Cuphead, Volume 1: Comic Capers & Curios

Cuphead #1

by Zack Keller, Shawn Dickinson (Illustrator), Kristina Luu (Illustrator)

Revisit the colorful characters of the Inkwell Isles in this collection of brand new Cuphead and Mugman tales!

Prone to unexpected predicaments and thrilling adventures, Cuphead and Mugman feature front and center in a series of short but sweet side stories that reimagine the world of the all-cartoon magical wondergame. This original graphic novel features all-new original tales, authentically drawn to match the glorious, award-winning vintage animation style of Cuphead!

Don't miss Cuphead and Mugman's graphic novel debut in written by Zack Keller and illustrated to 1930s perfection by Shawn Dickinson!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Video Games, Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2020

About the author

Zack Keller is a writer and director for TV, feature films, videogames and comic books, currently working as a Narrative Director at King and a creator/writer at Dark Horse Comics. After beginning his career at Pixar Animation Studios, he co-created Dick Figures, the highest-rated animated web series on YouTube which earned nearly a billion views and an Annie Award nomination. At Telltale Games, he was a lead writer and narrative designer for such franchises as Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman, The Walking Dead and Tales from the Borderlands. Most recently, he was a screenwriter for Cartoon Network’s animated series Unikitty!, produced by Warner Brothers Animation and The LEGO Group, and wrote the graphic novels Cuphead: Comic Capers & Curios, Creeping, and Hotel REM for Dark Horse Comics.

He lives with his family in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's not a whole lot of substance here, just a punch of vintage animation inspired short stories. If you like old Merry Melodies cartoons, you'll probably like this. This book desperately needs a Spotify playlist to play along with it though.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Cesare Cantelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quando riempi d’amore un’opera, come cuphead (videogioco), inevitabilmente qualsiasi sua diramazione ne rimane pregna.
Le tavole sono meravigliose, adoro lo stile.
La scrittura è leggera e senza pretese, alcuni racconti muoiono lì dove finisci di leggerli, altri ti strappano un sorriso.
Curioso per i numeri successivi.

[Rocio Voncina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titulo: Lances comicos y Desatinos [Cuphead #1]
Autor: Zack Keller, Shawn Dickinson
Motivo de lectura: -
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 4/5

Esta antologia incluye diez historias.
Las historietas entremezclan las historias junto a posters y promociones de una pagina que aportan mas comicidad.
Amo el estilo de ilustracion de Shawn Dickinson, tiene un sabor old school que me encanta, ademas la paleta de colores es suave, casi pasteles y mi vista siempre agradece eso.
Zack Keller en general escribio historias entretenidas, que sumado al talento de Shawn Dickinson dan como resultado un comic que no desiluciona.

Cuphead y Mugman en "Tumbas Tarumbas": me encanto la historia, en un mood muy halloween (para mi halloween deberi ser todo el año), Cuphead y Mugman tendran un encuentro muy particular con unos seres muy musicales! :) 5/5

Mugman en "Paseo Problematico": Mugman y yo tenemos la misma forma de leer! jajaja 5/5

Toda la banda en "Atrocidad Alpina": una historia entretenida y accidentada. 3/5

Capitan Barbasalada en "Novatadas Nauticas": unos grumetes y su muy particular manera de ayudar. 3.5/5

Cuphead en "Chatarra de Chatarreria": un duelo ciencia ficcion, quien sera el valiente que termine de pie? 3/5

Cuphead y Anciano tetera en "Luces, Camaras y Adversarios": una aventura celluloide con un final alternativo, estara de acuerdo la audiencia? 3/5

Cuphead y Mugman en "Canciones Conflictivas": unas canciones muy particulares, y un villano que intenta engañar a todos. 3/5

Tere Teatrera en "Villania de Vodevil": una señorita con un ego de proporciones epicas. 2/5

Cuphead, Ms. Chalice y Anciano Tetera en "Deseos Desdichados": me encanta la sensilles que plantea la historia, lo feliz que alguien puede ser con cosas realmente simples. 5/5

Cuphead y Mugman en "Atrocidad Arcade": Cuphead tiene unos metodos economicos de muy dudosa moral..jajaja 4.5/5

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of short stories featuring the return of Cuphead and Mugman. It contains loads of word plays and silly cartoon moments, sometimes less exciting than others. The artwork is fantastic, however, giving a refreshing and vibrant touch to the original style.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Stay Fetters · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Beware, boys! Last night I heard ghastly sounds coming from the cemetery!
Ooooooohh...Aaaaahh...Eeeeee...Etceteraaa!"

