I don't get the Cartoon Network. I'm Canadian. My cable package includes YTV and Teletoon, which carries some of the Cartoon Network shows that Americans know so well by now. So this anthology book was something of an introduction to some of the newer properties the U.S. network is airing. They're cute, and this book is quite accessible. But I wasn't really entertained. And that's OK, because I'm not the target audience. This comic book, with its short comic sketches and activities pages, is clearly aimed at the younger tykes. Now if only DC could get it into their hands.
The Kids Next Door launch Operation: D.E.A.D.L.I.N.E., an effort to rescue one of their own from an unfortunate imprisonment. Courage the Dog faces the terrifying prospect of a multiple haunting, while elsewhere, Billy and Mandy accompany their pal, a throughly nervous Grim Reaper, to his audition for a stage play. And Dexter's effort to rectify a design flaw in his new robot transforms the metal man into quite the housekeeper.
It seems as though the artists on these various stories and puzzle pages have done an excellent job of capturing the house style of each cartoon. As an older reader, it's fun to examine those styles in a more static format and see the influences of classic animation from yesteryear in the work. Dexter's Lab seems to owe a lot to the style used in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, for example, and it's easy to see Hanna-Barbera and John K. influences in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. I'm quite pleased to find that despite the lower grade of paper, the colors really pop here as well.
What this book is missing is one lead story that's beefier than all the others. In other words, it needs an anchor, a segment with a larger sense of plot over gags. The writers here tend to tell jokes instead of stories, and they really need to do both. A simpler tone for the younger set is fine, but they still appreciate a story. In fact, they crave it (especially at bedtime), or so my child-rearing friends tell me.
As I said before, this isn't my cup o' tea, nor is it meant to be. DC's trying to appeal to kids here, not the audience of Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim." That's why I'm so confused as to why they're releasing this title in this format... and in the direct comic-book market. They won't reach their audience there. DC has begun publishing digests of its cartoon-based comics, and why they didn't just skip the traditional comic-book format and go straight to the digest for this series, I don't know. Furthermore, I'm at a loss as to why DC isn't releasing this material in more mainstream and traditional retail outlets.
