The Muppet Show is comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 based on the Variety

Variety show

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

 TV series The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...

and featuring Jim Henson

Jim Henson

James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...

's The Muppets

The Muppets

The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...

. The series is written and drawn by Roger Langridge

Roger Langridge

Roger Langridge is a New Zealand-born comics writer/artist/letterer, currently living in Britain.-Biography:Langridge originally came to public prominence most notably with the Judge Dredd Megazine series The Straitjacket Fits , a surreal, hallucinatory, convention-bending strip set in an insane...

 and published by Boom! Studios

Boom! Studios

BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....

.

Reception

Dan Crown of IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 gave the first issue an 8.2 out of ten, saying "The idea of using a sketch comedy show as a vehicle for various and unique comic strips is borderline inspired. This book isn't just funny, in some ways it's revolutionary."

Eye on Comics gave the first issue a 9/10.

Issues

Roger Langridge

Roger Langridge

Roger Langridge is a New Zealand-born comics writer/artist/letterer, currently living in Britain.-Biography:Langridge originally came to public prominence most notably with the Judge Dredd Megazine series The Straitjacket Fits , a surreal, hallucinatory, convention-bending strip set in an insane...

 originally made a special preview for the comic which was to be used in the Disney Adventures

Disney Adventures

Disney Adventures was a children's entertainment and educational magazine published ten times per year by The Walt Disney Company. It should not be confused with the Disney Magazine...

 magazine, which was cancelled in November 2007

• Preview Special: The show is about to start and Kermit thinks the guest star hasn't shown up yet, when Kermit hears a knock at the door. When he opens the door, he finds a baby. The show continues as they try to calm the baby down. Eventually, the "baby" reveals that he's not really a baby, but the scheduled guest star, Babyface Magee, Midget Acrobat. He'd been hit on the head and left ga-ga, regaining consciousness only minutes ago. It turned out to be Sweetums, in an attempt to take Babyface Magee's spot. Sweetums is found on-stage singing during the closing number, he then reveals that his mommy is in the audience, and he wanted to surprise her. Kermit tries to think of a way to give Sweetums something to do that doesn't involve singing, and soon hires him to throw bricks at hecklers.

The first two story arcs are renumbered from 1, this was changed after the second story arc.

Meet the Muppets (4 Issues)

• 1: Kermit's Story: When Kermit receives a mysterious letter and starts strumming an old tune on his banjo, Robin realizes that his uncle misses the swamp. With their beloved leader down in the dumps, the whole Muppet gang does its best to try to improve Kermit's spirit. The cast tries to cheer Kermit up, but in the end, it's Robin's insistence that his uncle play through to the end of The "Pond Where I Was Born" on his banjo that finally helps Kermit realize that even though the theater is his home now, the pond will always be a part of me. Wherever I should roam.

• 2: Fozzie's Story: When the Cheese Manufacturers' Convention sours on Fozzie Bear's comedy act, he tries to reinvent himself by looking to the past for inspiration. Unfortunately, his Shakespearean homage ends in tragedy, his music hall routine lands him in "Veterinarian's Hospital" when Miss Piggy finds out that Kermit has canceled her "Suffragette, Crepe Suzette" number for it, and a slapstick performance conceived by Gonzo leaves him with nothing but pie on his face. But when Rowlf suggests during a last-ditch Beatnik sketch that Fozzie just be himself, the bear actually succeeds, bringing even Statler and Waldorf to tears of laughter!

• 3: Gonzo's Story: Osbert J. Smedley, the theater's insurance agent, comes to the theater for some routine questioning. A busy Kermit has Scooter answer Smedley's questions. Mr. Smedley needs to know what species everybody in the theater is, but Scooter's not sure what Gonzo is. Scooter asks Gonzo what he is, but Gonzo states that he's never really thought about it before. Scooter asks around, and nobody else is sure. Eventually, Rizzo comes to the conclusion that Gonzo is a "Gonzo". Scooter gives Smedley the answer, but then after realising who Gonzo is, he realizes that having Gonzo in the theater would raise the premium up to five thousand percent. Gonzo assures a nervous Smedley that his act is risk-free, and offers to let Smedley test out his act, which would involve Smedley getting inside a cannon. A frightened Smedley then claims that there was an error and that the insurance company owes the theater thirty-two cents, and rushes off just before the big finale, which ends up sending Gonzo to the hospital. At the hospital, Scooter begs Gonzo to tell him what he is. Gonzo's reply: "I'm an artist."

