Teamwork!
Highly Recommended!
The end is almost nigh! Well the end of this arc anyway. It is certainly not the end of our courageous adventurers - Not by a long shot. In this action packed, exciting and cosmic issue of Adventure Time we see Finn, Jake, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Lumpy Space Princess, Ice King, and Desert Princess take the battle TO the Lich. How you ask? With adventurey goodness.
If you thought the cliffhanger from last issue would conclude with, "And that's how the Lich won and the earth was destroyed forever." - Well, it did - kind of... The implementation of cliffhanger anxiety and the entire series meeting its end in just three issues was explored, if only for a moment - but then again, what would this series be without its many exciting ups and downs, puns and jabs, jokes and err... well you get the idea. Either way, this book starts, ends, starts again and we are still taken on an adventure of several lifetimes.
The art is as epic as ever. I just love how the imagery meets and exceeds my expectations at every level. They have really taken the essence of the show and put it into print. As always, the writing is witty, intelligent and full of hidden messages (if you do not believe me, look closely for the light-lime-green text at the bottom of the pages). If Ryan could write text between the panels, I am sure he would try - hey maybe he should try!?! :) The point of all this is, they fit as much on to each page as they possibly can. This book is definitely worth every penny. I would go so far as to say that it is worth every penny, even the extra pennies it costs to collect all four covers!
The secondary story, "Bacon Fields", by Michael Deforge is awesome as well. I had the distinct pleasure to be at the panel during the Emerald City Comiccon where Pen Ward actually read this story aloud to the audience. I can still hear him now, his Lumpy voice echoing through that cosplay filled room, making this simple bacon filled story come to life before our very eyes! Is that a lumpy breakfast I smell?
The final seven-panel, one-pager by Zac Gorman entitled, "The Ride of Sir Slicer", was a short and not so sweet story - well not so sweet from Finn's perspective anyway. These secondary and tertiary stories really add depth to the Adventure Time universe - it is fantastic that the stories can be told in so many ways, with so many different creative teams and styles.
As always, I am definitely looking forward to the next issue, and all its covers!