Line #45 ComicBook/TheMuppetShowComicBook


1	[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/muppet_show_comic.png]]
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3	->'''Statler:''' A ''Muppet Show'' comic book! Oh no, they're back to corrupt a whole new medium.\
4	'''Waldorf:''' Why's it called a medium?\
5	'''Statler:''' 'Cause it's rarely well done! Hoho!
6	-->-- the first issue
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8	''The Muppet Show Comic Book'', published by [[Creator/KaboomComics Boom! Kids]], is, well, ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a ComicBookAdaptation of ''Series/TheMuppetShow''. It was launched in November, 2009. It is written and (usually) drawn by Roger Langridge, who had originally wanted to draw ''Muppet Show'' comics for ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' after Disney bought the franchise. ''Disney Adventures'' got cancelled before they could run any of Langridge's material (with the exception of a one-page short starring Fozzie Bear in their final issue), but the people at Creator/BoomStudios hired him to do a ''Muppet Show'' comic book as part of their new Creator/{{Disney}}-based imprint of kids' comics.
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10	Unfortunately, as of 2011, the comic is now on hiatus due to Disney's acquisition of Creator/MarvelComics. The fourth and final story arc (''Four Seasons'', which Boom was about to publish before scrapping the series) was [[ChannelHop published by Marvel]] in 2012.
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12	Spinning off from the main comic was ''ComicBook/MuppetClassics'', a series of four-issue miniseries adapting famous stories and fairy tales. Five miniseries were published and completed prior to Boom losing the license, consisting of adaptations of ''Myth/RobinHood'', ''Literature/PeterPan'', ''Myth/KingArthur'', ''Literature/SnowWhite'' and ''Literature/SherlockHolmes''.
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14	In 2014, an omnibus was published collecting the entirety of the comic (the initial four-issue miniseries, the ''Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson'' miniseries, all 12 issues of the main series, the four-issue ''The Muppets'' series published by Marvel when Boom lost the license and the Muppet strips Langridge originally made for ''Disney Adventures'').
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16	----
17	!!Tropes:
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19	* ActuallyNotAVampire: The first part of the ''Muppet Mash'' arc revolves around the other Muppets thinking that Gonzo has become a vampire when he starts demonstrating vampire-like traits and habits. By the end of the issue, it turns out that he isn't a vampire and gives an explanation for all the supposed signs of his vampirism, such as his aversion to the Swedish Chef's garlic steak being because he's on a vegetarian diet and avoiding sunlight because he experienced a bad sunburn during his vacation.
20	* AlternateSpeciesCounterpart: In ''Four Seasons'' issue #2 "Summer", the characters at the Whatnot Theater troupe are counterparts to the Muppets, with the host being Dermot the Dog. Other Whatnots including Miss Tiggy (a tiger), Bonzo the Great (a monkey), Dr. Tongue (as opposed to Dr. Teeth), and Vegetable (a giant carrot who plays the spoons).
21	* BadSanta: The "Winter" issue of the ''Four Seasons'' arc features a burglar dressed as Santa Claus robbing Sam the Eagle.
22	* BrickJoke: One in at least every book.
23	* {{Calvinball}}: The events in ''Family Reunion'' are all planned out by a pair of celestial beings resembling JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf as part of [[CosmicChessGame some weird chess game they're playing]].
24	* ChristmasEpisode: The final issue of the ''Four Seasons'' arc has the Muppets celebrating Christmas.
25	* CrowdSong:
26	** This happens near the end of every issue, usually signifying the end of the main plot point of that issue. Yes, they sing in a comic book, why do you ask?
27	** "On The Road Part One: Watch That Tiger" features a glorious parody of the opening theme, reworked to allow for the fact they're performing in a field. "It's time to hitch the wagons/It's time to pick a site..."
28	* DartboardOfHate: Miss Piggy throws darts at a dartboard with Madame Rhonda's picture attached to it by the end of her spotlight issue in the original four-issue miniseries.
29	* ADayInTheLimelight: JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf have gotten one for an issue.
30	* DeadpanSnarker: Kermit
31	-->'''Kermit:''' Very good, nice job everybody! Lose the wanton violence and we ''might'' just make it!
