Originally published in: TMNT Amazing Adventures #3
Publication date: October 21, 2015
Story and art: Ben Costa
Edits: Bobby Curnow
“Freaks and Frogs”
Summary:
Napoleon Bonafrog has come to New York from Louisiana for
a visit and Mikey is showing him the sights.
They head to Coney Island for some fun, but while Mikey is out getting a
pizza, Napoleon sees a dork in a frog mascot costume getting hassled by
punks. Thinking the dork is a mutant
frog like himself, Napoleon swoops to the rescue.
Of course, the punks beat up Napoleon and the dork, taking off his mask,
runs screaming (much to Napoleon’s surprise).
Mikey swoops in at the last second and together, he and
Napoleon use some carnival games to incapacitate the punks.
Later, Napoleon shows Mikey a photograph of his mutant
frog girlfriend back in Louisiana and tries to convince Mikey to move down
there with him. He says that humans are
lame and he’d be happier among the mutant frogs. Mikey mentions April, Casey and Kirby as
examples of humans who aren’t lame and suggests that it’s just a case of some
people being jerks, not all humans being bad guys. And besides, Mikey says he could never
abandon New York’s pizza.
Turtle Tips:
*The series continues in TMNT Amazing Adventures #4.
*Napoleon Bonafrog first appeared in the season 3 episode
“The Croaking”.
Review:
At the risk of reviewing the cartoon and not this comic,
I really, really didn’t care for how the Nick show handled the Punk Frogs. Heck, I’m hesitant to even call them the “Punk”
Frogs since there was nothing even remotely “punk” about them.
I guess it comes down entirely to subjective opinion, since I never
liked “Napoleon Dynamite”, so turning Napoleon Bonafrog into a parody of that
movie character did absolutely nothing for me.
But even forgoing whether or not you liked the movie, the gag is fairly
one-note. All Napoleon does is sigh
really loudly and go “GOSH” and after more than one sitting the parody
stretches thin.
So with that in mind, if you’ve seen “The Croaking”, then
there isn’t anything particularly new in “Freaks and Frogs”. Just Napoleon cribbing dialogue and
catchphrases from that comedy flick I didn’t like. Well, there IS a sort of moral nugget in
there about not judging an entire group based on the actions of a few, but it
mercifully is not laid on too thick.
Costa’s art is a bit better than his script. He goes for some perspective-enhancing angles
and there are a few chuckle-worthy sight gags (I liked the “Grrr I’m a jerk” note
safety-pinned to the back of the generic punk's denim jacket). The polaroid montage was cute, too.
I just wish I didn’t have to look at Napoleon
Bonafrog’s annoying face throughout this story (is that poop on his head? Is he wearing poop as a hat? Is that how low the cartoon will reach for a
laugh?).
