Rugrats #1 Review

Rugrats #1

Writer: Box Brown
Artist: Lisa DuBois
Colorist: Eleonora Bruni
Letters: Jim Campbell
Publisher: KaBOOM!

A review by Samantha Pearson

A BABY’S GOTTA DO WHAT A BABY’S GOTTA DO!

KaBOOM! Studios has teamed up with Nickelodeon for a brand-new series of adventures with everyone’s favorite toddlers. Rugrats #1 re-imagines this classic cartoon in the smartphone era. Remember how everyone’s parents were always super distracted on this show so their kids were always getting into trouble? Yeah, adding smartphones to the mix doesn’t help. And no amount of nanny cams — attached to droids or otherwise — will stop Tommy Pickles with an idea in his head.

Rugrats #1 puts Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil into a world where their parents know everything they’re doing. Decoys can’t even fool them; it’s a dire situation for these toddlers, especially Tommy, who’s been in the middle of a wrestling match with his penguin for what seems like weeks. Every time he’s about to win, his dad comes into his room force him to go to sleep. Ugh, parents, am I right?

Although the dialogue in this comic doesn’t feel quite the same as the show, it still worked pretty well. It was a little jarring to see these kids drawn in a style that differentiated from the cartoon, but Lisa DuBois’ unique take on the characters grew on me. I loved Eleonora Bruni’s colors — so bright! So perfect! — and Jim Campbell’s letters were tonally flawless. Navigating this comic was easy and fun and so thoroughly enjoyable. It really felt like a blast from the past… but with all the modern weirdness of text messaging and nanny droids. 

Box brown ended the issue on a cliffhanger and I’m honestly really eager to find out what happens next. Will the kids manage to escape the watchful eyes of the nanny cams? Or will their parents win out? Will Chuckie’s backyard ever be the same again? And how long will it be before Stu, Didi, Chas, and Betty learn that all-important parenting lesson that rounded out every episode of the original Rugrats? We’ll have to stay tuned to find out.

Verdict
Buy it! Rugrats #1 made me laugh out loud, and the colors are just incredible. Enjoy a little nostalgia by diving into this series, then maybe go back and revisit the original cartoon. Just for fun.