Adventure Time: The Flip Side #1 Review

In the past, Adventure Time has found success in the comic book format, maintaining everything that made the show great in it’s translation from television. Now the Eisner Award-winning team behind Bandette gives us their take on Adventure Time. See how it stacks up after the jump!

ADVENTURE TIME: THE FLIP SIDE #1
Writer: Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover
Artist: Wook Jin Clark
Cover Artist: Ru Xu, Britt Wilson and Ellen Aslop
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99

NOT ENOUGH TIME

This issue of Adventure Time opens with Finn being diagnosed as quest deficient by Doctor Musclebump, leading Finn and Jake to seek out quests at the quest board. Its evident that, even from the very beginning, this issue is full of the signature creativity that gives the Adventure Time franchise it’s charm. It maintains that perfect mix of “anything goes” imagination and self awareness that attracted so many viewers, and now readers, to the series. Despite the strength of the concepts in the issue, the plot itself feels like it idles too long with diversions. On their way to start their quest, Jake and Finn are diverted by a pair of orcs that force them through a series of tests so that they may get their adventuring licenses. While this results in the best jokes of the book, it feels completely unnecessary and takes away from the main plot- which only gets going at the very end of the issue, albeit with an interesting twist that really makes me want to read more. The overall problem is that while what is there is great, there just is not enough of it.

ADVENTURE WITH ART

The art in this book is great. It compliments the classic Adventure Time style, capturing the qualities that made the characters and overall design ethic iconic, while still adding it’s own artistic flair to it. The colors are distinct and vibrant, with plenty of subtle tonal details that really help to make the world feel real. Clark is not afraid to draw characters in cartoonish exaggerated forms when the story needs it, which adds to the overall humor and fun tone of the book. All in all, just a really pleasant book to look at.

BOTTOM LINE: GREAT EFFORT, BUT WAIT FOR THE TRADE

While everything in this issue is great, there is just not enough of the overall story here to be worth four whole dollars. I’m sure it will read great when it is collected in a trade paper back, but this just feels like the writers are teasing us. However, if you are fine with shelling out four dollars for a somewhat unfulfilling chunk of a top quality story, this is one of the finest chunks currently on the stands.