Comic Review: The Muppet Show #1 (Boom! Studios)

I am such a fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson. When I was a kid, the Muppets had the best game in town when it came to entertainment. Why, I even screamed “I DO!” during the wedding scene in “The Muppets Take Manhattan”, which led to a family joke that for years I was married to Kermit the Frog. That being said, I was excited to check out BOOM! Studios ongoing Muppet Show comic. I was hoping for a trip back to the Muppet Show of my youth, with humor that pleases both kids and adults, like when I watch reruns of the Muppet Show on DVD and catch jokes that I didn’t get as a kid.
First of all, Roger Langridge is a great fit for this book. I’ve kept up with his blog, Hotel Fred, for quite some time now. I love his art, because it’s cartoonish without being juvenile. In the Muppet Show, it’s reminiscent of the drawings in the old Muppet Magazine. He seems to really get the vibe of the original Muppet Show and the way things looked in the Muppets’ heyday.

Langridge does double duty as artist and writer on this book, and he succeeds in both arenas. The story of the Muppets taking their show on the road is much like watching a sequel to the Muppet movies in the 80s, complete with a good message for the kids about friendship and sticking together. It’s a cute story and a fun read, something that would be a fun way to introduce your kids to comic books and/or the wonder of the Muppets. The humor is universal without readers feeling like he’s dumbing it down for the younger crowd, and I think it’s a great way to teach new readers some more difficult words, as the vocabulary is a little above what you’d find in a typical kids’ book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of the old Muppet Show and wants to take a nostalgic trip back to their childhood. While it’s not quite as funny as what Henson and friends did back in the 70s and 80s, this is pretty close. It’s a really fun read, and something that you can share with the next generation of comic book/puppet-based humor fans.

Written & Drawn by Roger Langridge

Stacey Rader
Senior Reviewer
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