After Dark Horse Comics announced Mystery Science Theater 3000 would have a comic series, fans were confused about how it would work. Would the series translate to a comic book format? Luckily, the results are in, and fans have nothing to worry about.
Summary
Jonah, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot and all the other residents of Satellite Of Love find themselves the victim of Kinga Forrester’s latest experiment.
Writing
The amazing part of this series is just how well it translated into the comic book format. The comedy stayed tight and helped to make the issue such a joy to read. This is due to the fact many of the individuals who work on the show such as Joel Hodgson and Harold Bucholz helped to write this first issue. The rapid pacing of the jokes illustrates the large writing pool of Mary Robinson, Seth Robinson, Sharyl Volpe, and Matt McGinnis were critical for helping to translate the show into a comic book series. A lot of the humor was able to hold up from panel to panel without getting tired or dull.
Inserting the characters into the old public domain comic, adding additional dialogue to the panels (much like how the jokes work in the show) and having the cast be self-aware was very witty. Thanks to their work, the jokes from ripping into the plot of a comic book from the 1960s are incredibly entertaining. It’s a joy which needs to be experienced first hand to truly appreciate how much fun comes from the playful banter the book can achieve.
Artwork
The artwork by Todd Nauck and Mike Manly adds to the comedy in spectacular ways. Take the two pages of the issue which features references from Halo, MTV, and Lord of the Rings which are subtle but very amusing when you finally catch them. Later as the comic transitions back into the public domain series they use as a setting, the artists found an excellent way to blend all the artwork without it becoming too jarring.
Even though most of the old comic is public domain, the additional artwork seems almost like it’s spot on. Tom Servo is transferred into the comic, and his head is placed on the main character’s body. Though the head is entirely off in proportions, it still matches the same style and dynamic to the point it feels like this was how the comic originally looked. The coloring by Mike Manley and Wez Dzioba helps with this aspect a lot.
Conclusion
As a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 who has loved the Netflix revival of the series, it is hugely encouraging to find this new installment from the franchise to be so enjoyable. Though it is only set to be six issues, let’s hope a large amount of sales will justify more in the future. There are a lot of bad comics in the world, and only the humor of the Satellite of Love will genuinely be able to face them head-on. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 comic is hilarious, unique, and essential for fans of the series.
