13 Great ADVENTURE TIME Comics You Must Read

Good week to be an Adventure Time fan.

Fans get two books to dive into 1/18: Comixology Originals and Boom! have teamed up for the digital-only Marshall Lee Spectacular #1 — with a cover by Fabio Moon (click here) — while Adventure Time Comics #7 hits shops and digital platforms.

Fabio Moon

So we have writer S.M. Vidaurri here with his list of 13 Great ADVENTURE TIME Comics You Must Read. He has a story in the Marshall Lee Spectacular, illustrated by Asia Kendrick-Horton. Dig it.

By S.M. VIDAURRI

1. Marceline Gone Adrift, by Meredith Gran, Carey Pietsch. Quite simply, my most favoritest, the most elegant, the most heartwarming, Marceline story there is. Written by Meredith Gran and illustrated by Carey Pietsch, Marceline Gone Adrift tells the story of Marceline, stripped of her powers and flung through space, and Princess Bubblegum, who flies out in a desperate attempt to save her. Carey’s brilliant figure work is only overshadowed by her pallet, which she uses to expertly articulate the joyous as well as the more sensitive moments of Marceline and Princess Bubblegum‘s story. It all comes together in a wonderful package!

2. Adventure Time Vol. 7: The Four Castles OGN, by Josh Trujillo, Zachary Sterling. Adventure Time has always done well when it’s mixed with genre fiction. Josh Trujillo combines his love of Dungeons and Dragons (see his anthology Death Saves), with the Adventure Time universe in a fun and exciting way. Zachary’s approach to the action scenes is playful and mesmerizing, and the pacing of the story by both these gentlemen is really wonderful and makes for a real page-turner!

3. Adventure Time Comics #4, by James Lloyd, Aatmaja Pandya, Jim Zub, Derek Charm. I am so taken by Aatmaja’s short Marceline Moonbeam story. It’s so charming and clever and touching. I feel like I read a lot about the economy of story but when you see a perfect living example it makes you stand up and say “Hey!” The rest of this issue is super-cool too. Derek Charm’s incredibly dynamic linework is spellbinding!

4. Adventure Time: Summer Special #1, by Andy Runton, Becky Dreistadt, Frank Gibson, Noelle Stevenson, Ryan Pequin, Emily Partridge. The whole issue is gangbusters but Heart by Emily Partridge is beyond stellar. An incredibly paced, wonderfully paneled short comic showing an intimate scene between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Completely wordless, it illustrates the tender but still distant relationship they share. It tells no more than it needs to, and says exactly what it should. Masterful storytelling! I love this issue but this short took my breath away!

5. Adventure Time 2015 SpOooktacular #1, by Hanna K. The colors and mood of this Marceline-centered comic are so cool! The artwork and pacing of the story completely knock me out of my chair. The story delves into Marceline’s past, contains a dog as a best friend, and fits seamlessly into the Adventure Time mythos.

6. Adventure Time: Candy Capers, by Yuko Ota, Ananth Panagariya, Ian McGinty. A super-cool mystery story crafted by the super-cool master storytellers Yuko and Ananth is brought to life through Ian’s masterful linework. The story focuses on two, less-famous Adventure Time characters, Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun. All of Ian’s drawings of Peppermint Butler just make my day.

7. Adventure Time Vol. 3: Seeing Red OGN, by Kate Leth, Zachary Sterling, Tessa Stone, Amanda Lafrenais, Aubrey Aiese. Another great Marceline tale! This one explores her relationship with her father, and it’s really fun. I have a soft spot for anything Marceline, and Kate’s story is really great! Also the cover by Stephanie Gonzaga is jaw-dropping and one of my favorite covers ever. Just look at it!

8. Adventure Time: Marceline and The Scream Queens, by Meredith Gran, Lisa Moore, Steve Wands. Princess Bubblegum joins Marceline’s band?! Sign me the heck up! The sequence where Marceline takes the stage in the first issue is one of my favorite Adventure Time sequences. It’s. So. Cool. The colors mix with the linework and pacing so well! It’s great.

9. Adventure Time: Ice King, by Emily Partridge, Pranas Naujokaitis, Natalie Andrewson. You know it’s a good comic when you read the dialogue and hear the character’s voices in your head. That’s how well the Ice King comes across in this awesome book! The illustrations are light and playful and full of the kind of whimsy that suits Adventure Time best! Plus variant covers by Wyeth Yates and Kate Glasheen are nothing to sneeze at!

10. Adventure Time 2014 Winter Special, by Luke Pearson, Josceline Fenton, Jeremy Sorese, Theresa Zysk, Janet Rose, Allison Strejlau. What a super cool line-up of talent for a special issue! I mean, dang. This issue showcases the best of what makes Adventure Time Specials fun and enjoyable. A huge variation in approaches and voices and a super-high level of talent. Luke Pearson’s clean linework and amazing Christmas sweater designs! Jeremy Sorese’s bold linework and dynamic panel layouts! A great Lemongrab story by Theresa Zysk! And Alison’s bold, flowing linework in the last story all add up to one of the best Adventure Time specials!

11. Adventure Time Vol. 8: President Bubblegum OGN, by Josh Trujillo, Zachary Sterling. I’d vote for PB, no sweat! A great story about the land of Ooos’ long-lost constitOootion, and how Princess Bubblegum must run for president! A nice, light take on politics to distract from all-too-overbearing real life. I love when Josh writes Princess Bubblegum. He has a great feel for her and she always shines in his stories!

12. Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake, by Natasha Allegri. A continuation of the gender-swapped Ice Kings fanfic! Natasha’s stories breathe fresh life into the premise. The third issue is a personal favorite because it includes everyone’s bad boy vampire, Marshall Lee!

13. Adventure Time Comics #7, by Riley Rossmo, Kevin Stanton, Kiki’ssh, Marina Julia, Fran Krause. This issue comes out the same time as my Marshall Lee story! I’ve seen some previews of it and man, Kevin’s work looks so great! I’m so pumped! The future of Adventure Time comics is bright!

Author: Dan Greenfield

Share This Post On

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: