The last time we reviewed this comic, it received the coveted perfect 10.0. That is high praise, and certainly sets the bar for issues to come. How, then, does the third issue stack up?
Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb
Algebraic! Don’t miss Finn, Jake, and all of their friends on their biggest adventure yet! Trapped by the dreaded Lich, the guys gotta stop all of Ooo from being sucked away forever – and rescue a bunch of wayward Princesses.
Luckily, no one does adventure – and looks cooler doing it – than Finn and Jake! The Cartoon Network sensation’s brand new comic is the hot new series you can’t afford to miss!
When a writer sits down to write a character like Batman or Spider-Man, they have an advantage over someone writing a character from a pre-existing property. The iconic superheroes that populate our comics have had so many hands involved in their development that – while some fans might disagree – they lack their own voice. The characters from a show like Adventure Time are different; yes, a variety of writers work on the show, but part of what makes the show appealing is the way that the characters speak, which is consistent from episode to episode. In a comic spinoff, though, we don’t have the actual voice actors, and so the necessity to write a script that “sounds” like the characters is even more important. This was one my one problem with the previous two issues. Writer Ryan North crafted two fun issues, with stories and jokes that seemed perfectly in tune with the source material, but most of the main characters just did not speak like they did in the show. Not so with this issue; lines such as “It’s not chub, bonehead! It’s unflexed muscle!!” and “How! Come! We! Keep not winning?!” sound exactly like things you would hear Jake and Finn, respectively, say on the show, extra exclamation points and all. More than anything else, inconsistent dialogue can distract the reader in a comic like this, and while North’s still isn’t perfect, it is getting better by leaps and bounds.
Writing-wise, everything else is on point. The issue opens up with a twist on an old favorite, made funnier by placing it in the opposite location in the story than one might expect – as a note, it is hard to talk about these things without spoiling them. North’s sense of humor fits well with the bizarre world of Adventure Time, with plenty of bizarre yet witty jokes that make the reader laugh a little at first, and then a lot after reflecting on them. The rap near the end is not metrically uneven and difficult to hear, but that is perhaps the one silly moment that falls notably flat. The most interesting things that North brings to the table, though, are his “side comics,” classically-styled three panel strips stretching across the top or bottom of a few pages. The strips certainly are not necessary to the plot, but enhance what is happening on the page. Neither does North use them solely for throw-away jokes; one in this issue adds depth to the relationship between Princess Bubblgum and Marceline in a touching way. Artists Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb do an equally admirable job of making sure the strips have room to breathe without intruding on the rest of the page, fitting the characters to the limited space they have to work with — and, on top of that, their work is vibrant and free, reflecting the dynamic style of the show quite well.
Like the issues preceding it, the ongoing story revolving around the Lich King is followed by two shorter comics by different cartoonists, in this ck case Michael DeForge and Zac Gorman. Also like the issues before it, the supplementary stories deviate further from the Adventure Time aesthetics. One of the great things about the show’s simple style is that it allows artists to take it in their own, unique direction, without risking a loss of visual continuity. The, for lack of a better word, “artsy” styles of the artists chosen certainly add a little something for the adult reader, showing that BOOM! Studios certainly hasn’t forgotten the show’s success amongst older viewers. DeForge’s comic is a great example of this; his style is quite different from the standard look of the show and the comic, in order to match his slightly grotesque tale, but it is still clearly inspired by Adventure Time – possibly because he works on the show. Both ‘Bacon Fields’ and the one-page ‘The Ride of Sir Slicer’ are just as entertaining as the “primary” story of the issue, and the former does a particularly excellent job of matching the character of Lumpy Space Princess from the show (a character I can’t stand, but you have to give credit where credit is due). The only negative thing about these shorter tales is that the otherwise hilarious ‘The Ride of Sir Slicer’ will most likely fall flat if the viewers hasn’t seen the episode the title character first appeared in, but other than that, these are some top-notch comics.
“Adventure Time” has been flying off the shelf, but this is not just because of brand recognition – though, okay, that certainly has something to do with it. North and company are putting together a comic that almost matches the show’s sense of wonderful silliness, which is no easy feat, while telling a story that entertains on its own merits. Whether you are a kid or a twenty-something hipster, “Adventure Time” is sure to entertain.
Final Verdict: 8.3 – Buy It!
