Issue: Muppet Snow White #1
Release Date: May 19, 2010
Writers: Jesse Blaze Snider with Patrick Storck
Artist: Shelli Paroline
Colors: Braden Lamb
Letterers: Troy Peteri & Deron Bennett
Cover A: David Peterson
Cover B: James Silvani
Publisher: BOOM! Kids
Wow. This is a funny comic. I mean it. It is actually funny and all the Muppets are perfectly in character. The authors’ ability to weave a story into the midst of the soupy mire of Muppet interruptions and craziness is just short of genius.
Each member of the cast has been placed into a predictable and yet totally unexpected role. I mean, of course Fozzie is the magic mirror (who else would it be?); of course, the Electric Mayhem is the Seven Dwarves; and, of course, Gonzo and Rizzo are the Brothers Grimm. It all makes sense now!
A balancing act between story and constant asides
The only stable element in any Muppet story is Kermit. Here, he’s Prince Charming and fits the role to a tee. When the story goes careening out of control, Kermit’s the only one trying, in vain, to stick to the script. But Kermit has no control over this chaos. The Electric Mayhem sing their version of “Heigh-Ho” to the tune of “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and there’s simply no stopping. You can’t put down the comic and say, “This makes no sense.” That’s the beauty of the writing. There’s no editorial comment to tell the reader what song they’re singing; you just know. And because you know, you know that it’s all reasonable and makes perfect sense.
Ya gotta love this
But the Muppets aren’t all crazy. When Sam the Eagle starts a debate about the subject matter of cutting Snow White’s heart out, we all know that he’s got a point. This is a kid’s comic, after all.
Oh yeah, and when you read the comic, whether you’re reading it out loud or just in your head, use voices. That’s all I’m saying.
Rating: 5 / 5 Stars
About the Author
Harley Jones first discovered geekdom by dismantling portable TVs and wiring them into his GI Joe base. He began programming at age 10 (on a C-64) and was an assistant computer teacher at the local university while still in middle school. When most kids were guffawing at Saturday Night Live, Harley was hi-jacking the family TV for Doctor Who on public television. He's a huge Tolkien-ite and classic cartoon fan. He earned an English Lit degree (Studio Art minor) and used it (successfully) to break into the exciting world of IT consulting.He leans towards authors with middle initials (Robert E Howard, Phillip K Dick, J R R Tolkien, George R R Martin, Stephen E King, etc). He reads comics and plays role-playing games. He dreams of talking apes who ride the sand-worms of a magical kingdom which resides in his bottom dresser drawer and is ruled by fluffy little clouds.
Like most people of quality, Harley is a geek. He's married to a closet-geek (she won't admit it, but she can quote every word of Buffy), and is raising two mini-geeks (fun-sized!) Perhaps his proudest geek moment was when his son crawled into bed and asked to watch TV. Harley asked, "Sponge-Bob?" and his son (who could barely talk at the time) squeaked, "Doctor Who, please."