Review - Adventure Time Comics #1 (@boomstudios)


"Did you use all the toothpaste for your snowy model kit again?"

It's a great time to enjoy watching cartoons these days, as Cartoon Network and Adult Swim offer a variety of programming that caters to wide audiences. One of the more recent successes when it comes to animated shows is Adventure Time and its following borders on fervent. Adventure Time Comics #1 from KaBOOM! Studios is yet another tribute to the fantastic show. "Toothpaste Fairy" is written and illustrated by Art Baltazar, "Stand Next to Me" is written and illustrated by Katie Cook, "Goliad Gets a Break" is written and illustrated by Tony Millionaire and "Good Shelf" is written and illustrated by Kat Leyh.

Oh My Glob! We’ve unleashed some of the industry’s best cartoonists loose in the Land of Ooo to share their most algebraic stories in their own voices!

All four stories in Adventure Time Comics #1 are as eccentric and amusing as you would expect them to be. Baltazar's approach in "Toothpaste Fairy" is an entertaining take on the Tooth Fairy and the importance of brushing teeth. Cook infuses "Stand Next to Me" with a fun exchange between the Pastry Princess and LSP and her dialogue is very frank in a humorous way. Millionaire takes a somewhat minimal approach in "Goliad Gets a Break," instead choosing to give the story a certain freneticism through a lot of action. And "Good Shelf" is vintage Adventure Time, as Leyh puts Jake and Finn in a situation where the two of them are just doing their thing when the Land of Ooo bites back--amusingly of course.

The artwork throughout Adventure Time Comics #1 is varied based on story, but all of it is appropriately endearing. Baltazar illustrates "Toothpaste Fairy" with a nod to Ren and Stimpy, oversimplifying the backgrounds and letting the cartoonish aspect of the characters shine through. Cook's work in "Stand Next to Me" is very refined and realized, laying out the panels in a way that feels like the story is a photo album. "Goliad Gets a Break" sports a hand-drawn mentality that manages to keep up with the action very well. Finally, Leyh's work in "Good Shelf" is the most buttoned-up of all the stories, but the issue still manages to showcase some Adventure Time zaniness in the form of small, woodland creatures.

Adventure Time Comics #1 is a welcome collection of stories boasting familiar characters and equally as familiar zany scenarios. Jake and Finn may be the "stars" of the universe, but there's plenty of room for other characters to share their stories. Each writer imbues their story with the perfect level of personality that moves the story forward quickly and jovially. The artwork is equally up to the task of painting the Land of Ooo as one rife with madcap mayhem at every level. Adventure Time Comics #1 is a pretty breezy first issue that knows what it wants to do and does it successfully.

Adventure Time Comics #1 is in stores now.

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