Review: Bravest Warriors Tales from the Holo John #1

Niccolo Mejia ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Contributor

Tales from the Holo John brings in five quirky stories from the Bravest Warriors universe, and Boom! Studios does a great job of capturing that universe and its characters in this adaptation.

Readers’ expectations will be exceeded especially due to the fact that the stories are still character driven, arguably more so than the cartoon itself. A common gripe with the Bravest Warriors animation was that it occasionally got bogged down by one liners from lesser characters, (sorry Impossibear and Catbug!) which padded out its already short run time with meme-able quotes. But this comic reinvigorates love for this franchise, and fans are interested in reading the entire series.

Most of the stories focus on Danny and Beth, which are great picks from the perspective of comedy and the short form this comic has. That being said, Wallow is largely left out of the narratives despite his sense of humor and versatility as a character. He is used for jokes throughout the issue though, and the writers definitely captured his voice. Danny lacks the plot-dependence that Chris has and thus makes for less gripping stories. So if you’re looking for deeper insights into the mysteries of the Bravest Warriors, this might not be the issue for you.

When Beth is given the spotlight, her character seems the most thought out of any of the group. Her friendship with Plum comes across in this issue and, despite its brevity, is reminiscent of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline’s friendship in Adventure Time. Beth’s stories even ties into the greater plot by including her father, ending on the type of melancholy note that only a Pendleton Ward creation can achieve.

The art was nicely done and stayed true to the original art style. In addition to the awesome cover art, a favorite moment was the depiction of Beth and Plum’s acrobatic maneuvers. In the future, Wallow will hopefully make a greater appearance and the writers will capture the comedic timing of Bravest Warriors more effectively.

This issue definitely captured the Bravest Warriors world that fans are familiar with from watching the cartoon. Why they chose the Holo John, the cast’s bathroom that can program and display various hologram-based activities and scenes, as the focal point for this issue is still a mystery. But it does allow for myriad storylines that can be as upfront or sneaky about toilet humor as the writer wants.

Overall Rating: 7/10