comics strips (Peanuts) with a touch of underground comics”. I could not describe Fred the Clown any better. It is truly a one of a kind book worth your attention. Next is a more mainstream book he did for Marvel, Fin Fang Four. This was a one-shot comic that told a number of stories of classic Marvel monsters in the modern world trying to hold down jobs and live peacefully with humans. This is one of my favorite single comics in years.

Do yourself a favor and try one of these great books by Roger Langridge. Be it the Muppets or Fin Fang Four or Fred the Clown, you are in for a treat. As always, please feel free to contact me at MFBWAY@AOL.COM and any and all comments in this column reflect my opinions (and maybe my editor this time out) and not Westfield Comics.