Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Comic #1
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Howard Buchholz, Joel Hodgson, Matt McGinnis, Seth Robinson, Sharyl Volpe, Mary Robinson
Art by Todd Nauck and Mike Manley
Colors by Mike Dzioba and Mike Manley
Letters by Michael Heisler
Jonah and the bots are on the Satellite of Love wondering where a new and mysterious vent has come from when they are signaled by Kinga and Max. After trading barbs with the pair, Kinga decides to unveil her latest invention. One that will change comics forever; the Bubblat-R. This new device is guaranteed to be the envy of every comic geek because it puts the user directly into the comic they are reading.
After unleashing the device on Jonah and the gang, Tom Servo finds himself as the main character in an issue of Johnny Jason: Teen Reporter. As Tom Servo: Teen Reporter, the bot is put on the case of a rich socialite who was almost kidnapped. He has to deal with jealous stable hands, indifferent parents, teen parties and a surprise visit from Kinga and her crew.
At the year’s Dragon Con in Atlanta, I was at the Mystery Science Theater 3000 panel and got the privilege of attending a live reading of this issue from members of the cast and it was definitely a fun experience. Even without hearing the voices of Joel Hodgson, Felicia Day and Jonah Ray, this first issue is definitely an MST3K production in look, feel and tone. It’s a fun read and the writers do a great job and a pretty hard task of turning a 60’s teen romance comic into something fun and interesting to read.
The art is great in this issue as well and it really works well having the contrasting art styles between the action on the Satellite of Love and the art style of the “in comic” comic. I like that the art style went for actual immersion of the characters rather than a silhouette of Jonah and bots riffing on the comic itself. This is a really fun and funny issue that has an interesting story. Hopefully, the story can sustain itself in the next issue and future issues going forward.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 #1
