By Sam King

The original Rugrats television show went off the air just over ten years ago. Although my family didn’t have cable while I was growing up, I had both Rugrats feature-length films on VHS (I’m really dating myself now, huh?). I really enjoyed Rugrats, enough to have two video games on two different consoles and played them regularly. What I’m saying is, I know what to expect from a Rugrats story. This comic half hits the mark for me, and I can’t say it glows with the same shine as the original cartoon did when it aired. There have been rumors of Nickelodeon planning to revive the show, but for now, at least, we can keep enjoying the comics.

This comic is a one-shot that centers on Reptar, but at the same time, it doesn’t. What this comic does is has a few of the main characters tell different stories that include Reptar in them. There are five stories, all illustrated by different artists and told by different characters. Grandpa Stu, Lil, Susie, Angelica, and Tommy each tell their own story. The power has gone out in the Pickles house, so Tommy’s dad has gone to fix it, and after Grandpa Stu tells the kids half of a story, the kids argue about how Reptar really is amongst one another through storytelling.

Grandpa Stu’s story involves war and Reptar as a standard mysterious monster that you encounter in the middle of nowhere. The artwork for his story seems to be most alike to the original show in style, but apart from color and subject. Lil’s story is the one I had the most trouble digesting. Sarah Webb went for a style that reflects childish drawing, and while it isn’t necessarily bad, it isn’t the best I’ve seen the style done, and it makes the kids’ faces look really bizarre at times. As expected, Phil won’t let Lil get through her story smoothly, and twin antics ensue.

Angelica, as always, thinks she can do better and proceeds to tell a story that involves Cynthia, her favorite doll. I’ve always thought that the doll looked weird, so the partially grotesque look she has in terms of her face and hair are actually pretty fitting. The art has very clean lines and bright colors, and overall you can tell that it is supposed to look at least a little more mature than Lil’s.

Susie’s story is very cutesy and focused as more of a fantasy fairytale, with herself as the main character and no one else present. Tommy’s was by far my favorite. Tommy’s story was the most like the original Rugrats. He had all the babies present and their speech mannerisms were perfect. They change up words, they interact the way you expect them to, and everyone has the right kind of personality for their characters.

This volume was hit and miss for me. The art is largely good, but some styles I was not really a fan of. However, with five different artists, there might be something for any Rugrats fan. Some were not as well done as I personally would have liked, but it is a kids’ comic so you aren’t going to get revolutionary art. I do fully believe that kids’ comics deserve as much quality as a Marvel or DC or adult comic, but with the appropriate themes and maturity content for each. I thought that Reptar would be more of a focus overall and I was kind of disappointed that he didn’t have as much of a classic approach as he did on the show, where he’s just a really cool, larger than life dinosaur kind of creature with destructive capabilities. There are glints of that, but it is painted over with how each kid sees him, which is also pretty cool as a concept.

At the end of the day, this is a kids’ comic and I think kids who have been exposed to the show are going to enjoy it. As a more “old school” fan, this hit a few marks of the show that I liked and it didn’t hit others the way I would have liked, but it was still entertaining for the amount of time I would spend with it. It isn’t one I would rush to buy, but I might read it once or twice just for kicks. It isn’t revolutionary or exemplary among kids’ comics, but it is at least cute and fun. As a big Reptar fan I just wanted a bit more cartoony destruction and killer art like is shown on the variant cover when the comic was announced. Do not go in expecting anything like the variant cover, because that is not really what this story is going for. It isn't classic Reptar. This is Rugrats character versions of Reptar; it is the way they think he might be. 

Score: 3/5

R is for Reptar (One-Shot)
kaboom!/BOOM! Studios