Issue Number: 1
Release Date: September 12th, 2018
Adapted From: Johnny Jason, Teen Reporter #2
Original Publication Date: June-August 1962
A comic book based on Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an idea that has been bouncing around since the original show was on the air. It took over twenty years but it seems like the "logistics" (for lack of a better term) of adapting such a unique take on the film medium to a still format has been resolved. Now in 2018 we have the first issue of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Comic at long last for about four bucks. If you're lucky in about forty years it'll be worth $4.25.
For those wondering if it answers the big question of "What happened to Jonah at the end of season 11?" then the answer is no. Jonah's just back on the Satellite of Love and he's palling around with the robots. Meanwhile Kinga, Max, and Synthia (who is showing more character here than she did on the TV counterpart) have developed a new use for their liquid technology: sending a reader inside a comic book to experience the story first hand. It's an idea not all that different than the Riddler's Box device from Batman Forever honestly. Her first test subject: Max. He is stomped on by a cartoon giraffe.
But her second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh test subjects are Jonah, Tom Servo, Crow, Gypsy, Growler, and Waverly. While Jonah and Crow's comic fates aren't addressed in this issue, Servo is sent into a swingin' 60's issue of Johnny Jason, Teen Reporter, where he takes the place of the title character. In it a famous actress is abducted by a group of thugs but luckily manages to escape by the plot convenience of a flat tire. However her claims of the abduction are brushed off as a publicity stunt. Tom Servo is assigned to get to the bottom of the story and goes to her home, rides a horse, and attends a party.
I'm sure what most are curious about is how the "riffing" humor is portrayed in this comic. Well, added or changed dialogue is noted in each panel with a little circle around the outside of each speech balloon. The idea is that Servo is somehow "projecting" new dialogue into their own by some means. I'm not sure if it makes sense, but I suppose that falls under the same category of "how he eats and breathes and other science facts." After all, he is physically transported into a comic book, if I can't suspend some disbelief in this puppet show turned comic then I probably wouldn't be a fan in the first place.
Adding to the riffs are Gypsy and surprisingly Growler and Waverly, the latter two seem more important in this comic than they were on the show. These bots are stuck in some sort of limbo, where they randomly pop up in a panel and give an observational riff about the panel itself which wouldn't work as a piece of dialogue from another character. It works well enough, and I'm happy to see more of the characters.
The big question is whether or not this feels like Mystery Science Theater. Having read the entire book I can say with confidence that it is very Mystery Science Theater. I had some hesitancy early on, because I was finding following both the comic and the humor a lot to take in, but once I smoothed out the subtleties in between the two I found the experience very similar to the show. I even laughed out loud at a few points, including a solid string of laughs later on in which Kinga and Max hijack the comic to create an ad for Tostito's Pizza Rolls. I found the setup and the entire bit exchange hilarious. Even more so, I'd actually say the humor style of the comic itself is very much in tune with Baron Vaughn's take on the Tom Servo character. It's not hard to imagine linking his voice to any of the riffs.
If I had to list some cons, I'd say that while I'd consider their attempt to put at least one joke per panel a virtue, sometimes it's a swing and a miss. The panel sometimes doesn't give the joke much too work with and they feel they need to fill it with something...or anything. I'd also say that not being able to experience a Johnny Jason comic in its unaltered form is a bit of a detraction. On the TV series the film plays out exactly as it would have otherwise, there are just wisecracks playing over it. The comic on the other hand is altered from its original state in a variety of ways, making it sometimes hard to get a feel for it. I think I get the gist of Johnny Jason, though I'd prefer a closer comparison between the straight version and the MST version. Also I was hoping we'd get a full comic in this issue, while it looks as if this story will be split into multiple parts. It's not much of a cliffhanger, with Servo punching some guy out at a party and a promise that next month we'll find out what happened to Jonah and Crow.
I'm surprised that someone managed to make a Mystery Science Theater comic book that wasn't complete mess of word balloons and somehow took it in a fairly innovative and creative direction. The artwork is pretty solid as well, with a colorful, glossy modern style for the "outside the comic" stuff and a pleasing, old-fashioned look for the "in-comic" work. This first issue, while the idea needs to be ironed out a bit, works stunningly well and has me interested in the future of MST comics. Now to wait patiently for next month's issue.
But hey, it's a shorter wait than it has been for season 12 so far.
And that is still way shorter than the wait was for season 11.
Good
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