Tangled: The Series #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to Family Comic Friday where I explore and review comics that not just moms and dads but the whole family can enjoy! Today's selection is a review of the premiere issue of Tangled: The Series. Based on the Disney film and subsequent TV show, this comic published by IDW, continues the story of Princess Rapunzel, her roguish boyfriend Eugene and pets Pascal and Maximus.

Tangled: The Series #1
Written by Scott Peterson
Art by Diogo Saito, Rosa La Barbera, and Roberto DiSalvo

The first issue contains two stories written by Scott Peterson (Batman: Gotham Adventures.) In 'Guarding Against Adventure', a pair of thieves are terrorizing the kingdom of Corona at night. Rapunzel's father, King Frederic, decrees that all citizens should remain indoors at night to prevent further robberies. 

The Princess doesn't like this curfew one little bit. So one night Rapunzel steals away to capture the crooks. Also on the hunt for the thieves are Eugene and the Captain of the King's Guards. Hilarious situations ensue as Eugene keeps trying to keep Rapunzel from being ratted out by the soldier. 

The second story, 'Occupation Princess', has Rapunzel trying out a variety of jobs. Not wanting to be seen as just a princess, Rapunzel experiments with farming, cooking, and art; all with disastrous results.

The first story was very funny. It plays out like the original Disney film did with lots of slapstick and adventure. Artists Diogo Saito and Rosa La Barbera use a lot of interesting techniques to cram 50 pages of action into an 20-page story. I really liked the silhouette panels used on page 13 as well as the use of water to separate panels in a later scene by a river. I have not seen creativity like this since Jack Kirby's 1970s tenure at DC.

One thing I can't believe that I am going to complain about is the lettering. A lot of comics full of action and hi-jinx would tend to be short on dialogue. That's not the case here. Each and every panel is filled with insightful dialogue. But all that makes for very tiny wording. I don't think this is letterer Chris Dickey's fault. However, I had to use magnifying glasses to read some lines the words are that small.

The opening story introduces a new character to those of us who have only seen the Tangled movie and not the TV show. Cassandra is Rapunzel's handmaiden. Though she's more like a body guard as she wears armor and carries a huge sword. I had to Google her since she wasn't in the movie. I hope this series will use her more frequently, but if they do, the writers really need to explain who she is somehow a lot better.

I wasn't such a fan of the second story. Roberto Di Salvo also tries to use interesting panels to enhance the visual appeal of his story. But he doesn't have as much success as Saito and La Barbera did in their tale. Also, the flow just wasn't as exciting or fast paced in this adventure as in the previous one.

The lettering is awfully small in the follow-up story as well. I'm really thinking if IDW is going to continue to make Tangled: The Series a success, then they're going to have to up the font size to a 6 or 7 for better reading for us old folks.

This series has a lot of potential. The first story was great. The second yarn was okay. For the most part, the art was very well done and creative. But in order for the entire family to enjoy this book, IDW needs to make the letters bigger. Or they need to provide sample packs of aspirin to alleviate all that eye strain.

Tangled: The Series #1 debuted in stores and digital formats on February 21, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.