Adventure Time #15 starts with the Finn version of the Lich going to Prismo to ask for his one wish, who is a character that we haven’t seen much of since the end of the second arc of this run. Magic Man continues to bring chaos to the land of Ooo in this issue. After Marceline leads the bloodbugs back to the nightosphere, Magic Man barges into the Candy Kingdom looking for Marceline as Betty and Simon have reconnected and he is jealous.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Adventure Time #15!
Honestly, I found Magic Man insufferable in this issue; I understand that his entire gimmick is being annoying, especially to the characters in the story but sometimes it gets to a point where his character affects my ability to enjoy the story and unfortunately, this is one of those times.
While Magic Man is trying to plea to Marceline to help him with Betty and Simon, a fight breaks out as he refuses to return the demon sword. John P Golden and Heather Breckel draw and color very dynamic and action packed fight scenes. The style kind of reminds me of Jim Lee’s style from the ’90s. Although I am a fan of this style, it feels out of place for an Adventure Time book, especially for the Simon and Betty scenes, which are more intimate.
The fighting scenes are paced a little awkwardly since they tend to stop and start for little jokes and bits which brings the momentum of the scene to a harsh halt and a weird start. Whenever the fight does pick back up, the first one or two panels will be overly detailed in an intense way that honestly doesn’t make sense and makes the rest of the fight look lackluster even if it’s the climax.
Betty and Simon’s scenes are awkward yet surprisingly realistic, resembling two people wanting to pick back up where they left off years ago but not knowing exactly how. I love how weary Simon is about going back with Betty and how awkward it is when realizing that Magic Man has feelings for Betty. Despite being a book geared toward kids, Adventure Time has some moments that really tug on your heartstrings as an adult and I think that’s where Nick Winn’s writing really shines. Betty wants to pick up and start her life with Simon now that he’s back while Simon is still taking everything that he’s missed in, especially Marceline growing up. I would love to see how their dynamic continues and how Simon goes about coping with everything that he’s missed while he was Ice King and how hesitant he is with wanting to move to Mars with Betty.
One moment that I found cute was Simon recognizing Marceline as a bunny when Magic Man turned almost everyone into Bunnies.
Magic Man gets jealous of Betty and Simon and ends up shooting a ray of magic which reflects off of BMO’s mirror and ends up breaking Ice Kings crown, which ends up releasing Golb. Before they evacuate, Betty turns the bunnies back and we get to see a short, but heartfelt reunion between Marceline and Simon. I really wish we got to see more of their reunion as Marceline has been desperately trying to get Simon back, but hopefully we’ll get to see more of them in next couple of issues.
Marceline is not happy with Simon asking her to move to Mars with him and Betty as Ooo is not in a good place, but she doesn’t get to finish speaking before Betty sends her and Simon away in a bubble as she doesn’t want to lose them again.
I like how the Lich and Glob came back in the same issue as they were bound to come back at some point to tie up loose ends. John P Golden and Heather Breckel’s art really shines on the last page as it looks almost cinematic with Glob coming out of the building and the silhouettes of the characters at the foreground getting ready to fight.
Adventure Time #15 is an action-packed issue with some heartfelt moments. Nick Winn brings back some characters who have some loose ends to tie up and writes realistic moments between two characters who haven’t seen each other for a while. John P Golden and Heather Breckel’s dynamic art brings the fighting scenes to life.
