The Comic: Widgey Q. ButterfluffBy: Steph Cherrywell
Type: Graphic Novella/Collection of short stories with loose continuity.
Content Rating: PG-13, almost solely for innuendo.
Plot: Widgifer Butterfluff, "Widgey" for short, is your average smiling pixie living harmoniously in the ever-cute Snugglepump Valley. But it's hard to keep the status quo so saccharine with the continual interruptions of the joy-spoiling, fishbowl-headed Lord Meanskull and his duo of hench-witches. In this collection, among other things, Widgey and her cast of various pixie, animal, and insect allies stop pollution, help a girl cope with her parents leaving her, discover the true face of Santa Claus, survive a harrowing candy shortage, foil an illicit substances dealer, attempt to learn a lesson about reproduction, learn about each others' pasts, and get into shape.
Personal Thoughts: I've actually been following the author's earlier works for some time now, and it was neat to hear they've moved into the realm of print--under one of my favourite comics publishers, no less (SLG). Even more surprising, Steph visited this very blog to express hopes that I liked it. After that, how could I not feature it in my long-overdue return to this feature? Cherrywell's work has always included a lot of satire, but it's pulled off consistently well (at the very least, certainly with more finesse than Seth "Hey Lois, Remember When Pop Culture Reference?" McFarlane, eugh)--in these pages alone winks and nods are made to everything from old Public Service Announcements to Care Bears to Reefer Madness to Captain Planet. Don't be fooled by the sugar-sweet facade: Widgey isn't quite a kids' book. There's a big fat knowing smirk running underneath the giggles and candy, and from this author I wouldn't have it any other way. Their continual flair for unusual, fun character designs is no less diminished here either, especially in Lord Meanskull with his seaweed hair and impossible biology (his teenage form seen in flashbacks is especially a hoot--ever seen a skull with a fuzzstache?). In short, if you take your humor with a couple lumps of sarcasm, like to support quality small-time black and white comics, and were around in the 90's, Widgey Q. Butterfluff is worth a bit of perusal. Whether Cherrywell continues with further adventures from this character or goes off on a new tangent, I look forward to seeing what more is in store.
Holden Out.
PS: The Author currently does a sci-fi webcomic called Intragalactic, which riffs predominantly on Star Trek. It can be found at: www.intragalacticcomic.com. It also has a preview of Widgey on it, if you want to get a little taste.
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