Clue #1

How To Play…

Clue- The Classic Whodunit board game from Parker Brothers is now a comic book. From the guys at IDW Publishing, readers are given the task to solve the murder of Mr. Boddy. Over the course of five issues, clues will be discovered and motives revealed. Is it pharmaceutical magnate Mr. Green in the kitchen with the knife? Was it power hungry Senator White with the revolver in the billiard room?

The first issue of Clue: the Comic Book was rather fun. Upton the Butler is your host to Boddy Manor. The servant breaks the fourth wall, cluing readers in on suspects and alerts you to new developments. Even writer Paul Allor (G.I. Joe) gets in on the fun conversing back-and-forth with Upton about the crime at hand. It’s very reminiscent of the fun stuff Lee and Kirby would do at Marvel back in the Silver Age.

A Colorful Assortment

The artwork by Tank Girl’s Nelson Daniel was okay. None of the characters look like they do from the classic board game. With the addition of modern personas like Dr. Orchid from more recent Clue editions, it’s the colorist who matters most in this comic. Without him, you wouldn’t know Miss Scarlet from Professor Plum. Oddly enough, IDW doesn’t give a listing for who colors the book.

Multiple Chances to Solve the Game

This is actually a comic that you’ll want to buy multiple copies of. Each book has an extra page of clues randomly. There are 3 extra pages per issue to be found, so if you really want to master the game, you’ll need to buy 3 issues! Though maybe IDW should follow Marvel’s lead and insert a code in which you can activate the addition pages digitally.

I love playing Clue. It’s one of the reasons I choose to review this book. It’s also true that I am a big fan of the 1980s live-action film version of the game. There’s several elements of humor and game-play found in both the comic and the movie. I just wish that Allor and Daniel would’ve made the character of Upton to look more like Tim Curry’s Wadworth.

Regardless, Clue takes comics and games to a new level of interactive comics. This is an enjoyable summer comic. But I think it’s best when scanned during a dark and stormy night.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.