Adventure Time presents Marcy & Simon No. 2
By J. Czelsch
Princess Bubblegum tries a daring experiment to restore the mind of Simon Petrikov in the latest issue of Marcy & Simon!
While preparing to write this review, it was sad to hear the news that KaBoom! has decided to cancel Adventure Time Season 11, a series that launched less than six months ago. Admittedly, it wasn’t altogether surprising. Despite having excellent initial orders, it seems fans just didn’t even think to look for a new ongoing comic since the cartoon ended. Season 11’s writer, Ted Anderson, had this to say via tumblr:
"“…to be fair, this was a comic book series continuing a recently-ended TV series that had already been seeing its audience decline; there probably wasn’t much hope for huge sales, no matter how popular it had been in the past. I don’t know what the future of the franchise is—I’m pretty sure Marcy & Simon will finish out its six-issue run, but after that, I have no idea.”"
It’s a shame, because by all accounts, Adventure Time sold very well for Boom!. And if there’d been a push to get the word out beyond comic shops, fans would probably have kept coming back.
Adventure Time presents: Marcy & Simon 2, art by Slimm Fabert and SJ Miller (Courtesy Cartoon Network, published by Kaboom!)
At least we’ll get the end of Marcy & Simon, and for that fans should be glad. The first issue of this mini-hit all the right notes for me. Anderson’s Season 11 was a fun, plot-driven romp, but Olivia Olson’s (the voice actor of Marceline the Vampire Queen) story is leaning more heavily on character drama, which is what fans like myself come to Adventure Time for. Slimm Fabert’s subtlety captivating art focuses on familiar denizens of Ooo. His layouts are perhaps tamer than Marina Julia’s style in Season 11, but the way his characters emote can really draw one in. Combined, Olson and Fabert are making a more intimate tale from the same basic plot that Season 11 started with, but with the heart-strings tugged so tight you can feel the pathos on each page.
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Issue two starts with a stark scene in sepia tone where Marcy rushes Simon to Princess Bubblegum’s science lab, in a Jake-ified rescue vehicle that must be an homage to the much-loved webcomic Achewood’s rabbit ambulance. Mike Fiorentino’s red-lettered sound effects pop off the page, surrounded by the muted color palette. After tests, Marceline’s girlfriend determines that Simon Petrikov is healthy enough to try an experiment, for which they’ll need help from the new Ice King (formerly Gunther the penguin). Ice King and Simon are plugged into a Dr. Frankenstein-esque machine, and as Bubblegum declares, “Die Macht! Die Subigkeit!” Petrikov’s memories are downloaded from his old crown, in an attempt to re-integrate them into his recently restored body. The characters’ smooth designs and bright candy colors, drenched in overly bright crackling light, electrical shocks and sound effects is as silly as it is scary.
Adventure Time presents: Marcy & Simon 2, art by Slimm Fabert and SJ Miller (Courtesy Cartoon Network, published by Kaboom!)
dark. Next. Adventure Time Season 11 ends on a positive note!
The “hard restore” doesn’t work, but Bubblegum is able to determine there’s dark magic affecting Simon. In a tense and intimate conversation, Bonnibel convinces Marcy she’ll have to go on a quest to find a source of dark magic to restore her friend. Marcy makes it sound like a fun romp for the increasingly discombobulated Simon, but a final page reveal confirms they’ll be prospecting for trouble in the Nightosphere in issue three!