Comically Challenged-Dr. Horrible

Comic book adaptations of movies kind of suck. But, to be fair, often times movie adaptations of comic books suck as well. It’s not the easiest of transitions to make. Let’s say you have a movie about a not-quite-super villain that falls in love with some nice girl but this brawny superhero comes in and screws up his plans? What if it was a musical? Putting it into a comic book probably wouldn’t go so smoothly. Aye, there’s the rub. Turns out, if they’re written by the same guy, everything is okay.

I don’t know what kind of bio-mutation is in the Whedon genes but somehow they became this super team of creative writers/producers/directors/songwriters. If you don’t know of a Whedon and his work, you really aren’t as nerdy as you think you are. But if you know Buffy, Firefly, the now-cancelled Dollhouse, The Guild, the beginning run of Astonishing X-Men, or the incredibly awesome Sugarshock!-you know the work of one or more of the Whedons. Now all that is well and good, but we’re here to talk about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.

Possibly the greatest musical to be penned (and I’m a girl that knows my musicals), this all started as a three-part web show during the writers’ strike of 2008. It had everything from Neil Patrick Harris to Nathan Fillion to Nerd-Famed Felicia Day. There are songs about superheroes and villains and love and laundry. If you don’t like it, you have no soul. I mean that.

Whoa, wait. This is my comic book review segment. Let’s get back on track: Zack Whedon wrote a comic book about the story, guys! It’s called Dr. Horrible. The first issue from Dark Horse dropped this week and I thought it would suck. Why? I don’t know; I’ve been burnt before by these adaptations. But guess what? It was charming! In a good way. Funny at times and generally goofy but that was the way the web short was.

It’s kind of like an origin story as to how he became to be on the side of evil. That’s not really covered during the 45ish minute show. So, that’s nice. Outside of that, you just follow Dr. Horrible and his sidekick? Henchman? I don’t really know. It’s just his friend that has a car. His name is Moist (played by Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg in the film). They hatch up some crazy idea to take down the idiot superhero Captain Hammer. It briefly touches on Billy and Penny’s budding romance within the laundry mat. As of now, no frozen yogurt. I’ll keep you posted.

Joëlle Jones’s art is simple in its design. Bold colors with a very cartoon-like style. That’s just her style though. Personally, I’m a big fan. She has a lot fun with the characters without getting too bogged down with making them look exactly like their real-life doppelgangers. The action sequences resemble that of a Looney Tunes episode. I like Looney Tunes a lot. Let’s face it though; you aren’t buying this for the art. It’s all about the good-natured/tragic/comedic/romantic story.

Look, are you already into Dr. Horrible? Then, great! You’ll love it. It goes along with the powerful awesomeness that has so far been generated. Are you new to Dr. Horrible? Hop on the freaking band-wagon. Joss Whedon has already announced a sequel in the works. In related news, I am crazy excited.