• 4: Piggy's Story: The guest star is Madame Rhonda, a psychic. She gives fortunes to various Muppets backstage. When she reads Miss Piggy's fortune, she tells her that she'll lose something valuable and green, referring to her money (as she takes the purse when Piggy isn't looking), but she thinks Madam Rhonda is talking about Kermit. Miss Piggy soon gets jealous when she sees Kermit talking to the other female Muppets. Meanwhile, Kermit, who doesn't believe in Madame Rhonda's fortune telling, eventually lets Fozzie and Gonzo talk him into getting his fortune told. Later, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Madame Rhonda end up in jail, while a police officer explains what happened to his boss. As shown in flashback form, Miss Piggy sees Madame Rhonda reading Kermit's palm and karate chops them both. Miss Piggy then finds out that Madame Rhonda had taken her purse. Madame Rhonda admits to her psychic powers being a scam, and Kermit decides not to press charges on Miss Piggy for karate chopping him. Since the theater is only a short distance away, he decides to walk back with Miss Piggy, but then they remember that Miss Piggy is supposed to be in the closing number. They rush back to the theater just in time for Miss Piggy to sing the final line.

The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson (4 Issues)

• 1: Scooter discovers old documents which reveal that a cache of treasure is hidden somewhere within the theater, and when Rizzo the Rat overhears this, the news spreads like wildfire. Animal begins acting very strangely - he's now refined and well-mannered! Meanwhile Kermit is acting suspiciously cool.

• 2: Hypnotist Creepy McBoo tries to cure Animal. Kermit comes back and reveals he hired the look-alike Kismit to act like him for a sketch. The Electric Mayhem tries to get Animal back to his crazy self.

• 3: Due to the buried treasure, Kermit decides to have a pirate-themed closing number. He instructs Gonzo to go to the library and do some research on who Peg-Leg Wilson was. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Kismet and Rizzo have been working together and planning on splitting the treasure, but then Kismet decides that he'll split it with whoever finds the treasure first, who could be the dwarfs he has working for him. Kismet also reveals that he's after Miss Piggy's jewelry. Kismet comes to Piggy's rescue in a melodrama, "The Perils of Piggy", and tells her that he wants to see her in her jewelry. Miss Piggy is soon dressed in a lot of gold jewelry, but the dwarfs run after her. They soon realize that the gold and jewelry are fake, and they leave her locked up behind the wall. With Piggy seemingly missing, Link talks Kermit into using the robotic Piggy that was in the shows "Pigs in Space" sketch during the closing number, "H.M.S. Pinafore", in which the cast sings "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General", using a very expensive set on loan. Unfortunately, the robotic Piggy runs amok and destroys the set, costing Kermit thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, The Electric Mayhem attempt to get Animal back to normal by instructing him to hit several fleas thrown at his drums, expecting him to become a wild drummer again. However, Animal has become a Buddhist, and is not allowed to harm living beings. The fleas put on an act on Animal's drum set, "Julius Prunes Amazing Flea Circus
  Flea circus
  A flea circus refers to a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing...
  
  ", and they later give Animal a trophy for being the only guy who was ever kind to them.

• 4: The search for treasure starts to cause damage to the theater. Meanwhile, The Electric Mayhem decides to drop Animal as their drummer, replacing him with M.A.M.M.A. A saddened Animal recalls that Bunsen told him that he can stop his treatment whenever he wants, and Animal gives up his pills, quickly becoming his old self again. Kermit finds Rizzo and reminds him that the theater is more than just a theater; it's Rizzo's home. Rizzo tries to tell the other rats to stop, but they won't listen. Meanwhile, Kismet tricks Bunsen and Beaker into leaving the laboratory so that he can steal Bunsen's latest invention, x-ray glasses, and use it to find the treasure. Kismet finds that the treasure is in the basement. However, as soon as he finds the treasure, Miss Piggy shows up with a cop, telling him to arrest Kismet for replacing her jewels with shabby fake replacements. Kismet tells her that the originals turned out to be fake as well, but Piggy is aware of this; She just thought hers were the best fakes money could buy. A monster named Rumplestilskin is ordered by a dwarf to smash a pillar, which will destroy the whole theater and make the treasure easy to find (not knowing that it had been found). Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo all tell him that if he wants to break down the theater, he'd have to get through them. Rumplestilskin is about to do so anyway, until Miss Piggy informs everybody that the treasure's been found. As they are about to open the treasure chest, Animal crashes through the theater on a construction ball, destroying the theater. All that's in the treasure chest are letters written by Peg-Leg Wilson and his wife, which, after reading the letters, makes them realise that the theater itself was the treasure. Soon, the stamps on all the letters end up being worth exactly the same amount as the costs to repair the theater, and Kermit decides to take The Muppet Show on the road, but can only afford to travel to four towns.

