The Muppets Omnibus

by Roger Langridge, DigiKore Studios (Illustrator), Mickey Clausen (Illustrator)

It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights! It's time to turn the pages of this Omnibus tonight! The Muppets take Marvel in this zany collecti on of Roger Langridge's award-winning, gag-filled adventures of Kermit and the gang. From Bunsen and Beaker to Piiiigs In Spaaaace, all your favorites are here in a volume as hilarious as it is compendious - one even Statler and Waldorf wouldn't hate! It's ti me to get things started with the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetati onal book of all!
THE MUPPET SHOW (2009) 1-4, THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC THE TREASURE OF PEG-LEG WILSON (2009) 1-4, THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK (2009) 0-11, THE MUPPETS (2012) 1-4

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Humor, Art, Fiction

600 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2014

About the author

Roger Langridge has been producing comics for over twenty years. Most recently, he has attracted critical attention for his work on the Harvey Award-winning Muppet Show Comic Book (Boom! Studios) and Thor: The Mighty Avenger (Marvel Comics); other works of note include Marvel's Fin Fang Four, Fantagraphics' Zoot! and Art d'Ecco (in collaboration with his brother Andrew), and the NCS, Ignatz, Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comic book Fred the Clown. He currently lives in London with his wife Sylvie, their two children and a box of his own hair.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good! Very corny Muppet-type humor and gags; just like the actual show. Also I really liked Langridge's art style.

[Dann · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the fun and excitement of The Muppet Show is back in the graphic novel The Muppets. This collection includes over a dozen comics and features the series The Treasure of Pig-Leg Wilson, On the Road, Family Reunion, Muppet Mash, and The Four Seasons, as well as several strips that appeared in Disney Adventures Magazine. Just as with the television show the comics follows the production of the Muppet variety show; featuring song and dance numbers, Gonzo’s death defying stunts, Fozzie’s standup, cooking with the Swedish Chef, Muppet Labs, Talking House, Veterinarian’s Hospital, and Pigs In Spaaace. And all the fan favorite characters return too; from Kemit to Rizzo to Sweatums (and of course Statler and Waldorf). Most of the character designs are pretty good and capture their features pretty well; though some of them look a little creepy at times. Also, the comedy does an impressive job at adapting to the comic book format; finding new ways to break the fourth wall (as Muppets want to do). The Muppets is a wonderful graphic novel that has the magic of the original television show and can be enjoyed by all ages.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five fabulous stars.

I've loved the Muppets for a long, long time. While I was working as a puppeteer I often used them, and their Sesame Street counterparts as a reference point of how to do it right. As a consequence I became extremely familiar with Muppet humour.

Nothing prepared me for just how well that humour works and translates into comic format. This collection is pure fun from start to finish, and includes plenty of slapstick comedy that never goes too far, thanks in part to the beautiful innocence of each of the characters.

A must have for fans.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Muppet Show #1-4, ☆☆☆☆
The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson #1-4, ☆☆☆☆☆
The Muppet Show Comic Book #0, Pigs in Space: The Movie!, ☆☆☆☆
The Muppet Show Comic Book #1-3, On the Road, ☆☆☆☆
The Muppet Show Comic Book #4-7, Family Reunion, ☆☆☆☆
The Muppet Show Comic Book #8-11, Muppet Mash, ☆☆☆☆
The Muppets #1-4, The Four Seasons, ☆☆☆☆☆

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but s o l o n g

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Langridge does an absolutely brilliant job of translating everything that makes the Muppets special into comics form. It reads like a comedy variety show, and it’s so much fun!

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Langridge does something I would have thought impossible: captures the feel of the Muppet Show in comics form. He has a real feel for the characters’ voices and the dad-jokes that filled the show.

[Alexander Re · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books for fans of the Muppet Show. With about 24 individual issues, one can easily consider this to be a sort of "Season 6" to the Henson classic. Langridge, the author of each issue, has an incredible grasp on the Muppet characters, and the absence of scene-stealing celebrities allows him to dive deeper into the nuances of each character. He's also not afraid to make issues less stand-alone. There are a number of story arcs that run the gamut from "the events in the last issue influence the events in this one" to "these four issues have similar themes.” He finds a nice balance between keeping up these story arcs while making sure each individual issue remains episodic.

Each issue retains the basic format of the Muppet Show, complete with with skits and songs. Some sketches are revived here - Veterinarians Hospital, Pigs and Space, At the Dance and more get new sketches - while others have been created for the book. Songs are tricky to replicate in a written format, but Langridge meets this challenge with aplomb.

Langridge pulls double duty, also illustrating most of the issues contained in the book. His Muppets are instantly recognizable as the Muppets we all know and love, but with a looser and somewhat more stylized look. Special mention must be given to Amy Mebberson, who illustrated the "Family Reunion" story arc. Her Muppets look like they crawled right out of the screen and onto the page. She was certainly the best illustrator to introduce the return of a particular character that brings closure to a whole generation of Muppet fans who never quite understood, growing up, why one of their favorite Muppet Babies never showed up in the films.

All in all, this book is an excellent collection, and a must have for any Muppet fan.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Was. Amazing.

The stories are fun, the art is lively - and Skeeter from the Muppet Babies cartoon returns! (And for those of you who were not of the correct age when it was on television, let me tell you Muppet Babies were the bee's knees and far more clever than you'd expect.) Roger must have watched and rewatched the old school Muppets Show because this could be viewed as a season in itself, with the extra freedom that comic book form allows. I recommend this for anyone who loves the Muppets, enjoy Jim Henson's work, or has fond memories of watching the shows.

[Karlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Muppets, but even this omnibus was a bit tedious. Contained a whole bunch (15+?) of Muppets comics, all following mostly the same structure. Included all my favourite Muppets.

[Jdetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Langridge has the perfect art style for the Muppets and I think he nailed what made the old Muppet Show work.

[Gary Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

47th book read in 2015.

Number 358 out of 475 on my all time book list.

Review Pending:

[Andrea Labonte · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was too many in that one book.