It’s almost showtime for the Muppets, and the usual chaos is occurring backstage. With things going wrong left, right and centre, a stressed out Kermit has a time out to relax with a crime novel. Yet the chaos continues unabated, and an unfortunate mishap leads to Kermit being hit in the head, only to wake up as hard-boiled detective, Flip Minnow. And he has the case of a missing heiress to solve…

Roger Langridge is no stranger to The Muppets, having written and drawn their capers for Boom and Marvel on numerous occasions. This is an unusual spin on Jim Henson’s creations, however, but Langridge does a fantastic job of mashing the crazy, gag-filled Muppets up with the familiar tropes of mid-20th century noir.

It’s an absolute joy to read; full of genuinely great dialogue, riffing on hard-boiled voiceovers (“I’ve got two slugs in me. I really wish the deli would wash the lettuce before preparing a salad”), stuffed with cameos from familiar characters in new roles and beautifully illustrated too. Even the ‘musical numbers’ work really well, kicking in with an in-universe, dream-within-a-dream style justification.

Langridge’s cartoony style has always been perfect for the Muppets, and even here with the slightly darker twist on the characters, it works really well. In my photo of the cover above, you can see Jae Lee’s more realistic take on the premise, and it does make it look somewhat darker in tone than the light-hearted antics you’ll find within.

It’s great stuff, and I’m fully invested in the mystery on the basis of this first issue alone.

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