18 tales from Adventure Time await the readers of this new trade paperback out from BOOM!
ADVENTURE TIME: SUGARY SHORTS
Writers: Aaron Renier, Zac Gorman, Paul Pope, Anthony Clark, Lucy Knisley, Chris Eliopoulos, Georgia Roberson, Chris Roberson, Shannon Wheeler, Shane Houghton, Chris Houghton, Zack Giallongo, Josh Lesnick, Frank Gibson, Becky Dreistadt, Jon M. Gibson, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Chris Schweizer
Artists: Aaron Renier, Zac Gorman, Paul Pope, Anthony Clark, Lucy Knisley, Chris Eliopoulos, Shannon Wheeler, Shane Houghton, Chris Houghton, Zack Giallongo, Josh Lesnick, Frank Gibson, Becky Dreistadt, Jim Rugg, Andrew Arnold, Chris Schweizer
Colourists: Nolan Woodard, Zac Gorman, Joey Weiser, Josh Uhlich, Lisa Moore
Publisher: BOOM! Studio
Cover Price: $9.99
BUNCHA STUFF
Every writer working on Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts is on point. They all play within Pendleton Ward’s world with the same amount of understanding and love. The first story penned by Aaron Renier focuses on Tree Trunks and his quest for the perfect birthday apple cider. For its simplicity and direct focus this story by Renier speaks to the heart of what makes Adventure Time compelling: Renier has picked a sweet, slightly dense character and given him a matter of high stakes to tackle. It is just as adorable as readers/viewers would hope.
The following stories in Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts tackle such subject matter as: Jake turning all of Finn’s laundry red, Party Pat and the bears quest for the ultimate dip, alternate realties, the Ice King proposing marriage to Marceline and a little dance with M-theory.
Most of the stories collected in Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts focus on a different set of characters – though, as is bound to happen, readers do experience a lot of Finn and Jake – and the reader gets to see a slice of life (if you can call it that), from the supporting cast of Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts. Hog Dog Princess, for example, gets a real character moment and throughout her brief tale, and it is as entertaining to watch her quest through the underworld in order to reclaim her fallen Bun as it is to watch her learn a lesson about selfishness.
Each writer presents a tale that plays to their strengths. Chris Eliopoulos, for example, pens the most kid-friendly story in the entire book. He focuses on the cluster of bears that populate Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts and does nothing but highlight the magic and sense of community that can conveyed across the limited number of pages he has to work with. His story, titled the Ultimate Party Dip, is at both time reminiscent of his other work in comics and utterly suited to the world of Adventure Time.
Wacky adventures, familiar characters and well-executed stories are present from Renier, Gorman, Pope, Clark, Knisley, Deforge, Eliopoulos, Robersons, Wheeler, Houghtons, Giallongo, Lesnick, Gibson, Dreistadt, Frederick-Frost and Schweizer. It’s rare in anthologies to have every story stand up to the quality of the piece set down before it. Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts is fortunate to have inspired such work from all their contributors and their love and dedication spills off the page and into the reader’s experience of the trade paperback.
ARTISTIC MERITS
Many of the contributing writers to Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts take on various art duties as well. Most creators are working on their own story in every aspect and often tackle the artwork for a fellow writer within the same collection. As with the quality of storytelling all of the visuals are of the highest calibre and celebrate the characters and types of adventures their audience has come to expect.
The best thing Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts and its art has going for it is the diversity of style. Nobody has put forward work that apes the cartoon. Rather their starkly individual styles heighten the journey their chosen protagonists are undertaking. When it comes down to it, Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts is a ton of fun to look at. Each artist brings a feast for the eyes that is certain to have readers spending as much time looking at the page as reading the stories.
ADVENTURE IN COMIC BOOKS
Most people are familiar with Adventure Time. Most people know that it is a fun romp. Adventure Time: Sugary Shorts speaks to the emotional current that runs beneath the surface of super fun happy time. It facilitates narratives with moral values and is a great anthology to think about picking up.