32	* DependingOnTheArtist: Writer Roger Langridge usually does the art, but sometimes he hands it over to Amy Mebberson. It's been suggested that Langridge draws the ''characters'', and Mebberson draws the ''puppets''.
33	* GemEncrusted: At one point in the ''Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson'' miniseries, Miss Piggy puts on so much jewelry, when she falls over she can't get back up.
34	* HeroicBSOD: Kermit gets this when he finds out [[spoiler:the tree he was born in was torn down.]]
35	* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Since it wouldn't be ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' without them, versions of JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf keep showing up even when the show goes on tour. And then there's the aforementioned celestial beings...
36	* InterspeciesRomance: The "Spring" issue of the ''Four Seasons'' arc has Animal fall for a gorilla named Meredith.
37	* JekyllAndHyde: Played with in #8 and 10 of the ongoing. In #8, the Muppets begin to think that Gonzo is a vampire, but it turns out to be [[GuiltByCoincidence one big misunderstanding]], sorted out during a CrowdSong, no less. In #10, the guest star that night is [[CoolOldGuy living legend]] [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Howlin' Jack Talbot]], much to the delight of house band The Electric Mayhem. Unfortunately, whenever Howlin' Jack gets up to sing, he soon rushes off-stage, and a BigFriendlyDog soon rushes onstage. The Muppets soon put two and two together and make "[[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolf]]", and ask [[LawyerFriendlyCameo The Lonesome Stranger]] if they could borrow his [[OhCrap silver bullets]]. Again, it's one big misunderstanding, as it turns out that the dog is Jack's ([[FluffyTheTerrible his name is Wuffles]] and he's a Peruvian wolfhound), and the reason he kept rushing backstage was he [[ForgetfulJones kept forgetting his lines, because he's getting on in years]]. Everyone gets together for a rendition of "The Monster Munch" (a parody of "The Monster Mash") and have a good laugh at the idea of Howlin' Jack being a werewolf. [[spoiler:And then Kermit and Scooter see two big dogs running away from the theatre, under a full moon... They decide [[SecretKeeper not to mention it to the others]], because as Kermit points out: "After all, a man's earned the right to [[FromACertainPointOfView forget to mention a few]] '''''minor details''''' when he's a living legend."]]
38	* KickMePrank: Skeeter at one point plays a prank on Miss Piggy by putting a sign reading "wide load" on her back in the ''Family Reunion'' arc.
39	* JumpingOutOfACake: In the first issue of the original ''Meet the Muppets'' miniseries, one of the other Muppets' attempts at cheering up a homesick Kermit the Frog involves Miss Piggy jumping out of a cake.
40	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: It's Franchise/TheMuppets. What did you expect?
41	* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: Fozzie's issue in the ''Meet the Muppets'' miniseries has Gonzo claim that "overconfidence" and "reckless" are two of his middle names.
42	* MirrorRoutine: Kermit and his impersonator Kismet.
43	-->'''Kismet:''' (''[[AsideGlance to the reader]]'') You know, I always wanted to do that.
44	* MythologyGag:
45	** Adult Skeeter wears green and white striped stockings, similar to the green and white striped socks that [[WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984 Nanny]] wore.
46	** In #1 of the first miniseries, janitor Beauregarde meets George, [[CallBack the janitor from the first season]]
47	* OddballDoppelganger: The Summer issue of the ''Four Seasons'' arc has Fozzie agree to a gig at the Whatnot Theater, where he meets bizarre counterparts to himself and the other Muppets (e.g. Ozzy Bear, Dermot the Dog, Miss Tiggy, Doctor Tongue, a carrot version of Animal who is obsessed with spoons rather than drums).
48	* PhonyPsychic: Miss Piggy's issue in the original four-issue miniseries involves Miss Piggy being duped by Madame Rhonda, an illegitimate medium who tells her that she will lose something "precious and green". Miss Piggy thinks Madame Rhonda is talking about Kermit, but Madame Rhonda was really talking about the money she was pilfering from Miss Piggy.
