With Adventure Time Pride Special: PB & Marcy’s Infinite Mixtape, Rosie Knight writes such a cute story that’s the perfect way to kick off Pride Month. It’s perfect for teenagers and fans of the TV show. Even if you didn’t finish the show, you can still understand the full story and Marceline and Princess Bubblegum’s relationship. The story follows Princess Bubblegum and Marceline listening to PB’s old, unfinished mixtape for inspiration after not being able to write a song. The story is split up into chapter-like sections that are titled after the mixtape they’re listening to and reliving moments through. The lyrics often appear on the cassette tapes the same way titles would be written on there, which I think is really cool. In later chapters, the lyrics eventually make their way off of the cassette tapes and onto the page in a pretty pink cursive font that fits PB’s aesthetic.
Oni Press
The first song that they listen to takes Marceline back to a terrible date they have in a dinner and the song isn’t helping as Marcy believes PB thinks that she’s past her prime, which is funny because as Marcy points out, they’re both well over 300 years old. PB eventually reveals that the song is about one of her fears before we move onto the next chapter/song.
This song “Ode to the Vampire Queen” starts with Marcy hunting zombie versions of the candy citizens before taking us into a dreamlike sequence, After the sequence, Marcy tells PB that the tabletop campaign she designed for their date was rigged by her and Peppermint Butler by making it easier for PB to win. The tabletop campaign that Marcy planned seems to resemble Dungeons & Dragons, which I think is a nice touch.
PB and Marcy are upset at each other and are about to work it out when we get introduced to the masterminds behind keeping them trapped in their minds, Nostalgia and Nostalgio.
Nostalgia and Nostalgio, Gia and Gio for brevity, are two cute but evil gummy bears (gummy bears being the Candy Kingdom’s equivalent of teddy bears). Artist Evgenia Verelik and colorist Valentina Pinto really knocked it out of the park with the design for these two. Both Gia and Gio have heart-shaped noses and paw pads with Gia having hearts next to her eyes which resemble blush, and Gio having an X on his forehead. Both bears have fangs and claws to remind us that they’re supposed to be the bad guys, no matter how cute they are.
Gia and Gio are meet-a-versary gifts that PB made for Marcy, filling them with nostalgia and memories of their relationship but eventually forgot about. Being forgotten about turned them evil and now they’re seeking revenge.
Right before Gia and Gio capture them, there’s a panel of the two reaching for each other that resembles a renaissance painting, which is probably one of my favorite panels.
The scene with the bears and Marcy and PB arguing before Gia throws them into hell is my favorite as the bears have absolutely no patience and don’t give them a chance to talk before deciding that they’re done with the girls.
After Marcy and PB get thrown into Dennis hell, we meet Dennis, another gummy bear. This one was PB’s before he got damaged, forgotten about as PB said she would fix him but never did. Marcy found him and fixed him up, but put him in her trash dimension after the same fight that led PB to forget Gia and Gio. Thankfully, since Dennis isn’t the real Dennis, he doesn’t hold any grudges, although he does throw some digs at Marcy which are pretty funny.
Knight writes a couple of cheeky jokes, like Dark Pride Ooopen Mic Night not being straight pride because they’re spooky, not evil, and calling the bears “fruity felons.”
We soon get back to the story that we started off with, PB and Marcy have to come up with a song to sing, but this time they have an easier time writing after listening to the mixtape and being tormented by Gia and Gio.
They eventually come up with a song that ends up beating Gia and Gio at Dark Pride Ooopen Mic Night, but not before coming across a couple more Dennises and his emo boyfriend Alan and another Dennis has a girlfriend.
PB and Marcy make it back to Ooo, with Dennis, and Gia and Gio, who immediately get stored in the cupboard before PB and Marcy perform at Pride Ooopen Mic Night.
Oni Press
PB and Marceline are both drawn in a mix between anime and chibi, which adds to the overall cuteness of the story. Although it’s different from the style of both the show and most of the comics, it stays true to the characters’ designs and details, like PB’s crown and glasses. The coloring resembles watercolor but it doesn’t lose any of the vibrant coloring that’s typically seen in this series. The only scene that isn’t as heavily saturated is the flashback scene, however that makes sense as it’s the typically coloring of a flashback scene in most media. I honestly like this art style for the story as its adorable art can attract new readers who usually wouldn’t pick up an Adventure Time book. I would love to see Verelik and Pinto partner up and work on more Adventure Time.
Adventure Time Pride Special: PB & Marcy’s Infinite Mixtape #1 is a cheeky and cute story that’s the perfect kickoff to Pride Month. It’s also a good standalone issue for people who are fans of the characters but might not have finished the show.
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