The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue (Family Comic Friday)

They’re creepy and they’re kooky
They’re altogether spooky
What more can we say
It’s the Addams Family
In A Family Comic Friday!

The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue (One-shot)Written by Zoe Quinn
Art by Philip Murphy
Published by IDW Publishing
Retail: $4.99

The youngest member of the Addams Family, Wednesday, is in a bit of a rut. The rusty guillotine and macabre spell books in the family library just don’t excite her anymore. Looking for a new groove, the youngster comes across a copy of Eleventeen Magazine and decides to give the entire family a make-over!

Pugsley is now adorable! Cousin Itt is bedecked in curls. And don’t even think about the nice things Wednesday has planted in Gomez’s poison ivy garden! It’s up to Morticia to help her little hellion become the strange young woman she was meant to grow up into!

This one-shot from IDW Publishing comes just right after the hit animated feature The Addams Family . I really wish IDW had released this week’s ago to co-incide with the movie’s release October 11th debut. I really want to see the picture now. Yet, just about every theater in my area isn’t showing it anymore!

Was there production delays? The artwork by Philip Murphy (Star Trek Vs Transformers) was really good. Tons of detail and the characters looked perfect. If having this comic book A) come out after the movie has generally had its theatrical run and B) released after Halloween, was in fact due to Murphy’s attention to detail, I can forgive the delay. But if not- it was really poor planning by a publishing company that is really on top of it’s game otherwise.

The story by Goddess Mode’s Zoe Quinn was quite good. Quinn captured the macabre nature of the Addams Family quite well. There are two types of people in this world. Fans of the Munsters and fans of the Addams Family. I love the Addams and Zoe Quinn made it seem like I was experiencing a lost episode of that iconic 1960s series. I think Addams Family creator Charles Addams would have been quite impressed!

But what was up with the title of this book? The Bodies Issue? Yes, the reason behind the title makes more sense if you read the book. But right off the bat for me, the subtitle sounded more like a teen sex manual hosted by Uncle Fester and Grandmama. It was deceptively inappropriate.

If you are more into the weird and strange like I am, then you and the young readers in your life will love this book. The comic isn’t rated. However, everything seems to fall in line with the PG rating of the movie. Kids aged 8-12 should become massive fans of this. Parents and guardians of those that age should too.

Some franchises like to throw in an ‘innocent’ dirty joke or two. But there’s nothing like that here. But some adults make object to some of the activities that the Addams children partake it, such as knife throwing and attempted beheading.

The Bodies Issue was a fun read that got me into a very late (or really early) Halloween spirit. Too bad it came out after all the festivities. But it was still a great read for fans of things kooky and spooky!

The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday November 6th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today's selection is all about the bad guys in the first issue of IDW's The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad. 

Many of the Powerpuff Girls biggest enemies have teamed up in hopes of bringing Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom down one and for all. But in order to do that, the likes of Mojo Jojo, Sadusa, and Butterfingers must decide who will lead them. They all can't be the head of the Bureau of Bad! 

So in order to determine who will be the leader of the Doom Room, each villain will recount how they came the closest to taking down the Powerpuff Girls. First up is Princess Morbucks' tale of how she started her own version of the Powerpuff Girls and reduced her enemies to 'nothing.'

This opening chapter of the Bureau of Bad reminds me of one of the greatest episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, 'Almost Got "Im.' In that story, all of Batman's greatest villains including the Joker, Two-Face, and Killer Croc recount how they all almost took down the Dark Knight. Having the Powerpuff Girls' enemies tell their version of events is pretty similar to that great episode and as someone who isn't really familiar with this franchise, I was pleasantly surprised with how good this first issue was!

Issue #1 is written by the team of Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman. The latter is a regular writer on the show. But it's Mancini who really sparked my interest as she is the voice of Princess Morbucks. Who better to delve into the psyche of the character than the actress who brings her to life? 

I'd be really interested to know if the actors behind some of the other characters who are members of the Bureau of Bad will be writing their alter-egos own stories. Unfortunately, upon further review on the IDW Publishing listings for issues #2 and 3, I don't think that's likely as only Mancini and Goldman are listed as the writers for those installments. 

As for the art, it looks pretty darn close to what the cartoon series looks like. Again, I'm no expert of the Powerpuff Girls. But, I think artist Philip Murphy did a very photo-realistic job. 

The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad #1 was a very entertaining opening chapter. I think it's got a lot of potential. A perfect read for not just fans of the show but as this introduces readers to all of the baddies, this is a great starting point for newbies. 

This all-ages comic book retails for $3.99. It debuted in stores on November 29th in comic book shops nationwide.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.