This world is in so much need of a good laugh nowadays, what with the way things are going. This spring KaBOOM! the children’s division of comics company Boom! Studios, will give audiences plenty of laughs when it releases the second of its Garfield comics anthologies, Garfield: Full Course. Scheduled for release Apr. 2, the 210-page collection will come more than four months after the company released the first of the series’ anthologies and offers just as much to enjoy as that collection. That is due in no small part to its featured stories. They will be discussed shortly. The overall art work that accompanies the stories does its own part to add to the collection’s appeal and will be discussed a little later. The collection’s pricing rounds out its most important details, considering the noted content. It will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the collection. All things considered they make Garfield: Full Course Volume 2 a largely successful new offering from KaBOOM! that audiences of all ages will enjoy as well as longtime and new Garfield fans.
Garfield Full Course: Volume 2, the forthcoming latest entry in KaBOOM!’s latest series of Garfield comics collections, is a surprisingly enjoyable collection that will appeal to a wide range of readers. That includes longtime and new Garfield fans, children and even grown-ups. This is proven in large part through its stories. The collection boasts 17 total stories spread across eight chapters. The stories are not pulled from the Garfield comic strips crafted by Garfield’s creator, Jim Davis. This needs to be noted now for those who might be unfamiliar with KaBOOM!’s Garfield titles. The stories featured here are wholly unique from those strips. At the same time though, older audiences who are familiar with the timeless cartoon series, Garfield and Friends will appreciate how they stylistically throw back to the stylistic approach taken by its shorts over the course of its seven-season run. The writing team of Mark Evanier and Scott Nickel are to be commended for making that happen. The constant breaking of the fourth wall by Garfield (and even his owner Jon at one point) is a classic approach while some of the stories come across as fresh approaches to some of the show’s shorts. Both of those items come into play right from the collection’s outset in its lead story, “An Odie Story.” In the case of this story, Odie once again wants to play fetch with Garfield. Garfield eventually gives in, only to go on an adventure that leads him to help a young boy capture a robber. In Garfield and Friends, Odie had his own adventure that involved him going on a cross country trip with a trucker thanks to Garfield reluctantly throwing the stick. So right there is a refreshed take on a classic Garfield tale.
“Monday Madness,” another of the collection’s stories, not only throws back to a Garfield and Friends story in which he tries to escape Monday’s wrath, but to the long-running gag of Garfield hating Monday. Its companion story, “The Lasagna Monster” (and that stories “sequel” of sorts, “Return of the Lasagna Monster”) throw back to the “Garfield’s Tales of Scary Stuff” episodes that would come along later in Garfield and Friends’ long run. That is because as the show went on, its writing style really changed to compete with other Saturday morning shows at the time. The writing in these two tales is right along those lines.
“The New “Cute”,” yet another of the collection’s stories is its own throwback not only to the Garfield comic strips but also to Garfield and Friends, too. In this short story, Garfield has to deal with Nermal constantly going on about being “the cutest kitty cat in the world.” Thanks to a certain TV figure, Garfield is able to briefly trick Nermal while also humiliating him. It’s just one of the stories featured in this set that finds Garfield dealing with Nermal and his annoyance. In “The Record Breaker,” which comes late in the collection, a television show celebrating certain records reveals another cat is the most adorable, much to the chagrin of Nermal. As a result of the revelation, Nermal drags Garfield down to the TV studio and Nermal convinces the show’s host that he, not the other cat, is the cutest. Between this story and the other featuring Nermal, all of the others examined here and the rest of the collection’s stories, the whole of the stories featured here gives readers of all types more than enough reason to take in this anthology. What’s more, the stories will give those readers plenty of laughs along the way.
The stories that make up Garfield Full Course: Volume 2 are just part of what audiences will appreciate about this collection. Its artwork, for the most part, will appeal to readers. That is because for the most part, it continues the same (and similar) look established by Jim Davis over the course of his decades-long career drawing Garfield and his friends. There are some exceptions, such as in “The Record Breaker” and “Pet Force: Time Out.” In the case of “The Record Breaker,” the art, by Genevieve FT, feels uncomfortable. The too cartoony look of everything looks more like the art that was used in the brief reboot of the TV show Pound Puppies than any of the artwork ever used in the Garfield comic strips and Garfield and Friends series.
In the case of “Pet Force: Time Out,” the artwork, handled by Fred Hembeck and Lisa Moore, honestly looks like something designed by a young child, what with the angular design and rough look. Maybe that was intentional, but it is another uncomfortable look. The story herein is another silly tale that has the comic edge of classic Garfield tales, thankfully, making up at least somewhat for that issue. As painful as the artwork is here, in “The Record Breaker” and even in “The Lasagna Monster” and “Return of the Lasagna Monster” it is collectively not enough to doom the anthology. That is because for the most part, the overall art is that appealing to audiences. Keeping that in mind, the writing and artwork exhibited throughout Garfield Full Course: Volume 2 are still largely reason enough for audiences to take in this collection.
Knowing the overall content featured throughout Garfield Full Course: Volume 2 is reason enough for readers to take in this collection, the anthology’s cost proves money well spent. The collection is priced at less than $20. More specifically, it is $16.99. In other words it will not break any reader’s budget. It is in fact a relatively affordable price considering the content and the amount thereof. To that end, readers will get a deal on the price, again, considering the overall content. It puts the finishing touch to this collection’s presentation and further ensures the set’s appeal.
Garfield Full Course: Volume 2, the forthcoming second collection of Garfield comics from KaBoom!, is a presentation that will appeal to a wide range of readers. That includes grown-ups and child, as well as new and seasoned fans of Garfield and Friends. That is due in part to the collection’s featured stories. The stories and their writing throw back to the noted cartoon series and even to the vibe established in Jim Davis’ beloved comic strip. The artwork, for the most part, stays true to its source material so to speak, too. There are some exceptions to that rule but those moments are not enough to doom the collection. Keeping all of this in mind, the set’s price rounds out its most important elements. Coming in at les than $20, it will not break anyone’s budget. Keeping all of this in mind, Garfield Full Course: Volume 2 proves overall, to be a welcome new offering for any reader.
Garfield Full Course: Volume 2 is scheduled for release this April through KaBOOM! More information on this and other titles from KaBOOM! More information on this and other titles from KaBOOM! and Boom! Studios is available at:
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