After Peg-Leg Wilson, The Muppet Show Comic Book continued as an ongoing series, and started with a new #0

Pigs in Space: The Movie (1 Issue)

• 0: Fozzie and Rizzo try to pitch a movie idea for "Pigs in Space" to a film producers (which at the end turns out to be Statler and Waldorf).

On the Road (3 Issues)

• 1: With the theater in disarray after the events of "The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson", the Muppet gang decides to take their show on the road! Is the world ready for traveling Muppet minstrels? "The Muppet Roadshow" makes its first stop in Little Gideon, Ohio. Miss Piggy is afraid that the show won't work without a theater, and Kermit the Frog is worried that he won't make enough money to pay Mister Weazell, who owns the land they're performing on. To make matters worse, Fozzie decides to take his act solo, and a tiger has escaped. Can the Muppet Roadshow gain an audience...and more importantly, a profit?

• 2: The Muppets hire Clint Wacky as a temporary replacement for Fozzie, and the Muppets also pick up Clint Wacky's writers, Mr. Stadler and Mr. Waltorf. They perform at Little Statwald, home to only two families (Statler and Waldorf's families). Clint Wacky tells insulting jokes, which the audience likes, but Kermit and Scooter decide they don't want the show to be known for insulting the audience. Scooter offers to write new material for Mr. Wacky, but Clint turns it down, stating that he gets compensation if his material gets rewritten or if he gets fired, but since it's okay for Clint Wacky to quit at any time, the Muppets try to find a way to get him to leave. Eventually, Rizzo tricks Clint into thinking that Hollywood finally wants him, and Clint rushes away. However, this means that the show is without a closing comedian. Since Scooter had written plenty of comedy material, he goes on-stage. At first he has no luck, but then Dr. Teeth tells him to lose the script and improvise, and Scooter ends up succeeding with the audience.

• 3: The Muppets finally return to the theater and put on their first show at the newly-rebuilt theater. A package addressed to Fozzie, who hasn't gotten back yet, arrives as well. The various Muppets want to know what's in the package, but Kermit suggests they wait until Fozzie comes back. Eventually, it's decided to put the package in the basement, but everybody (including Kermit) sneaks down to try to open it. Eventually, they decide to open the package. It turns out that Fozzie was in the package (he had enough money to mail himself, but mistakenly addressed it to himself) and Fozzie joins the Muppets for the closing number. Statler and Waldorf are excited about Fozzie's return, so they can throw stuff at him. Meanwhile, Gonzo decides to raise money for charity by traveling in a number of ways (covered by Louis Kazagger, including running, moving bathtub, and cannon. He makes it back to the theater during the closing number. Gonzo had planned on giving the money to the "Chessington Wasp Society", but due to a scandal, Gonzo changes his mind. Fozzie suggests giving the money to a charity for retired gentlemen theater patrons.

Family Reunion (4 Issues)

• 4: The first issue of this arc features the return of Scooter's twin sister Skeeter (from Jim Henson's Muppet Babies).

• 5: Miss Piggy's nephews Andy and Randy Pig
  Andy and Randy Pig
  Andy and Randy Pig are Miss Piggy's dimwitted young nephews.In their first appearance in Muppet Classic Theater, Andy and Randy, along with their "sister" Sandy , starred in a version of the "Three Little Pigs" tale. Both Andy and Randy also appeared in other segments of Muppet Classic Theater...
  
   come to stay for a week; they're given some minor tasks to do, and they manage to screw up all of them. Also in this issue are a song by Bobby Benson's Baby Band and a visit to the planet Koozebane.

• 6: Skeeter and Robin believe that Robin is being sent to an orphanage. Also in this issue are Wayne & Wanda and Pigs in Space.

• 7: Fozzie's Mom appears at the theater to fix up an old acquaintance from Fozzie's kid days. Fozzie told his mother that he was a famous detective and had a girlfriend. He then must pretend to be a detective and makes Skeeter pretend to be his girlfriend.

Muppet Mash

• 8: Just as Gonzo returns from his vacation in Transylvania
  Transylvania
  Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
  
  , the Muppets are following the latest trend in entertainment by putting on a vampire
  Vampire
  Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
  
  -themed show. However, because Gonzo now looks and acts differently than usual, everyone starts wondering if he happens to be a vampire!

Fairy Tale Issues

• Muppet Robin Hood (4 Issues)

• Muppet Peter Pan (4 issues)

• Muppet King Arthur (4 Issues)

• Muppet Snow White (4 Issues)

• Muppet Sherlock Holmes (4 Issues)

External links

• The Muppet Show Comic Book #1 at BOOM! Studios.com
• Welcoming the Muppets Back to Comics, Newsarama
  Newsarama
  Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
  
  , January 27, 2009