Disclaimer: We’ve heard some reports that this issue didn’t make it to all comic book stores all across the country this week. So if it’s not available at your local Android’s Dungeon, don’t say we didn’t warn you. And now, the review.
I’m going to warn you right now: This review contains SPOILERS for the “surprise” character who shows up in The Muppet Show Comic Book #4, the issue released Wednesday, April 7 with a script by Roger Langridge and art by Amy Mebberson. I mean, it’s not much of a spoiler, because the character appears on one of the variant covers and is introduced on the second page. But still.
Okay, are you ready? The character who shows up, looking for a job, in the first issue of the “Family Reunion” arc is: Scooter’s twin sister Skeeter.
I know, right? As if it weren’t strange and delightful enough to see super-obscure characters from The Muppet Show in these comics, now we have one who never even appeared outside of Muppet Babies. In fact, just last week a passionate debate raged among voters in the Muppet Madness tournament over whether Skeeter even counts as a Muppet! And now here she is in the Muppet Show comic.
It’s worth noting that nobody ever calls her Skeeter… She’s referred to only as “Scooter’s sister” throughout, and I’m not sure why, as it’s pretty obvious that’s who she’s supposed to be. Could it be an effort to avoid acknowleding Muppet Babies as “canon?” The other Muppets in this issue act like they’ve known Skeeter for years, but there’s never any specific mention of the good times they spent together living in a nursery under the lax supervision of a babysitter with no top half, so maybe Langridge is just letting the readers decide for themselves.
Here we see Gonzo totally checking Skeeter out.
The backstage story is cute, with Scooter and his sister working out some sibling issues as he reacts to her sudden presence and she teases him for being a big nerd. Now that I think of it, Scooter was never portrayed as being particularly nerdy on The Muppet Show, was he? And yet somehow it works here, and Skeeter manages to come across as something halfway between her baby self and a brand-new character.
The onstage bits are solid as ever, including a Sam the Eagle performance that presents a different aspect of Sam than the non-stop patriotism he so often seems to get stuck with, as well as a juggling act, a Gonzo stunt, and a Muppet Labs sketch that makes me wonder whether or not Roger Langridge had seen the “Bohemian Rhapsody” YouTube video before he wrote it.
Amy Mebberson is the best artist we’ve seen on the Muppet adaptation comics so far, and she does a fine job here as well. I think Langridge’s art is lots of fun, but Mebberson’s more on-model work is a great change of pace, and perfectly complements the script. I absolutely think Boom should call her in every time Langridge needs a break.
This is a good issue and a good start to the new storyline. All I’m wondering is, now that Skeeter’s working at the Muppet Theater, what are they going to do with her for the next issues of the “Family Reunion” arc? And will she disappear after that or will she stick around? If the Muppet Madness tournament is any indication, there are plenty of fans who would love to see Skeeter as a permanent member of the Muppet gang.
Click here to hope for a cameo by Nanny on the Tough Pigs forum!
by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