Cuphead is a game that I love watching my husband play. I love the graphics and how they incorporated that old-time feel to it. Plus the game was really interesting.

This graphic novel follows Cuphead on some crazy side adventures. The art is the same style as the game and the mini stories were exactly what you would expect these to be. They were kooky and quite entertaining. They all contained these aha moments which is great for kids.

Cuphead: Comic Capers & Curios was an okay graphic novel with fantastic art. Great for lovers of vintage cartoons.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it all in one sitting. Such a fun, hilarious book filled with charm. The writing, art and lettering is all top notch. A great read for both kids and adults. If you're a fan of the game, pick it up. And even if you're not, I still think you'll love the art and humor. I hope they make more volumes.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“YOU HEARD ELDER KETTLE: WHAT IF THERE'S SOMETHING - UNNATURAL… IN - HERE - ??”

Kitsch cups and kettle adventuring through life in short two page mini dramas - to anthropomorphoisation… and beyond!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comic Capers & Curios lives up to the Cuphead legacy, taking the wildly inventive computer game into new territory well in keeping with the amped up early twentieth century "Rubber hose animation" style that characterized early Disney shorts (such as those featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit).

True to that source material, Comic Capers & Curios maintains a sinister edge that pre-dates the cuteness so characteristic of modern film animation. This volume includes a one-page drawing lesson that encourages the reader to render their own image of The Devil, so you know the creators have their hearts in the right place!

[Samsalaqueen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very much preferred the game but the art style is just primo everywhere!

[RandomReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never played cuphead, but its art has always amazed me, so reminiscent of the 30s animations.



So when I saw this comic, I started reading it right away! The art is as wonderful as ever with its vintage cartoonish lovely characters and attentiveness to details.



But as for the stories, well... sadly that was one of the most uninteresting reads I've had lately. So lame and boring. Maybe they were trying to imitate the writing of the animations of this era, but it wasn't enjoyable for me. I did like though that they used language similar to that of the 30s.



5 star rating for the superb art, and 2 stars for the stories.

[Litwithlove · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked the Cuphead games or cartoon, this is just a super quick little visit with our beloved characters. Now do note, when I say quick, I read this is two minutes according to my eReader. I would say if you find it at a library or for around a buck, grab it. It's colorful, and cheerful. The slapstick and puns humor is on par with the game and show, but the comics are only about 2 or 3 pages each. And of course, the artwork is detailed and gorgeous.

[Erik Carl son · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art of Shawn Dickinson is amazing. The stories are quick cute cartoons that match the game’s singular story telling. It’s difficult building a world around the antics of the game, but Shawn’s art matches it in fluidity and style.
The build-up to punchline starts to become a bit formulaic, but the ads and scattered extras break the pace.

[Sebastian Rangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the art alone. I don't like how they changed Mugman's character, but



...I don't really have anything else to say it's just nice.

[୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOS AMOOO

[Isapropanol · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I last read a collection of short comics.
It reminded me a lot of all those Tom and Jerry magazines I used to be addicted to, and I loved the artstyle and the use of shapes for the characters.

Enjoyable enough.

[☮ morgan ☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Everyone knows catchy music's hypnotizing!"

This was so cool, I love the art style. I also really like how its a bunch of short stories, it makes it feel more like an old-timey cartoon.

[Neoouwu · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️
El libro mas random que he leído

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this as I am also reading Art of Cuphead. It feels consistent to a honed aesthetic that is heavily inspired by cartoons of the past while still feeling like it’s own. It’s likeable.

