A Chum Bucket of fun!

As it celebrates its 50th issue, I thought I would take a moment to share my love for one of the only two titles left on my pull list– SpongeBob Comics! Now, I’ve never watched the SpongeBob SquarePants show, so my knowledge of– and unbridled pleasure in– these characters comes solely from the pages of the comic. And I enjoy them so much that at this point I’ve been hesitant to watch the show (or even the movies) for fear it will sour my perception of the characters.

Each issue never fails to bring me an honest laugh– more laughs than a month worth of the snarky asides meant to pass as humor in today’s superhero comics– genuine humor that come from the normal interactions between these characters. Page for page, it gives me more laughter and pure joy than even well-done issues of Simpsons Comics and Futurama Comics, other tv tie-ins that work well on their own as comics. The fact that protagonists SpongeBob and Patrick are clueless idiots who persevere despite that shortcoming helps, of course (it must be a favorite character trait of mine, since I’ve used it with my own long-running protagonists (TGWAH!, Watusi) over the years). SpongeBob Comics regularly features puzzles, interactive strips and stories with complex (though easy to follow) game-like page layouts among the more straightforward and goofily humorous stories. They’ve maintained a steady group of creators over the run, including James Kochalka, Mark Martin, Jacob Chabot, Graham Annable and others that make each issue a treat! I may not know who or what will be in each new issue, but it never lets me down!