49	* PoorCommunicationKills: Or [[HilarityEnsues Leads to Hilarity Ensuing]]... in #7 of the ongoing, Fozzie reveals that [[LockedOutOfTheLoop he hasn't told his mother that he's a comedian]], but the {{BlatantLie\|s}} that he's TheWatson to an in-universe Literature/SherlockHolmes {{Expy}}. Now [[OhCrap his mother's coming to visit, and she's bringing one of Fozzie's old childhood girl friends, who's single...]] Luckily, Skeeter's more than happy to help out, quickly [[UnwantedAssistance making things worse]]. [[spoiler:Fortunately, it all gets resolved; Ma Bear's [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot not happy that her son lied to her]], but is happy that he's doing what he loves. It doesn't hurt that the childhood friend is [[SheIsAllGrownUp quite the looker]]... for a bear.]] Sadly [[spoiler:Skeeter has to [[BackToSchool finish her archaeology degree]]. Or does she? In a letter she claims she's been on all kind of wild adventures working for a GovernmentAgencyOfFiction. Fozzie bemoans the fact that [[AesopAmnesia she didn't learn her lesson from his foolishness]] and the others sadly agree. At the very end of the comic it turns out her letter was one big CassandraTruth, and [[YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou she's keeping back all the weird stuff]]...]]
50	* ReCut: The preview issue that was released at San Diego Comic Con 2008 and included in the trade paperback collection of the "Meet the Muppets" miniseries consisted of Muppet strips that Roger Langridge had originally made for ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures''. As detailed on [[http://hotelfred.blogspot.com/p/muppet-show-comic-book.html his blog]], Roger Langrige's main story of Sweetums trying to perform in the show to impress his mother added a scene of Sweetums singing a parody of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" without his permission. The trade paperback version also replaced a cameo by [[Series/SesameStreet Bert]] in the ''Muppet Ballroom'' strip with an appearance by Dr. Teeth.
51	* {{Retcon}}: Remember when [[Film/MuppetsFromSpace Gonzo was revealed to be an alien]]? Yeah, [[CanonDiscontinuity that never happened]]. He's [[spoiler:an artist.]]
52	* ShoutOut:
53	** Several mentions of the actress Lola Vavoom, from Creator/JasperFforde novels.
54	** In the one-off ''Pigs in Space: The Movie'' special that preceded the series, the patrons of Cafe Fred include Muppet versions of [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Bender]] and [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Joel, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot]].
55	** In ''Family Reunion'', the increasingly bizarre rules of the {{Calvinball}} CosmicChessGame include the [[Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue Lyttelton Variation]].
56	** Howlin' Jack Talbot shares his surname with Film/TheWolfMan1941.
57	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion:
58	** One of the Muppet strips that was originally intended for ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' before being included in the San Diego Comic Con 2008 preview issue, the trade paperback collection of the "Meet the Muppets" miniseries and the omnibus collection of the entire comic has a scene where Sweetums serenades to a BoundAndGagged Miss Piggy.
59	-->'''Sweetums''': Me live in dumb old hut\
60	And shirt am torn and cut--\
61	But nothing so ace as your fat old face\
62	And pimples on your--
63	** Rizzo the Rat writes a poem to Gonzo in the "Winter" issue of the ''Four Seasons'' arc to express his anger at Gonzo's latest stunt destroying the refrigerator.
64	-->'''Rizzo''': Roses are brown...\
65	So is a nut.\
66	Gonzo the Great is a pain in the...
67	* TenPacesAndTurn: Mercilessly spoofed in #9 when JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf fight over the newest guest star; firstly, they're doing it with [[ProducePelting rotten tomatoes]]. Secondly, the woman doesn't want ''[[TakeAThirdOption either]]'' of them, Pops' the happy winner. [[spoiler:Thirdly, the guest star is [[OlderThanTheyLook older than she looks]]. A ''lot'' older.]]
68	* UncannyFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:Beauregard and his cousin Mo.]]
69	* WritingAroundTrademarks: Because the publisher was unsure if having the comic book license of ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' enabled them to use elements from ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'', Skeeter is never called by name. She's referred to as "Scooter's Sister", Scooter calls her "Sis", Gonzo calls her "Whatshername", and Andy and Randy call her "the genius" (because she can work a doorknob). Fozzie begins to say her name at one point but is interrupted. The name "Skeeter" only appears on the last two pages of issue #7.
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