The four stars of television and movies now have comics to add to their resumes, and their adventures of escape and domination continue as good as ever. Broken into a series of short stories, Penguins of Madagascar has the four black and white birds facing off against rats and go out for a raucous night on the town. An added bonus to this thirty-two-page book is the inclusion of games, posters, and such. I must say that the extra material made me feel like a kid reading my World Magazine with all its extra fun stuff packed in the covers.

As far as the art goes, the computer generated images we are so used to have been cast away for some intricately designed hand illustrations. Readers may need a moment to adjust to the new look of the Penguins, but the fun tone and great writing will make that adjustment period go by quick.

One particularly piece of art that I appreciated was the insert listed on one panel that showed the rats gathered on deck of a boat with an enlarged illustration emphasizing the King. That ingenious idea looked impressive and made the comic very readable.

The adult in me enjoyed some entertaining characters that have a blend of Hogan’s Heroes mixed with some Pinky and the Brain. For the kid in me, the stories and bonuses provided a great diversion. Overall, this book had the quality we came to enjoy from the Dreamworks films with some great new stories to add to the Penguin’s canon.

Score: 4/5

Writers: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Alex Matthews and Jai Nitz Artists: Lucas Fereyra, Robin Etherington and Grant Perkins Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/26/14 Format: Mini-Series (of 4); Print/Digital