Special Today’s Comic post> Fraggle Rock #1

That's how the actual comic looks.

Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock #1

Arachia Entertainment (April 2010)

That’s not an error in the cover image. Arachia published this comic in the format of an illustrated children’s  book instead of a comic book. While I understand why they did it (they actually let a kids title remain a kids title, unlike say Transformers), just because it’s for kids doesn’t mean it couldn’t be published in a comic book format. The guy at my comic store of choice said that this isn’t the first time.

At any rate, I picked this up on behalf of a friend of mine who love Fraggle Rock. She grew up with it, but I snuck in a review before giving it to her.

COVER “A” (shown): Jeff Stokely (artist) and Lizzy John (colorist)

COVER “B”: Jeffery Brown (artist) and Michael DiMotta (colorist)

RETAILER VARIANT: Jeremy Love

LETTERER: Dave Lahphear

MANAGING EDITOR: Tim Beedle

CONSULTING EDITOR: Joe LeFavi & Paul Morrissey

ACTIVITY PAGE: Katie Cook

There are three stories in the book with different writers and artists. I’m going to do this in the alternate format that I still don’t have a set name for.

Heather White brings the first story with the “A” cover team on art duties. “A Throne of My Own” has Red challenging Gobo to spend a night in the Gorg’s garden just before Junior blocks the entrance with an old throne. It’s a good tale of teamwork and keeping your ego in check. The art is the best of the three stories, although Gobo’s hair looks like he’s wearing too much moose.

“Time Flies” is Katie Cook’s more cartoonishly drawn story. She also writes the tale of Junior losing his father’s pocket watch down the well that leads to the Fraggle’s watering hole. Not knowing what a watch is (I’m surprised the Gorgs do, since it resembles a watch from our world), the Fraggle try to use it to make a game. A fun little story.

The final story is by the Cover B team, with Brown on writing duties as well. “Red’s Big Idea” is the Fraggle version of a segway. It doesn’t go over well. The art isn’t bad, but not really to my taste, but it’s a cute little story.

Overall, it’s a good comic for kids or like my Fraggle-loving co-worker. It’s an odd layout, and I had to use a magazine bag/board combo because it won’t fit in even a Silver Age size comic bag. The stories are fun and they did their research on such an old story. The first one is my favorite because of the length and how I could easily hear the characters again. I wonder how many of today’s kids have seen the show, since the book is obviously designed with them in mind but I see this more being purchased by the nostalgic minded adults. (At least we don’t get Gobo and Red getting it on or something, so at least it remain accessible to the original show’s target age group.)

If I were to log a couple complaints, one of them would be that the story takes place during the show rather than after. Fans know how the series ended, but while that opened new possibilities, I can understand setting it when the kids would most likely see it (provided the parents picked up the DVDs, as I don’t think it currently airs on television). On the other hand, I would drop the shorter back-up story in favor of a “Traveling Matt” story. When the show originally aired we didn’t have cell phones, the internet, or reality TV. Seeing them through the eyes of a Fraggle is gold that needs to be minted.

I liked the show as a kid, and have fond memories of it, but I can’t fit the comic in my budget. If your a fan of the show, I can easily recommend this comic. I think my friend is going to like it.