TONIGHT’S VERY SPECIAL GUEST STARS – THE MARI/EL UNIVERSE! To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of THE MUPPET SHOW…we bring you a crossover no one saw coming! Join EISNER-winning writer and one of the world’s greatest Muppet fans CHIP ZDARSKY along with a cadre of Marvelously talented creators as they unleash The Muppets’ trademark chaos on the MARVEL UNIVERSE. ROWLF THE DOG kidnapped by MOJO? KERMIT THE FROG, MISS PIGGY, FOZZIE BEAR, SPIDER-MAN, BLACK PANTHER and EMMA FROST to the rescue? DR. BUNSEN HONEYDEW and BEAKER experimenting with GAMMA RAYS and PYM PARTICLES? What could go wrong? Find out in this epic tale told in the MIGHTY MARVEL MUPPET MANNER! The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 is a hell of a lot of fun that leaves us wanting more.

Growing up I appreciated the Muppets but wasn’t a die-hard fan. There were some aspects that I enjoyed and some I found irritating and outright cheesy. But, that’s the Muppets, right? The loveable bizarre characters have been around for 50 years and enjoyed by generations. Most importantly, they’ve delivered laughs and allowed individuals to escape the grind of life. The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 continues that while having the Muppets join some of Marvel’s characters to take on Mojo along with a series of shorts, and it works really well.

With the main story by Chip Zdarsky and Pete Woods the Muppets need the help of Marvel’s heroes to find Rowlf who has been dognapped by Mojo. When you think about it, it’s the perfect setup and concept and actually makes sense. With the story there’s a solid blend of action and humor, mixing the seriousness of Marvel’s heroes with the insanity of the Muppets. Zdarsky and Woods nail the concept with a balance that can be enjoyed by a wide range of individuals. It’s hard to not appreciate Fozzy Bear and Spider-Man going back and forth or Gonzo admitting that Deadpool was too crazy. And all of it weirdly just works, not feeling forced at all and a hell of a lot of fun. Woods’ art feels like it’s a nice in-between of what you’d expect in a Muppet comic and a superhero comic from Marvel, making the characters blend nicely and not feel out of place. The story delivers some solid laughs and moments and at the same time picks on and needles superhero tropes (the story involves the multiverse).

The rest of the comic is a series of shorts from writers Mackenzie Cadenhead, Ashley Allen, Chef Paul Carmichael, Kyle Starks, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Adam F. Goldberg and art by David Baldeon, Paco Medina, Mike Henderson, Athila Fabbio, and E.J. Su. All of these nail the assignment, each delivering good punchlines and most importantly will put a smile on the face of readers. Each story matches up Muppets with Marvel heroes in what feels like a series of skits you’d see on the Muppet show. And it leaves us wanting more. Animal + Wolverine = the ultimate team up. Each story has a little bit of a different style in the art and some go for heartfelt tales while others deliver laugh out loud moments.

The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 is fun, a lot of fun. Not only could it get me to laugh a lot but it also delivered that childlike escape where I can just sit and not care about what’s going on around me. It’s a perfect mix of Muppets and Marvel and shows off a love of both. Most importantly, it left me wanting more. While this is a one-shot, hopefully it’s not a one and done and we can see more team-ups in the future.

Story: Chip Zdarsky, Mackenzie Cadenhead, Ashley Allen, Chef Paul Carmichael, Kyle Starks, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Adam F. Goldberg
Art: Pete Woods, David Baldeon, Paco Medina, Mike Henderson, Athila Fabbio, E.J. Su
Color: Yen Nitro, Mike Atiyeh Letters: Joe Caramagna
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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