Daily Archives: 24 October 2010

Now… this issue is an unmitigated disaster. Snider and Storck cut loose–free of the Snow White plot, shattering the fourth wall as the book entirely loses track of itself–and it’s bad. I don’t know if I’d come back for another Muppet book with the same writing team. It’s more a failure in editing, since some of the scenes are still amusing–most, however, are not.

The book’s terribly mean-spirited for what’s ostensibly a kids comic; it features most of the Muppet cast being eaten by monsters, Kermit and Miss Piggy apparently die… When I was a kid and saw Muppets Take Manhattan, I assumed it meant Kermit and Piggy were married now (I was six, leave me alone).

If I were six today and read Muppet Snow White, I’d assume they were dead.

Boom!’s had a fine track record with the Muppets until now.

Not anymore.

CREDITS

Writers, Jesse Blaze Snider and Patrick Storck; artist, Shelli Paroline; colorist, Braden Lamb; letterer, Deron Bennett; editors, Jason Long and Aaron Sparrow; publisher, Boom! Studios.

Remember when I said Snider and Storck were going to run into major pacing issues? They spend half this issue (or thereabouts) on a rock concert for the Electric Mayhem (who are the dwarves in Muppet Snow White) being threatened by one of the Queen’s assassins. Maybe both of them, I couldn’t keep track because there are all these forced attempts to break the fourth wall.

These Muppet adaptations of classic (read: public domain) works require thoughtful plotting finesse. Snow White clearly doesn’t have the material without some padding, but Snider and Storck wait until the end of this issue to make that padding both Muppet and content-related….

Piggy, the evil queen, decides she gets Kermit, the prince, and kidnaps him. This comes following a scene with her fighting with the Snow White stand in over whether she gets to eat the poison apple.

These are moves long overdue.

CREDITS

Writers, Jesse Blaze Snider and Patrick Storck; artist, Shelli Paroline; colorist, Braden Lamb; letterer, Deron Bennett; editor, Aaron Sparrow; publisher, Boom! Studios.

I’ve decided Paroline’s art works well for Muppet Snow White. The book doesn’t require any suspension of disbelief–it’s hard to use that term when talking about a Muppet story–as the reader is constantly reminded it’s the Muppets doing a Snow White “performance,” as opposed to it just being Snow White told with a Muppet cast.

Paroline’s a fine, cartoony artist and it works perfectly in that context.

The issue has some funny moments–more smiles than laughs–as Snider and Storck seem to be targeting the younger audience while still leaving room for adults (the presumable Muppet fans) to appreciate.

The big problem is with the cast–the principal Muppets aren’t really important in Snow White (Kermit doesn’t even show up this issue). Instead, Snider and Storck are using the nineties Muppet creations, who are better as skit fodder than as lead cast.

It’s decent enough, but unremarkable.

CREDITS

Writers, Jesse Blaze Snider and Patrick Storck; artist, Shelli Paroline; colorist, Braden Lamb; letterer, Deron Bennett; editor, Aaron Sparrow; publisher, Boom! Studios.

Snider and Storck take many four pages in the middle of this issue as an aside. Yes, they introduce Snow White and her prince, but it’s mostly just them having a lot of fun with the script. When the comic opens, it’s very much in the vein of the Muppet Treasure Island movie, down to Gonzo and Rizzo narrating it.

Actually, the aside has a lot to do with that narrative approach, because Rizzo doesn’t know the fairytale so he follows the Disney movie plot instead.

It’s a little soon to guess how the series is going to turn out because after just this one issue… it’s clear there are going to be some pacing problems. The writers probably could have gotten the entire story told in this one issue.

Paroline’s art is decent. It lacks any polish, which might eventually work for this series. Again, too soon to tell.

CREDITS

Writers, Jesse Blaze Snider and Patrick Storck; artist, Shelli Paroline; colorist, Braden Lamb; letterers, Deron Bennett and Troy Peteri; editors, Jason Long and Aaron Sparrow; publisher, Boom! Studios.