By Sam King

I cannot believe it; somebody brought back Fraggle Rock. I wasn’t an 80’s kid who grew up watching it, but I was a 90’s kid who watched a lot of TV and VHS tapes. Fraggle Rock was always previewed on the Muppet movie VHS tapes I used to watch growing up, and I’m still addicted to the theme. I’d seen the show and even some of the animated series, but I can’t believe a company actually made a comic of it here in 2018.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Fraggle Rock was a TV show that had puppet characters created by the Jim Henson company who also did the Muppets. It was kind of similar to Sesame Streets in that it used puppets but without the longevity and a lot fewer humans. It ran from 1983-1987, and then the animated series based on the original show ran for one season, from 1987-1988. The main characters were Gobo, Boober, Wembley, Mokey, and Red. They are all creatures called Fraggles living in a subterranean cave system that happens to have outside access to a garden owned by furry monsters called Gorgs, who consider Fraggles to be garden pests. There are a lot of silly names, but the point is that they are an underground society with five main characters who are very good friends that go on fun adventures.

This comic is intended to be an extension of the show in that it is just another episodic adventure. You don’t have to know the Fraggles ahead of time to read it, but knowing who they are helps because it becomes kind of nostalgic if you do. The main character of this comic is Mokey, who is an artist. She always came off as a kind of free spirit in the show. She has lost her artistic muse and is having trouble creating artwork. She goes to talk about her problem with Marjory the Trash Heap (I’m not kidding, she’s really a trash heap that talks, take it up with the Henson company). This leads to her going on an adventure with her four friends to find inspiration and regain her muse. She gets separated from them and runs into a Doozer who helps her. A Doozer is another creature who lives in the caves, but they are much smaller than Fraggles and are known for being builders. They look like little mini-construction workers. The story, as with basically all Fraggle stories, has a happy ending.

If you weren’t someone who watched the show or at least knew of its existence, it probably looks like I wrote a lot of nonsense words that don’t exist. I promise that everything is absolutely accurate and there’s no leg pulling going on here. Look it up, maybe watch an episode on YouTube if you don’t believe me. There’s some there.

The story is fitting for what this franchise is. Or was? It is a story about friends trying to help a friend, failing, and adventuring, leading towards a character finding out something about themselves or finding a solution. One of the most interesting things here is that Mokey, while one of the main five characters, was not put at the forefront very often, so this is a bit different. It is surprising in a pleasant way. The other surprising thing is how nice this story and show translates into a comic book. The art is gorgeous, and it feels just like an episode would, and yet it has none of the puppet charm that was so good about it. It still works! The art appears to be done with watercolor, which is also really cool since it is different from the art you will find in a lot of today’s comics.

This comic is pretty straightforward. The story is simple, the characters match their original counterparts, and it does feel like it could have been an episode of the show. The art is a stand out for me since it is a change of pace from what I’ve been seeing lately. I think this one could be enjoyed by fans of Fraggle Rock or kids who are just open to a fantasy type story. This would be a good one to read as a family unit just for fun. It won’t stimulate your mind much, but it is fun and light. Sometimes that is all you need.

Score: 3/5

Fraggle Rock #1
Archaia/BOOM! Studios