Muppet Robin Hood comic coming April 29, 2009

[BlakeMP]

According to my Comixology e-mail, both Muppet Robin Hood #2 and The Muppet Show #4 are supposed to ship this Wednesday.

 

[minor muppetz]

There was an interview with Tim Beedle at Tough Pigs regarding the comics. One thing of interest is that issue #3 will include many cameos. I figured that with it being about the archery contest that it'd be logical to feature many characters among the crowd (I won't be surprised if Statler and Waldorf appear there). Issue 3 would be a great place in the series to include The Newsman, Louis Kazagger, and Fleet Scribbler, all interviewing the contestants and reporting on the action.

It was also said that Prince John will eventually make an appearance, and will be portrayed by an obscure character who isn't too associatwed with the main cast, making him a natural choice for a villian. I wonder who it could be. J.P. Grosse? Fleet Scribbler? Angus McGonacle?

And it was said that somebody who fans will recognize from the Lynn Redgrave episode will make an appearance. That's interesting because I can't think of who it'd be, since the merry men were whatnots who didn't do much, and the guards were generic pigs. I figure it's the pig who Robin Hood competes with, though that puppet was used for many pigs. Or maybe it will be the William Shakespeare that Sam interviewed, though he was just in the UK spot.

 

[frogboy4]

2nd issue is in my hot little frogboy hands and here's a brief overview. Much better.

The art is still wonky and I'm just not a fan of Villavert's style. Others might be. I swear his Uncle Fester looking Fozzie will haunt my dreams. Also Piggy's eyebrows just don't work for me. Other bits are alright and he does handle Janice quite nicely. Deadly was an interesting addition, however with a two second Google image search the artist would have known to add a tail, but that's nit-picky. It was never seen on the show.

As far as the story, it moves a little more than the other one. The framework is looser than I'd prefer, but I can go with it. The humor is here too. Some fun scenes are set up and wonderful cameos! It's not as good as Langridge, but fans really lucked out with his pitch-perfect approach. However, I do wonder if the story would be better if handled by another illustrator. My opinion would likely improve quite a bit.

Art still gets a C-
Writing gets a solid B
Overall B-

 

[Drtooth]

I just finished it, an' all I can say is... I was NOT expecting that guy to be Prince John at all. Nice twist there, and truely fitting. (how are we with spoilers here? Should I say who he is?)

Now that we've gotten out of the establishment phase of issue 1, we're really getting into the meat of the story. Just as I thought, this issue was much better than the first, in terms of story, structure, comedy, and action. Only disappointment is the writing is that Fozzie didn't utter Wocka Wocka once. But that's a little nitpicky on my part. Love how they referenced the other comic as well.

As for the art, I see why you're not a fan of it, though I really enjoy it myself. There are a couple things that don't gel... Sweetums's nose is inconsistant (and it needs to be a little longer, over all)... and I really didn't like Kermit having teeth in that one frame where he falls for Piggy. There are some characters I really think he did well... but I REALLY like how he handled... well Spoiler:



Johnny and especially Sal. I drew Sal several times, but he never really looked fluid to me when I did it. He seems to have done it well.


End Spoiler:

I also have to point out the irony... and I love this... of Kermit being the more abrasive one in the relationship for a change.

 

[minor muppetz]

Comic Book Resources just posted a 9-page preview of issue #3. Spoilers ahead.......................................
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This issue includes appearances by Pepe, Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Animal, and Zoot. I think it's their first appearance in the comic book.

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Spoiler ended.

 

[theprawncracker]

Hmm... Well... I continue to like the casting a lot. But... I'm really not enjoying the writing at all. I can't hear Johnny's voice in any of the lines he has--and that really bothers me. Dr. Teeth could've been written a lot better too. Floyd and Pepe were alright... and Bean, Fozzie, and Sam are written very well.

The art is really starting to get on my nerves too. It's just not... Muppety. At all. It's boring. *shrug* I dunno. I like the story, but I think the art and character writing department is lacking.

 

[frogboy4]

Sam's tantrum seemed totally out of character. I'm not hearing the Muppet voices either.

 

[theprawncracker]

Sam's tantrum seemed totally out of character. I'm not hearing the Muppet voices either.

Completely agreed. The voices really just aren't there... it's very bothersome. *shrug* At least The Muppet Show Comic continues to deliver gold every frame.

 

[minor muppetz]

There is a review of issue 3 at tough pigs. The reviewer chose not to mention which characters make cameos (though an image of Pops is included). I hope I can know who all makes cameos soon. I would expect Louis Kazagger to return and report on the archery contest, and this seems like something that would get plent yof news coverage, so I hope that The Newsman and Fleet Scribbler both make appearances. I would imagine this to be a great place to include a trumpet player, so hopefully Lips appears. If I did this comic I would have some of the full-body monsters take part in the competition.

The review mentions that Statler and Waldorf are the only major characters who haven't shown up in the comic yet. I am sor tof surprised that they aren't there to watch the archery contest. It seems like an appropriate way to use them.

It's said that Bunsen and Beaker make their Robin Hood debuts in this comic. An image of Beaker is shown, and I don't really like how he's drawn. I also feel that way about Roger Langridge's design of the character... Both illustrators don't seem to draw Beaker "muppety" enough. Amy Mebberson did a good job with Beaker on the cover of Muppet Peter Pan Issue 2. David Alverez did a good job on that exclusive TMS issue 1 variant cover.

The review says that this issue contains both old and new characters. I suspect that the "new" includes Muppets Tonight characters, but wouldn't it be something if this had some JHH characters?

 

[Drtooth]

Eh, so I'm the only one that likes these comics, then? I do see what you're saying, though. I think the Muppet voices pop in and out a lot... Pepe somehow didn't seem like Pepe... and honestly, I thought he was gonna be Prince John. I think the problem is the writer just wrote him too straight and just put the word "Okay" at the end of every third sentence. I really think he should have at last called Robin "Robbits" or something... he really needed the accent transliterated. And I agree Sam snapping on Fozzie is totally out of character.

As for the art, I see what everyone is getting at. Some characters he stylized too much... I agree. I do like the style of artwork that's being used here... seems like a very middle age look to it.

And Again, the first mess of pages is all plot expo. The real action doesn't take place until the Archery contest near the end of the issue. You know.... I think the lack of Muppetyness is due to the fact the writer is actually playing a lot of the project straight. This issue (for the most part) was much straighter than the last one. And really, the one thing that bothered me this issue was the pacing. Things went on a little too long, and The contest at the end was just way to truncated. I was a little disappointed more of the issue didn't focus on it.

But once we got their, we really had quite an issue. Heck, we saw SPOILERS:


Emily Bear as a captive of Prince John... the only real reason why Fozzie's acting as a spy. She doesn't have any lines, thought.

Contestants of the archery contest:

Shakey Sanchez, Bobo, Crazy Harry (drawn fantastically), George the Janitor, and Manah Manah with the Snowths... and YES... they break out into song.

And Clifford makes an odd appearance. He was drawn pretty good at one point, but he really looked terrible the rest of the time.

All and all, I liked this issue, but not as much as the last one. I'm sure the finale will be much better. And even so, this is still lightyears better than Muppet Classics Theater.