Friday, May 11, 2018

Fraggle Rock #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Fraggle Rock #1
Written and Illustrated by Jared Cullum
Published by Archaia












Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today we travel deep underground to visit with those distant cousins of the Muppet family- the Fraggles!


The first of a 4-issue mini series, Fraggle Rock #1 features all of your favorite characters- Boober, Red, The Doozers and many more. But the focus of the first story is Mokey. The resident artist of Fraggle Rock has lost her muse and she’s very afraid that she’s lost it forever. Mokey’s friends seek to help the artist rediscover her passion for art. However, it  soon becomes clear that only Mokey can regain that love for art that she’s lost.


This was an extremely quick read. Large portraits of the caves of Fraggle Rock take over most of the pages. I thought Jared Cullum’s watercolors were just gorgeous. Though I could not remember all of Fraggles name, I recognized every single one of them in this story. I am quite impressed with Cullum’s talents.


Fraggle Rock has long been considered a gateway between the preschool fun of Sesame Street and the more grown up humor and parody of the Muppet Show. Readers ages 6-10 should really enjoy this new miniseries from the Boom! Studios imprint, Archaia. The words are not too big for readers in grades 1-4. One thing I did find troublesome is that the print is kinda small.


The format of this book is not the traditional rectangled shape of a comic book. Instead, it’s square like a Little Golden Book. So that could make for a little bit of reading difficulty, especially for the grown-ups who might be reading this with the young reader in their lives. Also, these squared comics do not fit in either a standard protective sleeve nor a standard comic book storage unit.


One cool thing about this Fraggle Rock miniseries is that there isn’t a cliffhanger. The story ‘Mokey Loses Her Muse’ is done by the end of this issue. While events of this tale might spill over to the other 3 issues, I don’t think you will feel lost if you miss an issue. But why would you want to do that?


I know as a youngster that if a comic had a ‘To Be Continued’ at the end, I would either feel cheated out or afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get the next issue to continue the story. Cliffhangers often would result in my passing them up as I didn’t want to chance missing out on the rest of the story. Major kudos to Archaia for deciding to make their miniseries comprised of one-and-done stories!


This was a nostalgic read that will appeal to older readers. It was also a magical and whimsical reader that shall delight fans of all ages. More storybook than comic book in terms of design, it’s still a work of sequential art. All four issues when published should make for some great reads during summer vacation or just an afternoon by the pool.


Fraggle Rock #1 was published in print and digital media on May 9, 2018.


Worth Consuming!


Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.


This review was published concurrently on Outrightgeekery.com.

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