[Ms E Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this collection of Cuphead comics for my graphic illustrator brother who is inspired by Rubber hose animation. The stories in this collection are obviously inferior to the comic artwork but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Stories that involved siblings and their differing personalities were a favourite of mine. I would recommend to readers aged 13+ as there are multiple depictions of violence and some bullying scenes.

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent coloring, drawings and a vast range of good looking characters!

But there are no gags, or those that wanna be, are directly unfunny, there is no story whatsoever, no interesting arc, nada.

Just ok, and that`s for the colors and artwok!!

[Natali fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cool to read

[Albert Udón · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Cuphead’ es un videojuego que recupera el estilo de animación norteamericano de los años 30. Visualmente es una joya irresistible... aunque tiene como contrapartida que es tremendamente difícil. Incluso para alguien entrenado en los inclementes juegos de la era de los 8 bits. Si algo define a ‘Cuphead’ como juego, además de lo bonito que es, es la frustración que despierta.

Consciente de que no podré acabarlo nunca y me perderé contenido irremediablemente, me conformo con la dosis que ofrece este cómic. Supongo que los autores saben a qué venimos aquí y han cargado las tintas en la parte gráfica.

Este primer volumen de ‘Cuphead’ ofrece una serie de historietas cortas, autoconclusivas, con un humor a medio gas. Bien pensado, no deja de ser un calco de esas historietas infantiles donde los personajes se atribulaban por cosas triviales y nos hacían reír más bien por la comedia física.

Para alguien ávido como yo, es una pena que no se hayan esmerado mucho en presentar un universo o en profundizar en los personajes. En ese sentido, sí que vemos cameos de villanos con los que nos hemos partido la cara en nuestra consola y otros invitados. Fan service, lo llaman.

Otro punto a tener en cuenta es que el guion contiene numerosos juegos de palabras, así que imagino que la traducción habrá sido un infierno. Es de esos casos en los que sientes la extrañeza cuando lo lees en español pero no te enteras de media si lo lees en inglés.

Pero, vaya, bien. La verdad es que dan ganas de rasgar las páginas y colgar alguna de la pared. O tatuarse algo. El arte de Shawn Dickinson captura perfectamente el estilo que nos fascina a muchos.

Muy pronto ‘Cuphead’ tendrá su serie en Netflix. Asumo que será algo parecido, emulando las tiras cómicas, pero añadiendo otros dos elementos poderosos: la animación y la música. Y estaré yo, gozándolo, con el mando de la consola bien guardadito.

[Neyebur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha sido curioso leer este cómic tras haber leído los cómics de los Looney Tunes, porque las aventuras que viven Cuphead y Mugman me ha recordado mucho a las locuras que podrían vivir los personajes de la Warner. Y no se siente como una mala copia, sino como un sincero homenaje desde el cariño.
Ojalá la serie animada sepa mantener este espíritu animado.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just like the Netflix tv show! Love the art, the stories bring me back to early- mid 1900s … the volume is NOT a whole story, it’s a bunch of mini stories just like the show. It’s fun and I just love the artist! Just wish it had better substance to the stories or had like music you could listen to as you read.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.
Several short stories in the animation style of Cuphead, presenting themselves like the cartoon shorts of old. Overall entertaining, but typical and exactly what I assumed it would be.
If you LOVE Cuphead, give this a try.

[Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un excelente fan service. Las ilustraciones son muy buenas, es un premio a la nostalgia de quienes vimos caricaturas de Merry Melodies. Pero las historias son breves y sin mucha gracia. Comprelo si quieres acariciar la nostalgia.

[Majed · Rating 3 out of 5]

good drawing no story

[Edward Correa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy en la línea de los clásicos "Merry Melodies" estos personajes del famoso videojuego entretienen bastante, pero se olvidan rápido.

[Dientedeleonsilvestre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez me impresiona más el maravilloso mundo de Cuphead. Sus personajes, las expresiones tan acertadas... Simplemente un gran comic, como videojuego.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 1930s art is what makes this entertaining.