Hefty Smurf is unhappy with how lazy his fellow Smurfs are. In order to help get them into better shape, he proposes a series of games in which the winners get medals. Oh, and a kiss from Smurfette!
The village splits into 2 teams. Sadly, nobody wants fragile Weakling Smurf on their squad, so he becomes a team of one!
This yarn becomes two stories at this point. Hefty is engulfed in a comedy of errors as he can't get any of his fellow Smurfs to act serious. Meanwhile Weakling Smurf is starring in his own version of the Tortoise and the Hare as he tries so very hard to train (in vain) for the forthcoming Smurf Olympics. Add in Brainy Smurf driving everyone crazy as the official referee of the competition and the wisdom of Poppa Smurf and you've got yourself about as perfect as a Smurf adventure as you can get without the presence of Gargamel and his cat Azrael!
I had debated on whether or not to pre-order a copy of this book from my favorite local comic shop. I'm trying to scale back my collection a bit. Plus I read about this book a week late because I was on vacation when the Previews for this special dropped. I figured if I tried to order it later, I probably wouldn't get my hands on a copy until AFTER the Olympics had passed. So I was content to miss out on a copy. Imagine my surprise when I went to my favorite store just yesterday and they had a couple of copies available on the shelves at the checkout. I figured this is kinda a holiday special and since they went to the trouble of ordering this, I happily made it a part of my collection.
Now this isn't the story's first time in print. There's the original version in France which a year later was serialized in a couple European mags. Just a couple of years ago, Papercutz released the story as part of their Smurfs 3-in-1 anthology series in volume 4. There have also been countless adaptations of the story in the 40 years in-between publishing. I don't want to dissuade anyone from buying a comic book, especially if it's one I review for Family Comic Friday. However, as there isn't any new material in the Smurfs Olympic Special, if the young reader in your life already owns Smurfs 3-in-1, Volume 4 already, save your money. OR... buy a copy for another deserving young reader who might be thinking about getting into comics.
Lastly, for those of you parents and guardians who like me heard the myth growing up that the Smurfs are demonic. There's no magic in this story. Except for a couple exploding tricks from Jokey Smurf, this isn't even a violent tale. From what I can tell, it was the Jehovah's Witnesses who declared the Smurfs to be Satanic. As with every family friendly book I review, I leave it up to the parents to ultimately decide. However, if this book ends up being a hit in your home, check out the Smurfs official channel on Youtube where they've got the 1983 hour-long animated Smurf Olympic Special ready for viewing! It could be a lot of fun and cool way to beat the Summer heat as you prepare for the real games later this month!
Nostalgic with a heart-warming ending. A very liberal use of the word 'Smurf' as a substitute for other words that can get a little confusing and annoying. But something multiple generations of readers can enjoy!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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